What I've Been Playing Vol. 49

Marble It Up: Ultra! (PS5)

Lose your marbles.

 One of my fondest gaming memories when I was young had me playing an odd game called Marble Blast Ultra. It was a fairly simple one where you control a marble as you moved around some trickily-designed stages to reach the goal at the end. Maybe it was the bright visuals or the relaxing feel of the gameplay, but it always was a game that I found myself thinking about. That's why I've been playing Marble It Up: Ultra!-- another marble game from the team that made Marble Blast Ultra, but it's no simple game. 

 The premise is the same: you control a marble and must roll around quirky levels that require precise movements while utilizing various stage gimmicks. The game packs six worlds, each with its quirky bunch of levels to beat. Some of the later ones were very ambitous in design and had me exausted by the end of them. Aside from carefully rolling your marble across stages, you'll also need to beat the level quickly to earn a gold badge time, which gives a big score increase. 

 There's an online multiplayer mode where you can play against other players on a variety of maps and modes. The likes include a gem hunt, soccer matches, sumo fights, and even zombies survival mode. Sadly, the online were lobbies were empty so I couldn't experience all of the modes. Nevertheless, Marble It Up: Ultra! remained a fun game to play and blast from the past. 

Diablo IV (PS5)

Welcome to hell.

 Diablo IV is the long awaited sequel in the famed Diablo series and has you go on a deadly quest between Sanctuary and Hell, in an effort to stop the demon Lilith from bringing chaos into the land. You play as a lone Wanderer as you select your class type such as a Barbarian, Necromancer, Sorcessor, Rouge, or Druid as you kill demons, level up, get loot, and get one step closer to beating Lilith in an action-RPG adventure. Joining you are a moody cast of characters like the jaded hermit Lorath, young adventurer Neyrelle, and scholar-turned-fighter Donan, who all plan on stopping Lilith for various reasons.

 The story was alright, packing lots of interesting backstory prior to Diablo IV's events. However, it takes ages to take off and ultimately, delivers an ending that was pretty underwhelming. Compared to Diablo III, the world is massive with you having to explore a giant world filled with activities that range from optional dungeons, secret treasure chests, stat-increasing pillars, and dreary towns to visit. As you level up, you gain skill points that allows you to unlock new skills to use for your character, which I found myself constantly finding the right one to suit my Necromancer. Better yet, you can increase the game's difficulty, granting you more experience, gold, better equipment, and tougher enemies. 

 Diablo IV looks great due to its return to a darker visual style. The world is a desolate, helpless one as its filled with ravaging demons and people who've given up hope, so don't expect the journey to be a cheerful one. It ran well on PS5 with a solid performance and resolution. I did expect a few instances of lag during an online co-op session though. The voicework was great with Lorath, Lillith, Mephisto being standouts. Diablo IV took me 40 hours to complete though I still haven't scratched the surface of the game's content yet, so it's one that I'll be frequenting in the future.