When it comes to cozy, relaxing games, there are plenty to choose from! I’m more of a cozy gamer myself, so when I saw Marble Meadows and read that it’s a “cozy, 3D platformer full of whimsy and wonder” I thought, wow! I get to be a little marble exploring a garden. I was greatly mistaken.
Marble Meadows is one of those classic, rage platformers where you play as a marble and need to run around and jump between platforms, as you always move forward with momentum. It’s as challenging as those web-based marble run games that I uses to play in highschool, very quickly fogging my vision with rage.
The environment is fantastic; beautiful gardens, lovely bookshelves, a bunch of strange puzzles that have you moving into buckets and waiting for them to lower. It’s a lovely world, one that looks so cozy on the outside, but do not be fooled. You will often see your marble falling, needing to restart, and you’ll have to really work against momentum and use your quick reflexes to move onto the next area.
Marble Meadows does have some power ups like magnets that can help you along the way, though in my limited time playing the demo at The Mix at GDC, I wasn’t able to even get far enough to see one! I was never good at rage platformers, but I do like the twist on the environment and focus on this aspect. (And, it said ‘cozy’ so I thought it would be cozy!)
Marble Meadows is a well made rage platformer, and one that may have far better graphics and backgrounds than you have previously seen, making it a very fun game for those who like that genre.
You can currently wishlist Marble Meadows on Steam ahead of it’s release.
