Marble It Up! Ultra

Story goes that the team behind this game is (mostly) the same team behind Marble Blast: Ultra! It's SUCH a shame this game doesn't have any more people talking about it as I wish there were, because Marble Blast: Ultra is one of the best games I've ever played (and I play a LOT of games, through steam and other console generations, including emulation)

If you're looking for a way to play Marble Blast: Ultra, there is a Discord server with people who have reverse-engineered the game and made it work at 100% capacity with additional options taking advantage of the PC platform called "OpenMBU". I HIGHLY recommend giving them a holler if you're ever wanting to revisit this gem (pun intended)

good marble

marbol

wish they had a multiplayer racing mode, something like the campaign but co-op. or even come up with more multiplayer game modes.

good if you want to spend a long time on one achievement for a cosmetic and not even get the cosmetic when you do get the achievement


its also the rarest achievement i have in all of my games ever played

“The joy of rolling”
-Bob Roll
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If you, like me, like to optimize routes for a decent time, Marble It Up is probably one of the most unassuming rage-inducing games you’ll ever play.

Gameplay

You control a marble that has some friction and maintains quite the momentum.
That’s it.

Super simple, the challenge comes from how the stages themselves are set up, maybe one asks you to build up as much speed as possible, while another feels more like an obstacle course when it’s where and when to jump, and another yet asks you to collect gems before able to proceed to the exit making you set up a mental map of the route to take for a low time.

X-Factor

Looks pretty, and it’s perfect if you want to play something for pure gameplay and have a knack for always trying to go for a shortcut and optimize your times.

Downsides

None.
The only downside comes from yourself wanting to optimize your traversing and ending up struggling against the physics system of the game.
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The trailer paints a clear picture of what exactly you’re going to get.
Now, 30 dollars may be a steep price for just rolling marbles but with frequent big discounts (I got mine at 60% off at 12 dollars) and the classic version coming bundled with it makes for a better deal.

This is my go to game when I want to turn off my brain and enjoy some solid gameplay and level design. Since playing Ballance I do have a soft spot for marble games and this scratched the itch perfectly. Solid physics, great level design and it can get fairly hard in later levels but nothing extreme.

marble

let me start by saying that the game still is good, but the main thing i'm docking it for is stuff the devs say it has, and are no longer working as far as i know. Multiplayer is MIA, Weeklies aren't functioning, and all this stuff about needing an account seems to be lacking a means to actually get an account for.
EDIT: online seems fixed now!

that said god i still wish that marble was me.

insanely underrated

This is the best marble rolling game on the marble rolling game market. It does exactly what it say on the box. You marble it up. Ultra. 10/10.

The game ultimately leaves me frustrated because the core mechanics seem fleshed out and the ideas you see in each level are diverse and creative, but the actual tuning of each level to the physics of the ball makes for one of the more unpleasant platformers that I've played.

A majority of levels feel so awkward that when I am pushing to get quick times, because the game incentivizes you with rewards for doing that, I often fail at points that feel out of my control. If I am looking to survive a level and not necessarily trying for a good level time, I still feel forced to play in a style that feels like I am killing a lot of the momentum of both the literal ball and the immersion. It feels to me like many of the levels are built to encourage you to play at certain speeds but don't actually allow you to do that, whether that be on sections of long straightaways that make the speed pointless with sharp turns or more careful platforming that includes way too many moving platforms that you have to wait through. Mind you these are only a few examples of frustrating parts, but honestly with the right balancing most of these annoying sections could be turned into satisfying constraints.

So it isn't a terrible game, just a very puzzling decision to me for the developers to come close making a good game but stopping just short of actually making most of the levels themselves all that satisfying. It is not as fun as the much older games in the series and the price tag is steep enough that I don't recommend this entry

Very good physics engine - the marble reacts to it's rotation and bounces off surfaces as you expect it to.

Good optimisation.

