As a long-standing fan of Zer0 Rei's 3D art (which I have been using as my desktop wallpapers for years), I was curious about this game when I saw it recommended on an Errant Signal video. Then, after reading someone compare it to Outer Wilds on a Steam Review, that curiosity became an instant purchase.

Sadly, the game does little to deserve that comparison. There is a strong veneer of mystery here, built through its cryptic presentation (the story is vague and abstract, the achievements are full of random symbols, the main menus mostly contains no words); however, it does not take long for that mystery to completely evaporate. Because pretty soon after starting your game, you encounter levels that are literally "find three switches and activate them to proceed" -- one of the most basic level design patterns that you can probably think of. And it's level after level of this kind of thing. Sure, they introduce new mechanics to shake things up, but oatmeal with topping is still oatmeal.

So although Venineth wants you to feel like you're controlling a mysterious alien mechanism incomprehensible to human minds, you actually just feel like you're playing a videogame.

The game is visually incredible, make no mistake, and controlling the marble is sometimes frustrating but still very fun. It's the level design that dropped the ball here -- and as you probably know, in a marble game dropping the ball can be quite fatal..............