![]() ![]() The actual puzzles are rather well-executed, and some of them are quite thoughtful. Hardcore mode, meanwhile, is so punishing that it will only appeal to the most dedicated and/or masochistic of gamers – though the team is to be commended for providing some truly challenging, and entirely optional, difficulty to their game. The online time comparison is a nice touch, but probably won’t appeal to most gamers – the scoreboards are already dominated by players who have level completion down to a science, and the static nature of the game’s content ensures that barring terrifying levels of perfection, the top ranks of the boards are going to remain exactly as they are. Beyond this, a ‘hardcore’ mode is available, tasking you with having to complete the levels perfectly and in order, with failures sending you back to the beginning of the previous level. In addition to the 30 ‘normal’ challenges themselves, Lost Marbles also offers some amount of online competition by way of recording and posting (if you login to the Binary Takeover’s service) how long it took you to finish any given level. ![]() Pressing space activates your marble’s aforementioned special abilities, while the E key lets you switch between marbles on levels where more than one is present to control. The controls are incredibly simple, particularly for a desktop setup – simply roll your ball with the W/A/S/D keys, and alter your camera angle by moving the mouse. The game features 30 total levels, divided into 3 sets of 10 worlds each – with world 1 focused on control of a single marble, world 2 focused on control of 2 marbles, and all three marbles represented for world 3. The puzzle variety is diverse, and strikes a nice balance between hand-eye coordination style challenges (such as jumping from platform to platform without falling, while said platforms move toward and away from each other), and straight up puzzles (such as figuring out which buttons on the field need to be pressed down by the presence of a marble or block in order to allow the progress of another marble to continue). ![]() All of the marbles must reach the end of any given level in order for the stage to be completed, and lengthier puzzles tend to have mid-level ‘checkpoints’ you can restart at in the event of a (wait for it) lost marble, rather than having to play the entire level from the beginning. As you progress through the three ‘worlds’ of Lost Marbles, you’ll face increasingly complicated puzzles – including ones that require you to control two, and later three, marbles each level. Third, a metal marble that can be affected by magnets, ignore hazards like fire and spikes, and suddenly rush forward to slam through barriers or launch itself in the air via ramps. Second, a paper marble that can shrink its size to fit into smaller spaces and be carried away on targeted gusts of wind. There are three types of marbles you’ll control: First, a rubber marble that can jump, survive in water and nullify electrical damage. Lost Marbles’ concept is pretty straightforward: control and guide a marble, or marbles, from the beginning of a level to the end, and – if you have a competitive itch you like to scratch – do so as quickly and efficiently as possible. While at $9.99 it’s asking a bit much in a world of cheap, well-polished indie titles and deep discounts, the creative puzzle challenges it poses to the player – along with a very intuitive, simple control scheme – make it worth a look from anyone eager to add another challenging title to their puzzle game library. That’s a pretty unique mash-up between a pair of solid, if disparate titles – but Lost Marbles proves that it’s a combination with real potential. Indie team Binary Takeover gets right to the point in advertising their latest release, Lost Marbles: it’s a game that combines the smooth 3D ball-rolling mechanics of Marble Madness with the ‘manage up to three characters at once’ perspective of classic puzzler The Lost Vikings. ![]()
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