Marble Mountain may not have been the biggest or most-complex game at PAX South 2016. But the upcoming PC release, inspired by other momentum-based platformers like Super Monkey Ball, was easily one of the most relaxing (but difficult) projects on the convention floor.
Marble Mountain is a VR-compatible platformer being developed by Lightning Rock, an independent studio based in Canberra, Australia. Players guide a marble through a variety of mazes, obstacles and other dangers, rounding up collectables hidden throughout each level. As your collection grows, new marbles and decorative hats will be unlocked, giving the player the ability to customize their avatar. But the core gameplay remains the same no matter which sphere you choose.
Admittedly, it’s a pretty simple concept; possibly one of the most basic we’ve seen in the last few years. But Marble Mountain is also surprisingly addicting. After finishing the moderately difficult level Lightning Rock had been showing to PAX South attendees, a member of the studio offered to let me try one of the game’s tougher courses. Naturally, I accepted…and spent the next ten minutes swearing under my breath as my marble careened off one surface after another. But I wouldn’t relent. I needed to beat it.
Lightning Rock uses all manner of tricks to keep things interesting in Marble Mountain. There are rails and tubes reminiscent of the pathways seen on pinball tables. Ramps and bridges provide their own challenges, frequently stretching out across deep chasms or long drops to lower levels. And your marble isn’t especially durable, cracking if it the distance fallen is much farther than twice its own height. That lack of wiggle room forces players to keep an eye on the marble’s momentum, making adjustments as needed to keep from crashing into an obstacle or rolling off into the void. Fortunately, checkpoint spread throughout each level let players master each scenario one segment at a time.
The game can be played on a normal monitor but, without a doubt, the best way to experience Marble Mountain is in virtual reality. We might suggest using something a bit shorter than the bar stool set up in the Lightning Rock booth whenever you begin your own Marble Mountain adventures. There was more than one occasion when we thought we might fall off the seat. But there’s nothing like the feeling you get in the pit of your stomach while playing a great VR game. And Marble Mountain does a great job of making you feel like a deity looking down on the action, rather than a player sitting at their computer.
To get a closer look at the action in Marble Mountain, take a minute to check out the game’s official trailer. Then head down to the comments section and let us know whether or not you’ll be keeping an eye out for the platformer when it debuts later this year.
Marble Mountain is being developed for PC, Mac and Linux, with both HTC Vive and Oculus Rift support planned for launch. The game is expected to debut sometime in Q2 2016.
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