Glyph Switch Review – Just Roll With It

Did you ever wonder what Marble Madness looked like in its ancient Egyptian days? No? Are you sure? Well, that’s Glyph, a platformer in the sands of time that feels like equal parts Marble Madness and Super Mario, with a pinch of ancient civilization and modern technology… yeah. I heard myself, and that does sound bizarre. But that is exactly what we are dealing with!

So is this bouncing and jumping marble-like object with transformative abilities worth its weight in gold? Or should this game be buried out in the desert along with the failed Atari games of 1983? Well, let’s find out!

The story in Glyph is a fun yet simple one. The machines of the area have been corrupted, and they ruined a once great civilization. Essentially, their greatest achievement, these monumental discoveries and creations, became their downfall.

It is up to Glyph, the titular character and a ball that can turn into a scarab, to cleanse the corrupted heart of creation and save the day! At first, the temple of Aaru is buried beneath the sands of the desert, and it is up to you to collect powerful gems and other items that help to restore the city en route to facing the corruption.

You also have an ally in Anubi who assists you along the way and is hidden in most every level to give you some guidance. Anubi’s speech bubbles seem a bit out of place, but their role is great and very, very helpful.

A game like this, that feels more like a Marble Madness or a Marble Blast Ultra, doesn’t necessarily need a story, and yet the developers took the time and effort to give context to the situation and build a world that has actual meaning. It is exciting, fun, and definitely a positive addition to a game that is perfectly fine without it.

The game itself is an alternative to the marble games already listed. Although Glyph claims to be an “open world” game, I have to strongly disagree. This is a linear experience where your only real choice is deciding what order you want to tackle levels and how you want to spend your gems to resurrect the temple of Aaru. It is open in the sense that you can decide which level you want to tackle next in a certain section, similar to how Mario can choose which paintings to jump into in Super Mario 64, but new levels and areas are still locked until you gain the resources needed to access them.

Controls are very similar to games like Marble Blast Ultra where you roll your marble, bounce and jump, and even transform into a scarab that gives you short-term flight. It is that last bit that gives Glyph something significantly more unique than similar games, but the scarab flight is also a double-edged sword, since the trajectory of the flight can throw you a lot faster in one direction than you expect, causing you to land on lethal sands and other red obstacles. However, transforming into the scarab is a ton of fun and adds so much more to the experience.

Stages, for the most part, are pretty massive, and they are littered with coins, gems, keys, and secrets to find. Anubi rests somewhere on each of the Exploration levels and gives you a clue as to where the secrets are, and these secrets are worth getting because they unlock new avatars in the cosmetic menu which are fantastic.

There are also other levels seldomly spread out that are Time Trials, and these are relatively short stages where you need to beat particular times in order to unlock gems. Personally, I found the Exploration levels to be much more entertaining, as they provide a better overall experience and represent the game normally. Time Trial just feels like an addition added for the sake of existing, but if you beat the best times in these levels, you do gain another cosmetic unlock called trails that add more flair to your avatar… so… worth it.

The ball does feel very floaty, which takes some getting used to. This combined with the aerial trajectory of the scarab flight can be quite frustrating at times. Thankfully, levels do not usually take more than 10 minutes to complete, so some of these minor frustrations tend to pass quickly. However, if you are not good at these types of platformers, be prepared for a rude awakening, because this game is not easy.

Although the controls are smooth, simple, and effective, mastering them takes a lot of time and practice. A nice addition to help with difficulty is the circle indicator under the ball to let you know where you are to help with depth perception, so that’s nice.

Unfortunately, some levels just aren’t kind, and the difficulty markers are pretty much meaningless when assessing difficulties 2, 3, and 4 (On a Difficulty 5 scale). I found numerous levels that were poorly rated, like Hillside Retreat, a Difficulty 3 level that feels very much like a 4, maybe even a 5. There were some 2s that were more difficult than 3s, and I honestly only found the 1s and 5s to be consistent and appropriate.

Also, since the game is split up by levels, each individual stage must be cleared from the start, meaning there are no checkpoints in the game. Thankfully, some items stay in your collection upon death, like coins and gems, when playing Exploration levels, so you will not have to go back and play entire levels if you are attempting 100% the game.

The tutorial, although incredibly helpful with learning the basics of Glyph, contains some frustrating moments that take a bit more than trial-and-error to accomplish, as opposed to a simple… you know… tutorial. But I have to commend Bolverk Games for baptizing players by fire and not hiding the fact that their game is tough, including in the tutorial.

There are some enemies in the game as well, like ones that repel you, and I have to be honest. These enemies are simply not fun, and you are way too dependent on RNG. This really sours the experience on some levels, as skill and mastery are relatively meaningless while luck and chance take the front seat, which is unfortunate, as most stages are wonderfully designed and truly test your skills.

The graphics look incredible, especially Glyph and all the different avatars you can unlock. Each of them are unique and wonderfully detailed, which makes choosing one a task in and of itself.

I did find it odd that the shadows in the game look kind of ugly comparatively. They are not smooth and look jagged and weird compared to everything else in the game which looks amazing and clean. Possibly just an oversight.

The soundtrack is really good, and I love the way the songs in each level ramp up once you collect all the keys to open the gate. The feeling of the music instantly remixing mid-level is a nice touch that helps you to know you are doing the right thing.

Glyph is a really good game and an incredibly challenging one, which makes it hard to rate fairly. You do get over 80 levels, there are hundreds of collectibles, it controls really well, and it sounds great, but the difficulty can be unforgiving and uninviting for new or unskilled players. This and some other minor blemishes do hurt the experience a little bit, but I don’t want that reality to take away from just how well the game does everything else.

Glyph simply does too much right for me not to recommend, but this is harsh truth: If you are a fan of platformers, then you are going to have one hell of an experience; if you like platformers but aren’t very good at them, then you are probably going to hate all the sand in this game.

Glyph Review provided by Nintendo Link
Developer: Bolverk Games
Release Date: February 1, 2021
Price: $19.99, £17.99, €19,99
Game Size: 2.4GB