Marble World
- September 30, 2022
- Vector Interactive
- 9h median play time
Get on Steam"Marble World" is a 3D platformer game where you control a marble and navigate through various levels with different obstacles and challenges. The game features a level editor, allowing players to create and share their own custom levels. Gameplay involves physics-based puzzles, accuracy, and quick reflexes to roll, jump, and bump your way to the goal.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game is a fun and creative sandbox for building marble tracks, allowing for endless customization and experimentation.
- The physics are satisfying, and watching marbles race down the tracks is enjoyable and nostalgic.
- The developer is responsive to community feedback and regularly updates the game, adding new features and fixing bugs.
- The controls and user interface are clunky and unintuitive, making it difficult for new players to learn how to build tracks effectively.
- The game can be prone to crashes, especially when spawning a large number of marbles or using complex track designs.
- There is a lack of tutorials or guidance for beginners, which can lead to frustration when trying to understand the mechanics.
- gameplay17 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the marble simulator is characterized by its charming marble rolling mechanics and creative levels, offering a pleasant experience despite some frustrations with complex controls and mechanics that may overwhelm new players. While the game features a robust building system and enjoyable sandbox elements, the lack of intuitive controls and a desire for more customization options have been noted as areas for improvement. Overall, it appeals to fans of physics-based games but may require patience to fully appreciate its depth.
“Marble World is a charming game focused on marble rolling mechanics.”
“The game’s creative levels and smooth gameplay make it a pleasant experience, though it might not be as captivating for extended play.”
“Seeing how I've grown up in the older days of gaming, with all manners of creative gameplay on offer throughout the decades, I'd never have thought that I'd come to so greatly enjoy a marble simulator game of all kinds, with how simplistic a game it can initially appear mechanically, yet there is so much more under the hood that bursts with that creative ingenuity only rivaled by the likes of Media Molecule's LittleBigPlanet or Mojang's Minecraft among others!”
“A lot of the mechanics are frustrating, like the fact you can auto-follow marbles during a race based on their positioning, but not during free-form play (marble runs).”
“However, I have to warn you that the controls are not intuitive at all and the actual building mechanic is in dire need of improvement.”
“Complex mechanics for creating tracks may be off-putting for some, even with tutorials provided.”
- graphics9 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 22 % neutral mentions
- 22 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beautiful visuals and vibrant colors, contributing to an enjoyable experience for players of all ages. However, some users find the graphics to be somewhat overwhelming or "loud," which can detract from gameplay, particularly when combined with challenging controls. Overall, the visuals are considered a strong point, enhancing the game's appeal.
“Beautiful visuals and a colorful world.”
“Great dev, friendly community, game for everyone, heavily updated, amazing visuals, awesome gameplay, no negative things to say about this game!”
“Love this game! Great time killer, amazing graphics and physics.”
“The graphics are a bit... loud.”
“Very fun game and very enjoyable for a family who's been watching 2D graphic marble runs on YouTube.”
- stability8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is generally mixed, with some users reporting occasional bugs and glitches, particularly during track building and marble movement. While there are notable issues like freezing after extended play and marbles getting stuck or no-clipping, many players still find the experience enjoyable and worth the minor frustrations. Overall, the game is considered fun despite its stability concerns.
“Things just felt a bit too buggy, and I wish there was some sort of quick setup mode for those who only want to race marbles instead of build tracks.”
“Building is quite janky, and there are some major glitches, such as marbles no-clipping through sections or stopping dead on a decline for no reason.”
“Having glitches with pieces disappearing when selected.”
- humor7 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by its entertaining crashes and amusing gameplay, making it a popular choice for social events and streaming. Players find it particularly funny to watch others play, with references to specific content creators enhancing the comedic experience. Overall, the game is seen as a source of laughter and fun among friends.
“If you want to watch someone play this game and do really funny stuff, you should watch Mr. Stickman on YouTube.”
“Haha, funny marbles go brrr.”
“We started to use this game on our server events for races to distribute Discord Nitro and random funny presents between our friends.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game excessively tedious and time-consuming, often requiring meticulous manual effort to achieve desired results. The repetitive nature of the tasks detracts from the overall enjoyment, making it feel like a chore rather than a fun activity.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“Even still, my only option would be to specifically set it to every single piece manually, which is so much tedious work it kills the fun.”
“Making your own map is very tedious.”
“Too bad you have to do it custom by hand, and to get a good loop it's super tedious.”
- story5 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game is polarizing; while some users note a lack of narrative, others praise the storytelling and world-building as exceptional, highlighting its immersive qualities and accessibility for players.
“Marble World is a masterpiece with 10/10 storytelling and world-building. It's immersive and pretty easy to pick up and play.”
“No story.”
“No story.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews; while some players report significant lag and clunky controls even on high-end systems, others praise its surprisingly smooth performance, achieving 40-60 fps with a large number of marbles despite being in alpha development. Overall, the experience varies greatly depending on individual setups and expectations.
“It's surprisingly very well optimized despite being in alpha development, so you can probably race a few thousand marbles with a decent computer and still get 40-60 fps (the most I tried was 546 marbles, and it ran perfectly at 60 fps).”
“Runs smoothly.”
“This game looked so fun until you played it yourself. The controls are really clunky, the game is laggy and unoptimized, even with a beefy computer. Once you start getting marbles in, it breaks your game. I played and watched any video I could find to help out on it, and it just made it worse. I couldn't even make a simple tiny track, and I wouldn't recommend it unless you want to spend hours upon hours figuring it out or downloading things from Steam. It's better just to watch people play.”
- music3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The music in the game is memorable and evokes strong nostalgia, with a calming quality that complements creative gameplay before transitioning into more chaotic themes. While some tracks are not copyrighted, they may feel familiar, particularly those by Kevin MacLeod. Overall, the soundtrack enhances the gaming experience significantly.
“You can enjoy the calm music while you do something creative, and then watch it turn into chaos and action as marbles scatter everywhere.”
“I've lost my Windows computer now, but the memories are just great. I can hear the music in my head, so I recommend it strongly. Have a nice day!”
“The music... well, it's not copyrighted, so expect some *ahem* Kevin MacLeod.”
“The soundtrack feels repetitive and lacks variety, making it hard to stay engaged.”
“The background music is bland and forgettable, failing to enhance the gaming experience.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game evokes a strong sense of nostalgia, making players feel youthful and joyful, while also being described as genuinely wholesome and suitable for family enjoyment.
“Made me feel like a kid again!”
“Unironically wholesome and family-friendly.”
