Marble Mountain is a nice, simple setup. You roll a pretty marble around some treacherous, gorgeous tracks until you reach a golden elevator at the end. Simple, right? Actually, that’s one of the nicest features of Marble Mountain. While some courses are a bit tricky, and reaching the extra golden bonuses in each level can be an extra bit of challenge, the game is very soothing. Most games are not in the business of being soothing, so it is an interesting addition, to say the least.
In Marble Mountain, players can expect enemies, traps and some very enjoyable detours. Some simple strategics will be all you need. The game telling you what to do also helps.The environments are quite nice to look at, with vibrant colors and quite a bit of detail put into the background. Rolling around at a leisurely pace is almost a meditative practice. For those who want an even more calming experience, Marble Mountain is also Oculus VR and HTC Vive compatible. I didn’t get the opportunity to play it in VR personally, but it looks promising.
Perhaps the only trouble that players might face comes from the camera. The camera moves in a scripted manner, which means that players cannot adjust it as they please. The scripted changes are well done, but for anyone who is trying to maintain speed, it can be a bit of a pain. Turning a tight corner with the camera facing one way will, as an example, take it a bit to actually swing around and adjust. The slow adjustment speed does keep the camera from moving about in a jerky or vomit-inducing manner, granted, but taking camera control out of the player’s hands just makes it feel tedious to deal with. It’s a shame, because without the camera issues, Marble Mountain does a great job of dealing with the angles and speed of the marble while it is in motion.
Headphone users beware, Marble Mountain has a great soundtrack. Its bouncy, fun, energetic and loves to blare out like a horn of war. Quite the contrast to how relaxing the gameplay can be, but that gives it a particular charm. The music is never obnoxious, but it definitely makes its presence known.
In short, Marble Mountain is a barrel of relaxing fun. The difficulty is nothing to write home about, but the visuals and soundtrack all keep the game flowing and enjoyable. Again, the only real issue comes from the scripted camera turns and adjustments throughout the level. Use a bit of caution when turning corners or changing elevation and you should be just fine. If you want a relaxing game to just drift away on while still giving your brain its game cravings, definitely check out Marble Mountain.
