After the last entry took way too long to finish, I needed something smaller and simpler to cover. And boy, did I find it.
Within A Marbelous Maze is a game by WaveParadigm, with music by Cammy (who readers of this blog may remember from Realm of Chaos 25th Anniversary Edition.) Made for a metroidvania jam that lasted a month, I found this through the composer's other work, and was very pleasantly surprised by it's aesthetic chops.
Then I played it, and couldn't put it down for about an hour and ten minutes. The marble physics were too good. This is one of those games that puts you in a bit of a meditative state, and doesn't let you go until it's over.
AESTHETICS- THE SHINY SURFACE
Thankfully, Marbelous Maze doesn't sacrifice gameplay for aesthetics. The important things are always clearly standing out from the environment, ready to catch your eye. The distinct pattern of the checkpoints, the brown buttons on white stone, it's all immediately apparent without being garish.
This game's use of color is very pleasing- a standout example being this moment where you get past the springs course in the park, and see the giant red structure on the distance, framed by stone walls and big green trees. It's very eye-catching.
I especially love how the water looks in this game- it's inviting and wavy-textured, just like how low-poly water should be. And it doesn't hurt that in areas like this, you're invited to jump right into enormous pools of it.
The audio is just as important of an ingredient here, as well. The subtle sound of the marble rolling along the ground is like ASMR to accompany the gentle MIDI tunes. Speaking of those!
Music wizard Cammy composed five original tracks for this game, and they are all VERY good. Very different from their other work that I've heard in RoC25, but great nonetheless.
BASIC GAMEPLAY- THE SOLID CORE
There are five marbles in the game, and the starting one is the Steel marble, unable to do much more than run and jump. Barrels are scattered all around, and you can tag out which marble you're using freely there.
The controls are relatively simple, with you just rolling around your little marble and using the physics to your advantage. You have a fair bit of leeway when it comes to turning and stopping, but not so much that it feels unrealistic. Basically, this is how a marble SHOULD feel to play.
At the start, all you can do is jump- but that changes, soon enough. The first area, the Park, is a gentle course designed to get you used to the controls, with plenty of wide-open turns and stairwells to roll around on and jump your way up.
There are also buttons to push to open up new pathways or shortcuts, like this spring at the start, or various doors all around to open the path forward. Checkpoint placement is relatively sparse, but the game doesn't go hard enough difficulty-wise to disrupt the flow. That's not to say it won't make you sweat a bit- but it never stops being inviting, rather than repellent.
Throughout the game you'll get a LOT of use out of the different marble types, and how they interact with the world in different ways. From now on, I'm boutta dig into the nitty-gritty design of the rest of the game, so if you want to play this, stop reading and do it. It won't take more than an hour of your time.
NAVIGATING THE MARBELOUS MAZE
Back to the Park, it's a fairly standard opening area. The hardest part of navigating is the springs, and they're still not much to deal with. But they are very satisfying to bounce off of, especially when there's more than one in a row.
Once you get to the central area, simple puzzles start popping up, like this lightbulb. You have to power it up with a nearby generator, but it's inaccessible for now. But it is worth noting that the Steel marble can be charged by generators- all of the marble types have fun alternate uses like this, and it makes it very fun to discover them all.
Trying stuff all around doesn't work, but the only thing that does is this ominous temple, and the giant portal in the pool of water in front of it- that takes you to the CISTERN.
The Cistern is slightly more oppressive, with its dark blue, piping everywhere, and slow pounding music. It's definitely more imposing than the Park, but no less inviting, daring you to plumb its secrets. It's probably my favorite area in the game for its sheer density- I spent a lot longer here than other areas owing to its nonlinearity.
Once you get out of the water, you'll have to do some slightly trickier jumps over floating chunks of wood, but it's still easing you into the experience of being a marble. Nothing too crazy- yet.
But then you get your first new marble- the WOOD MARBLE, which lets you float on water. Immediately, the Cistern is your oyster to explore, blasting open the sandbox of this watery dungeon. This game does this a lot- forcing you to navigate a slightly treacherous area, only to give you the tool to navigate it in a whole new way.
For example, the Wood Marble can also be lit on fire, and used to light all the torches around the area, often having to rush across platforms over water to do so before the time runs out.
Travelling onward, you'll find the CALDERA, the resident fire area of the game. Covered in lava, and considerably more jovial than the last place. It's definitely more dangerous. But with danger comes cool new gimmicks.
Like, say, using a flaming Wood Marble to launch yourself off these hot coals? Yeah, the Wood Marble definitely has the most uses out of any of the five.
