If you’ve ever read anything I have written about games, you’ll know how much a good story, atmospheric audio, and simple graphics appeal to me. In Marble It Up!, these things are nowhere to be found, so I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it nearly as much as I did. Nevertheless, the smooth controls, varied level design, and the promise of sweet leaderboard glory kept me coming back for more. It’s time to Marble It Up!

Are You Ready To Roll?

The gameplay in Marble It Up! is very straightforward: get the marble to the end of the course. Over the forty levels, you’ll come across various features, from surfaces that change the direction of gravity to gems that need to be collected before you can complete the level. You can also collect powerups, including speed boosts, items that slow down the clock, and feathers to make you float. Some of these are necessary for the level’s completion, while others simply help you to get the best time.

And, of course, the clock is always ticking. The game offers ghost race modes as well as local and global leaderboards to keep you coming back. Not only is ranking very clear, but you can also download, watch, and race against other players’ records. Challenging yourself is a lot of fun, and there’s no satisfaction quite like pushing someone off the top of the leaderboard.

You’re Going To Have a Ball!

While Marble It Up! doesn’t exactly flip the marble physics game on its head, it doesn’t mean it’s not fun. In fact, I really enjoyed this game, and this has a lot to do with how the game handles. The controls are smooth and easy to use, which is a must for games that involve rolling spherical objects across slippery surfaces.

The levels are also of a manageable length, and while some are admittedly challenging, progression between the four main “chapters” is tied to achieving a certain number of medals, rather than successful completion of all levels in order. This was great to see because if you can’t bear to face that one stage for the tenth time, it doesn’t matter – you can move on with no consequences. This means that gameplay never feels punishing.

There’s also a stupid amount of unlockable content, and I mean this in the most complimentary way possible. While this content only appears to be cosmetic skins, rather than stat boosts or additional features, Marble It Up! definitely offers plenty of appeal for completionists. It’s also a nice nod to the traditional “real life” marble games I played as a kid, where success was measured in the size and variety of your marble collection.

The Opposite of Atmospheric (But That’s Not a Bad Thing)

Accompanying the solid gameplay are excellent graphics and a psychedelic soundtrack. The game is well-rendered, bright, and colourful. Although some of the vibrant backgrounds weren’t to my personal tastes, the game keeps things visually interesting and it never feels monotonous. The soundtrack, likewise, isn’t what I’d normally listen to, but it was upbeat and plenty of fun. A welcome addition here was the ability to change tracks whenever you like in the settings menu. Unlike most games, tracks aren’t assigned to individual levels, and this provides an added layer of game customisation.

Nobody’s Perfect

The game isn’t without its flaws; while it ran smoothly most of the time, there were a few sharp frame rate drops and the game crashed intermittently in my playthrough. However, the developers are currently working on a patch which will hopefully address these issues at or before launch. It might have been cool to see some of the more novel mechanics used a little more in the game, but this doesn’t detract from the game’s enjoyment; I actually preferred the more “traditional” levels where you could really build up some speed and get some height in your jumps. As far as nit-picking goes, that’s about it.

A Solid Experience

In a world and eShop full of ambitious (and occasionally overambitious) titles, Marble It Up! is a game that achieves exactly what it sets out to do. It offers a very solid gameplay experience, accompanied by good graphics and psychedelic tunes. While the asking price of $19.99 might seem a little steep for a game you can finish in under three hours, Marble It Up! offers a huge amount of unlockable content and the promise of leaderboard glory to keep you coming back for more. To top it all off, the developers have indicated that they’ll roll out additional features post-release, including multiplayer, a level editor, and extra stages. If the new content is even half as addictive as the base game, you should expect to let the good times roll.

Thanks for reading! As always, we’re keen to hear your thoughts, so drop us a line in the comments or head on over to our Discord to discuss all things Nindie. Are you as excited as we are that Marble It Up! will be providing new content post-release? Check out Zach’s recent article on some other great teams who have done exactly that and deserve our support. And, finally, for even more great Nindie content, please give us a follow on Twitter – you can find me here.