‘Marble It Up’ Nintendo Switch Review: High Roller

The Nintendo Switch has its fair share of indie games, but there are some that you might miss entirely while you go after other favorites like Dead Cells and Wandersong (both of which are worth getting, by the way). And one of those games is Marble It Up, which appears to be a combination of Super Monkey Ball and the early Xbox Live Arcade release Marble Blast Ultra. It's a pretty good game, if you can just manage to get over a couple of things.

The concept of Marble It Up is quite similar to Monkey Ball, as you roll around complex stages to get to the finish in the quickest amount of time. There are some interesting caveats that the developers at Bad Habit Productions threw in, though.
The first is with power-ups. Some are convenient, like time stoppers that can save you a few precious seconds on the clock while you try to finish the course as fast as you can. But there are others that require precision, like a super jump that, utilized the wrong way, can send you flying off into the abyss. There's also neat sections where gravity can be your ally and you can roll along walls and ceilings -- a nice twist (literally!) for the genre.

Fortunately, the game's early stages give you a chance to get used to the controls, which are actually very good. Maneuvering your marble through early stages feels like second nature, and the realistic physics are welcome, although they could pose a problem if you're going a wee bit too fast off a jump. Hey, that's on you, bud.

The game also benefits from a simple presentation. The graphics look great, resembling Marble Blast Ultra in certain ways but also standing out with its in-depth course design. The use of colors is quite noteworthy as well, so no two courses really look the same. And I also enjoyed the soothing beats of the music, even if it's not as inventive a soundtrack as I've heard in other indies.