If it wasn’t for the tilt controls, we’d swear we could dimly remember playing Tumble Rush on a SEGA Mega Genesis at Billy Brown’s house in 1993. 

While this fun, addictive arcade game can only exist thanks to the technological marvels of the 21st century—most importantly, the gyroscope in your phone—in most respects it looks, sounds, and feels like a cousin of Sonic The Hedgehog. 

Before we get into Tumble Rush’s gameplay and aesthetic, let’s make sure we’re up to speed on the setting.

Ball Galaxy. Year unknown. The adorable, spherical inhabitants of this unusual realm are being abducted in large numbers by low-orbit claw machines and placed in a giant vending machine. 

You’re playing as one of these hunted balls, and your goal is to rescue your kin from their eccentric, arcade-style prison. In space.

All of which provides an excellent jumping off point for some tilty, rolly, dodgy action. 

Developer Juvenile Pursuits describes Tumble Rush as an “action marble maze” game, which is a first for us. To steer your little marble avatar through the stages, all you need to do is tip your phone this way and that—or, if you prefer, you can use touch controls. 

Littered throughout these stages are puzzles, traps, holes, and other obstacles determined to prevent you from rescuing your friends and family. 

As you navigate these pitfalls you’ll also collect coins to spend on unlocking adorable new skins for your spherical hero. Plus, you can shake things up by taking part in time trial stages, or embarking on an endless run. 

Tumble Rush looks great, thanks to some immaculate pixel-art graphics ripped straight out of the 16-bit era. But if you’ve ever played a retro game before you’ll know that sound is just as important as visuals. 

Cue Sean “CosmicGem” Bialo, the celebrated chiptune composer behind the soundtracks for Penny’s Big Breakaway, Donut Dodo, and Chiki’s Chase.

Check out the trailer to see it in action. 

You can grab Tumble Rush for free right now on the Google Play Store and the App Store.