This part is the first major test of your mobility, climbing up these cliffs and rolling across a long bridge of rotating platforms to light the torch, all while that meter is ticking down. There's a lot of puzzles like this, demanding more and more precise movement.
Soon, you'll get to use the electrified Steel Marble to activate batteries that create platforms for a limited time- tick tock, tick tock! You'd better not fall off!
Everywhere you go, you're opening up new paths for yourself with various switches and doodads, and it's immensely satisfying to unlock all the little pieces of the puzzle box. This level design is fantastic.
Soon, you'll find another portal to take you back to the Park, and yet another use for the flaming wood marble, melting ice, becomes apparent. After this, you get your next ability, the ICE MARBLE. It can't jump, but it has other uses.
Like, say, FREEZING AN ENTIRE LAKE WITH ONE TOUCH? Complete with dramatic camera zoom to show off just how much real estate you've just made for yourself.
You'll get back into the Cistern again, and start learning how to deal with the Ice Marble's lack of jump- launching yourself off of small ramps, sending yourself flying through the air to your destination. Which is great for getting you out of places you can't otherwise.
But more importantly, freezing the water inside lets you access new areas, like this vault-looking place.
But first, you can go across the water to the temple with the Ice Marble, open the door, and enter the fourth area...
The RUINS. Purple, menacing, and yet spellbinding, this is my favorite place in the game aesthetics-wise, aided significantly by its music. "Egyptian Coffee" is an unfitting name for a track this good.
The giant twisting spires, the purple light in the distance, this place looks AMAZING.
Right from the start there's some tricky angled platforms to run across, bouncing off springs to get past the opening room. And it keeps ramping up- the Marbelous Maze is no longer interested in babying you.
Unlike most other areas in the game, the Ruins are harshly linear, focused on simple execution challenges like this pit configuration with the torch and generators. And I appreciate the change of pace- this game has a remarkably consistent difficulty curve considering its short length.
Once you get to the end and hit the button, though, the area surrounding you fills with lava. What can get you out of this? Why, the GYRO MARBLE, which lets you float down slowly from a jump. Immedaitely useful for getting out of this conundrum, isn't it?
You'll be making death defying leaps all the way back to the Ruins' entrance, over pits of lava- and water. the gyro marble is weak to water, perhaps because it's so thin. Still, it's a great return trip.
Now you can finally get over a hidden slide with all the lasers in the Cistern, and exploit the gyro marble's floating to slide up some really tall steps. With that, you'll enter the final area, the VAULT.
This is the final challenge, giving you everything you need to push your little marble to the limit. From giant laser grids to huge lava pits, this place has it all! And you'll be tested on your jumping abilities right from the get go.
Not just with the Gyro marble, but with the comparatively less skilled Steel one, too. Climbing all the way up while keeping your electric charge, it's a stern test indeed.
And for your reward, you get the final marble type, the GLASS MARBLE. It can roll through lasers no problem, but at a steep cost- it's the only marble to suffer fall damage. Somewhat obviously. So extreme care is necessary.
Sadly, this marble doesn't get nearly enough time to shine before the game is over- most of the challenges surrounding it require more patience than quick reflexes. But there is one final burst of excitement that you can get out of it...
Namely, this enormous sequence of spring bounces- one drop, and you fall down. A bit of a difficulty spike, this- but a satisfying one to pull off. Sadly, you don't get much more use out of the Glass Marble after this.
After you escape the Vault, you can finally get through a grid of lasers in the ice section of the Park, climb up some ramps, finally get back to the start, freeze the lake, and find the elevator to the exit. I bumbled about trying to find this for a lot longer than I thought, and it's kind of a disappointing ending- but that's the way with game jam projects, I suppose.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
For a game jam project, this is insanely good. The aesthetics are to die for, with a very distinct look and atmosphere supplemented by some jamming MIDIS. The physics are so much fun to mess around with, supported by the excellent level design. And the different marble types are SO cool, I could totally see a lot more stuff done with them.
Imagining this kind of gameplay with more stuff to collect scattered all around tickles my brain heavily.
If this gets expanded into a full release at any point, I will guarantee an entry on this blog for it. But for now, this is a lovely little bite-sized adventure.
GAME LINK:
https://waveparadigm.itch.io/within-a-marbelous-maze
SOUNDTRACK LINK:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1Bx3lNWB1w&list=PLxg39PZVcnV0adH3t_BXZ-24S6CwQw-vC