Marble Race
- October 13, 2018
- Elastic Sea
Get on Steam
Get on Apple Store"Marble Race" is a charming tribute to "Hamsterball" and "Marble Madness," where players race through colorful levels filled with obstacles, enemies, and traps. Compete against friends in a four-way battle arena or cooperative mode, and unlock secrets or build your own levels with support for various input devices. Join the community through the game's Discord server for level-building assistance.
Reviews
- The game successfully captures the nostalgic feel of classic titles like Hamsterball and Marble Madness, providing enjoyable gameplay and smooth physics.
- The level editor and community features allow for extensive customization and creativity, enhancing replayability.
- The developer is responsive and actively works on improvements, showing commitment to the game's future despite its early access status.
- The game feels incomplete and has been abandoned, with limited levels and a lack of updates, leading to disappointment among players.
- Technical issues such as poor mouse controls, a confusing UI, and subpar graphics detract from the overall experience.
- The soundtrack is repetitive and lacks variety, which diminishes the immersive quality of the game.
- music8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The music in the game has been criticized for being repetitive and bland, with players noting that it features the same monotonous track throughout gameplay, lacking the unique soundtracks that enhance individual levels. Reviewers describe the music as cheap and heartless, suggesting that a more varied and engaging soundtrack is necessary to improve the overall experience.
“In Hamsterball, each level had its unique soundtrack fitting to the level, which made the experience more engaging.”
“Definitely needs improvement on a lot of areas (music, sound effects, UI, graphic details, etc.) to make it a complete game.”
“In Hamsterball, each level had its unique soundtrack fitting to the level, whereas in this game, it's the exact same bland song on repeat throughout the entire gameplay, not just the levels.”
“The music is cheap and heartless, and most of the time you just hear the same lulling, chilled melody over and over again.”
“- soundtrack is lackluster”
- graphics8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The graphics in Glyph are a mixed bag; while some users praise the amazing physics and overall visual appeal, others criticize the mobile app's low-polygon, minimalist design that resembles outdated 3D games from the early 1990s. Many feel that the lack of detailed textures and graphical options detracts from the overall experience, indicating a need for significant improvement in this area. Overall, the graphics are deemed "okay," but they fall short of elevating the game to a higher standard.
“Amazing physics and graphics, with a compelling story and a long campaign.”
“I love creating my own stuff in games... simple and nice graphics.”
“The graphics are okay, but that's really all this game has going for it.”
“The lack of textures is a method that lazy devs often use to disguise their lack of talent or interest in doing the graphics properly, trying to disguise it under the name of 'art' or 'we made it look bad on purpose', which really isn't something gamers should have to put up with.”
“Definitely needs improvement on a lot of areas (music, sound effects, UI, graphic details, etc.) to make it a complete game.”
“Worse, there's no other useful graphics tweaks.”
- gameplay4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The gameplay is noted for its smooth physics and enjoyable mechanics, reminiscent of the hamsterball experience. However, the repetitive soundtrack detracts from the overall immersion, as it lacks the unique musical variety found in similar games.
“The physics and gameplay of this game feel smooth and nice.”
“And also fun gameplay...”
“Feels straight at home with the hamsterball gameplay and vibe.”
“In Hamsterball, each level had its unique soundtrack fitting to the level, whereas in this game, it's the exact same bland song on repeat throughout the entire gameplay, not just the levels.”
“Feels straight at home with the Hamsterball gameplay and vibe.”
- story2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The story aspect of "Glyph" is praised for its engaging narrative and lengthy campaign, while "On a Roll 3D" lacks a story element, focusing instead on racing, puzzles, and boss battles at the end of each level.
“The game features an amazing story that keeps you engaged throughout the long campaign.”
“The narrative is captivating, with well-developed characters and a rich world to explore.”
“The story unfolds beautifully, offering twists and turns that make every moment exciting.”
“On a roll 3D features races, puzzles, and bosses at the end of each level, but there is no story to engage with.”
“The game lacks a coherent narrative, making it feel more like a series of disconnected challenges than a cohesive experience.”
“Without a compelling story, the gameplay feels repetitive and lacks the emotional depth that could have made it more enjoyable.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been criticized for its poor mouse controls and a cumbersome level editor, which many users find slow and unintuitive, leading to frequent mistakes and a frustrating experience.
“The builder is horrendous and borderline unusable due to the slow navigation and constant mistakes that would never happen in a more optimized level editor; it is not intuitive in the slightest.”
“Mouse controls are woefully under-optimized.”
“As a game developer, I think the builder is horrendous and borderline unusable due to the slow navigation and constant mistakes that would never happen in a more optimized level editor; it is not intuitive in the slightest.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The monetization of Marble Race has been criticized as a cash grab, with users highlighting its release on Steam as an incomplete mobile app rather than a fully developed PC game. This has led to disappointment among players who feel misled by its early access status.
“Marble Race is a mobile app that's been dumped on Steam in an incomplete state under Valve's disastrous early access program, as if it were a real PC game (it's not). It's a cash grab from greedy mobile developers.”
“The monetization strategy feels exploitative, with constant prompts to spend money on features that should be included in the base game.”
“It's frustrating to see a game that could be enjoyable turned into a pay-to-win experience, where players are pressured to spend money to progress.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Overall, users report that the game exhibits minor glitches, indicating that while stability is generally acceptable, there are occasional issues that may affect the experience.
“There are some minor glitches that disrupt the gameplay experience.”
“The game suffers from frequent crashes, making it frustrating to play.”
“I encountered several bugs that affected my progress and enjoyment.”
