Marble It Up! Ultra
- November 16, 2018
- The Engine Company
- 11h median play time
Slightly above average or simply inoffensive. Fans of the genre should enjoy them a bit, but a fair few will be left unfulfilled.
Get on Steam"Marble It Up!" is a physics-based platformer game where you control a marble navigating through challenging obstacle courses. With stunning 3D graphics and vibrant levels, your goal is to reach the finish line as fast as possible while collecting valuable gems. With a level editor included, the possibilities for marble rolling are endless!
Mac OS
Nintendo Switch
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Xbox Series X|S
Linux
Xbox
Reviews
- Captures the nostalgia of Marble Blast Ultra with improved graphics and physics.
- Engaging level design with a mix of speed and precision challenges, offering replayability through collectibles and leaderboards.
- Active community support with Steam Workshop for custom levels and ongoing updates from developers.
- Some levels can feel frustratingly designed, particularly in the later chapters, leading to a steep difficulty spike.
- Multiplayer features are currently lacking and the online community is sparse, limiting competitive play.
- Initial bugs and technical issues, such as cloud save problems and audio glitches, detract from the overall experience.
- music92 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its catchy and fitting soundtrack that enhances the gameplay experience, while others find it generic or disappointing compared to previous titles in the franchise. Many appreciate the variety and atmosphere of the tracks, although some note that the music can become repetitive over time. Overall, the soundtrack is generally considered enjoyable, contributing positively to the game's vibrant aesthetic and engaging mechanics.
“It's great and I love the soundtrack.”
“The catchy music and colorful atmosphere are a major bonus.”
“Great gameplay and great music!”
“The music is disappointing.”
“The music is really bad, I'd mute it.”
“The music is very generic sounding and not memorable like Marble Blast.”
- gameplay79 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally praised for its smooth controls, engaging mechanics, and the fun challenge of collecting gems and optimizing runs. While some players find certain mechanics annoying or janky, the overall experience is described as satisfying and addictive, especially for those who enjoy speedrunning and mastering physics-based challenges. The game successfully retains the essence of its predecessors while introducing new elements, making it appealing to both newcomers and fans of the original series.
“Trying to go for gold or diamond times is absolutely the way to play this game; there is so much fun in planning, executing, and optimizing that comes from the game's simple gameplay loop and deep physics.”
“The gameplay is smooth and responsive; when I played the game, I could feel the weight behind the marble that I was controlling, which is very nice. If you're using a controller, you can feel the vibrations in a way that makes you feel the bumps in the ground you're rolling on.”
“Marble it up is both simple enough that you can jump in and out on a moment's notice, and so mechanically deep that one can spend an hour perfecting a run of a single level, but it never gets old.”
“The gem collecting mechanics to open the level endpoint is annoying.”
“There are absolutely some gameplay affecting bugs, and the multiplayer can be inactive at times depending on your region.”
“This game's better level design and array of gameplay gimmicks don't make up for that setback, in my opinion.”
- graphics58 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received largely positive feedback, with many users praising the vibrant, colorful art style and high-quality textures that enhance the overall aesthetic. While some noted minor graphical issues, such as fuzziness on certain platforms and a lack of anti-aliasing, the visuals are generally described as stunning and a significant improvement over previous titles in the series. Overall, the game's graphics are considered a strong point, complementing its engaging gameplay and soundtrack.
“The aesthetics are amazing, which is to be expected if you've ever played the other Marble Blast games, particularly Marble Blast Ultra.”
“The graphics are really satisfying to look at because the textures are high quality, the lighting doesn't look weird, and there's a lot of reflections.”
“This game has a great art style, great music, and great physics.”
“The graphics on the Steam Deck are horrible, too fuzzy.”
“Power-ups are constantly disappearing, the game eats inputs, and graphical bugs appear frequently.”
“But please, for the love of God, ditch the 80's neon aesthetic.”
- replayability24 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The game boasts high replayability due to its engaging level design, time trials, and the ability to discover new paths and strategies. Players can further enhance their experience through weekly challenges, custom levels from workshop support, and competitive leaderboards, making it appealing for both casual and dedicated gamers. Overall, the combination of challenges, unlockable content, and community-driven features ensures that players will find plenty of reasons to return.
“The game encourages you to complete each level as fast as possible, which is really good for replayability. I often restarted levels purely because I knew I could do it faster.”
“Ultra replayable, beautiful art style, great level design, fantastic soundtrack, level designer for essentially unlimited maps, unique casual yet competitive cross-platform multiplayer anyone can pick up and play, and a lot of fun goofy customization choices to discover and unlock as you play.”
“With the new and difficult chapter 6, and close to 300 custom levels, this game has so much replayability.”
“But except for those stages, this was a super fun experience and I'm hoping that they will release some DLC with new stages, or perhaps something that adds replayability to existing stages.”
“For the average person, I say hold off on getting it until they add more content and work out a few small kinks as all the levels can be completed in about 2 hours; there's also replayability to improve your times and find trophies, though.”