Amazing graphics and visual level design, as well as marbles themselves.

marbol

MABRLE

got this after feeling nostalgic about Marble Blast Ultra from xbox 360, definitely scratched the itch

This game is a fun spiritual successor to the maybe not-so-well-known Xbox Live Arcade game Marble Blast Ultra. The physics are really fun and going really fast can be a BLAST! But, if you're not into marble physics or slightly less tight platforming than this isn't for you. If you do like those things, well perfect it is for you!!!

Is good

Actually worth $30 to roll some marbles. Not sure why, but it is.

i've got balls of steel

Trackmania, if it had balls

Madness, madness, madness! This what I think when I lose because I want all the diamonds and don't have any right to make a mistake that will cause to lose 0.4 seconds! If you buy this game you will get very fun 3D precision platformer, though it's okay to take only copper because every level has enough checkpoints for casuals. And for real you has to have not only skill but also wit and ability to plan (those levels with gems, traveling salesman problem, all these things). Good game, for short.

Played this on Apple Arcade, got about halfway through, and marathoned the PC version over the holiday.

If you have any level of nostalgia for Marble Blast Ultra, you're in the right place. Tight controls, good visuals, lot of features here.

Main caveat I have - getting Gold time on every level is VERY difficult, as some of the later Chapters have levels that are too long, are far too punishing with any mistakes, or are deliberately obtuse - keep this in mind!

this is a good update, don't know what they're yapping about

roll around and jump around as an orb

round

Hey there, I was wondering on how to make your own level in this game. Could you tell me how? Thanks!

it not woke

wave pool diamond put me on suicide watch

Explaining why this game is good is like explaining why lasagna is good: yeah, I could probably say something basic, like every element comes together, or that everything is exactly what you would expect from a glance (and even better), but at the end of the day that's kind of pointless.

I'll only say that it is definitely worth the money. I've actually already played this game for 30+ hours on Switch, but mods on PC really made it hard to not buy it again.

Stages are hit or miss. Unlockables are nice. Bouncing the marble is fun, recommended.

It's good. The levels are well-designed and the soundtrack is nice, much like the older Marble Blast games.
The graphics are pretty decent. The Intel iGPU in my computer ran the game just well enough for it to be enjoyable so it should definitely run very smooth with whatever you may have.
If you liked Marble Blast Ultra/Gold, you will love this game too

It's a very pretty game but not really my kind of thing, must've been unlucky cause the online mode was also kinda dead.

If you lose your marbles over well, marbles, then by all means pick this up.

An excellent Steam Deck game

It's pretty much Marble Blast Ultra and that's just what I wanted. Great low-intensity game with plenty to unlock and enough challenge for any player. A good game to play while stoned.

This game had me losing my marbles. BUY A SPARE KEYBOARD YOU WILL NEED IT

It's fun, but not $30 fun. Get it on sale. I'd recommend it as a nostalgic platformer that's enjoyable enough for a few hours

Marble physics makes monkey brain go numb.

Good Game.

Martial's Blast Ultra.

this game is both immensely satisfying and immensely painful; i both love and hate the people who designed this game

from all that i have played, this was a good experience. worth the 30 dollars.

fix the cloud save pls

2/3 of the levels feel either extremely poorly designed or outright untested.

The funnies precision platformer I have ever played. I started on Mayhem and got all diamonds and top 5 on 3 levels. I bought this game to continue speedrunning. It's too much fun that it made me play for a year+!

Dead Multiplayer

Sequel please

yes

+beautiful, colorful levels
+decent soundtrack
+collectables
+can tell they cared about the details
+comes with the original version some of the negative reviews seem to prefer (you get Marble it Up! and Marble it Up! Ultra as two separate games)
+workshop
+nice controls and gameplay elements

-base price is kind of high.
-some levels are frustrating on the last area
-i don't like the gem collecting levels

I bought this game out of love for the original Marble Blast on macOS & the Xbox 360, and this spiritual successor definitely delivers. If you have a Steam Deck, I would highly recommend buying this game. It's been great for playing on/off in between work. It officially supports the Deck's controller configurations and button layouts!