Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Hieronymus Bash starts from a wonderfully silly question: why should angels and devils fight with swords when they could settle Heaven, Hell, and everything between with dodgeball? The answer is a compact competitive game built around throwing the ball, dodging incoming shots, and trying to be the last team left standing. It is an immediately understandable setup, which matters when up to four people are sharing a match.

The catch rule is where the tension should live. Land a hit and an opponent is out; catch their throw instead, and the thrower is out while one of your eliminated teammates can return. That reversal gives every throw some risk. You are not merely trying to fire the ball as often as possible—you have to worry about handing the other side a rescue and losing a teammate in the same instant.

The multi-level court is the game’s most useful wrinkle. Platforms above and below the main action should make positioning more interesting than a conventional side-to-side dodgeball exchange, since opponents are not all standing at one height. That vertical layout suits a game whose rule set is otherwise deliberately stripped down, though it also means the experience will rise or fall on how much your group enjoys repeating that central throw, dodge, and catch loop.

Local multiplayer is clearly the right reason to play. You can split into teams or face one another, and the team options make it easier to include four people without reducing the match to a pure free-for-all. If you want a deep sports simulation, this is not that kind of game; if you want a brisk couch contest with a funny theme and a rule everyone can grasp, its simplicity is an asset.

Graphics

The arenas are defined by stacked platforms rather than a flat dodgeball court, so the action has a clear vertical shape. Angels and devils are the competing sides, and that fantasy framing gives the matches more character than a standard gym-class setting.

Story

There is barely any story to get in the way, and that is the point. Angels want dominion over Heaven, Hell, and everything in between; devils want exactly the same. Instead of escalating into another familiar supernatural war, they choose dodgeball.

It is a good arcade-game premise because it understands the joke and does not overexplain it. The line about weapons having already been done makes the dodgeball decision feel intentionally absurd rather than arbitrary.

Do not come expecting a campaign-sized conflict between the two factions. The narrative exists to give the teams a playful reason to hurl a ball at each other, and it does that cleanly. The real stories will be the ones your group creates when a catch revives a teammate at exactly the wrong moment for the other side.

Overall Experience

Hieronymus Bash earns points for committing to a ridiculous premise and pairing it with rules that are easy to explain. The first match should make sense almost immediately: hit opponents, avoid getting hit, catch the ball when you dare, and survive longer than the other team.

Its limitation is also obvious from that same clarity. There is not much separating the game from its core dodgeball idea beyond the vertical platforms and the angel-versus-devil wrapper. If your group needs elaborate systems or long-term progression to stay engaged, the novelty may wear off quickly.

Still, there is room for a small game like this when you have the right people in the room. Give Hieronymus Bash a chance if you value direct local competition, enjoy arcade-style reversals, and can appreciate a game that treats the fate of the afterlife as an excuse for a dodgeball match. The payoff is not grandeur; it is the sharp, shared laugh when a confident throw becomes a costly catch.

Retro Replay Score

6.2/10