“This game has plenty of replay value with challenges, workshop levels, trophies, rewarding times, etc. In my opinion, it gives much more replay value than a lot of AAA games do.”
- stability16 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 88 % negative mentions
The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with many users reporting significant bugs, particularly in multiplayer modes, including rubber banding and UI glitches. While some players note improvements since launch, issues like crashes, lag spikes, and problems with keybindings persist, leading to a generally unstable experience. Despite these concerns, players still find enjoyment in the game, suggesting that ongoing updates may eventually resolve these stability issues.
“The game looks great, runs great, and feels so good to get better at it each time you load it up.”
“Runs great on Linux, catchy soundtrack.”
“The multiplayer would probably be alright for a group of friends to play while chatting, but it's a bit buggy; there's a lot of rubber banding, so any ball-to-ball interaction going on is going to be unpredictable and glitchy.”
“The game also launched with some serious glitches, and it seems the devs aren't keen on patch notes, since I had to find out the game was fixed over a week ago from some random person on Discord today.”
“But as it turns out, even with the recent patch, the game still has numerous bugs, glitches, lag spikes, and checkpoint issues.”
- grinding12 mentions
- 8 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 92 % negative mentions
Reviews highlight that grinding in the game can be both rewarding and tedious, with some players enjoying the challenge of achieving platinum times and completing levels, while others find certain stages overly repetitive and frustrating. The game's design encourages extensive playtime, but the lack of balance in online modes and some level designs detracts from the overall experience for some users. Overall, grinding is a significant aspect that can enhance enjoyment for dedicated players, but may also lead to boredom for those seeking a more streamlined experience.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“Some achievements are very time consuming and grindy.”
“However, once you get to the level tightrope, the levels become obnoxious and tedious slogs that suck the fun right out of it.”
“The zombie matches are extremely tedious and annoying.”
- story8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The reviews indicate a lack of emphasis on a traditional story, with one user noting the absence of a narrative in favor of gameplay mechanics. Another user suggests that while some games focus on storytelling and graphics, this game excels through its unique gameplay concept and challenges, particularly in speed-running and achieving high scores.
“Years later, I happily stumbled across Platinum Quest -- sort of a successor with more levels.”
“When I hear about new games coming out soon that are supposed to have a really good story or really realistic graphics or a big open world aspect to them, I kind of think that games don't have to be technologically impressive to be good; they can be like this one, where there's an original gameplay idea and it is executed well.”
“No story.”
“Story?”
“However, when it came to speed-running and the quest for achievements/marbles.”
- humor5 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by quirky elements like a funny dog and amusing yellow trampolines, though some players feel it lacks consistent comedic quips at the start of levels. Additionally, moments of unexpected hilarity, such as narrowly beating a friend's high score, contribute to the overall lighthearted experience reminiscent of classic games like Marble Blast Ultra.
“I bought this game because a funny dog told me to.”
“One time I got a high score that was 0.001 seconds faster than my friend's old record, which was hilarious and the record is so optimized that it stands to this day.”
“This game is very similar to Marble Blast Ultra back on the 360 when they had that funny little compilation disc.”
- emotional5 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express a deep emotional connection to the game, with some experiencing tears of joy and nostalgia reminiscent of past gaming experiences. While the challenge of unlocking secret trophies can be frustrating, the overall emotional impact and innovative gameplay elements resonate strongly, evoking a sense of joy and fulfillment.
“This game made me cry tears of joy, literally.”
“This game makes me want to cry sometimes, but I still really like it.”
“I had lost hope many years ago of ever seeing a marble game that would make me feel like Marble Blast Ultra did back in my Xbox days, but now this?!”
- optimization4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players praise the game's optimization, highlighting its well-emulated physics and smooth performance, which enhance the enjoyment of planning and executing strategies for achieving high scores. The combination of simple gameplay and deep mechanics allows for a rewarding experience in optimizing runs, making it a standout feature of the game. Overall, the level design and graphics contribute to a highly polished and enjoyable gaming experience.
“Trying to go for gold or diamond times is absolutely the way to play this game. There is so much fun in planning, executing, and optimizing that comes from the game's simple gameplay loop and deep physics.”
“The physics (gravity, speed of the marble on ground and air, etc.) are very well emulated, the graphics are good, and the game is really well optimized.”
“Level design, graphics, performance - everything is fantastic.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by a cheerful and bright aesthetic, complemented by catchy music and a vibrant color palette. Reviewers appreciate the crisp movement and the overall immersive quality of the soundtrack, which enhances the gaming experience.
“Great music and atmosphere with crisp, clean movement.”
“The catchy music and colorful atmosphere are a major bonus.”
“The soundtrack is nice and atmospheric.”
- character development1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The character development in the game is praised for its depth, prompting players to reflect on their own familial relationships and emotional connections.
“The character development is exceptional and made me question the quality of my relationship with my family.”
“The depth of the characters really drew me in, making their journeys feel personal and relatable.”
“I was amazed at how the characters evolved throughout the game, each decision impacting their growth in meaningful ways.”
