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For those who have fond memories of Marble Madness, you might want to drop what you're doing and check out The Little Ball That Could [Steam, Official Site]. Heck, even if you've never played Marble Madness you would be…mad to miss out on this one.

Disclosure: Key provided by the developer.

The gameplay might seem quite simple overall, as you just have to roll your ball from start to finish. However, it's nowhere near as easy as it sounds. There's items you need to pick up to unlock more levels, skins and powers as well as a time you need to hit. You will bump into everything, fall off and smash your ball into tiny pieces likely plenty of times before you reach the finish. There's multiple paths to take too as it's non-linear and it all comes together to make a very fun experience.

Released back in September 2017, the Linux version only arrived on the 15th of this month.

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Features:

  • Roll through 120 large, non-linear levels spread across 5 beautiful low-poly worlds.
  • Test your speed, precision and curiosity in over 9 hours of increasingly challenging gameplay.
  • Take part in a minimalist story and unlock an alternative ending by saving trapped friends.
  • Unlock beautiful ball skins using puzzle pieces, and try out fun powers that will let you play the game in radically different ways.
  • Use the checkpoints and level skips to progress through the game without frustration.
  • Experience the best platforming action with our tight, physics-based controls - you'll have a blast whether you prefer to play using the keyboard or a controller.

I've actually had a huge amount of fun playing it, you can find it on Steam now. It filled a ball-shaped hole in my heart I never knew existed, it's charming with lovely simple visuals and performs great. It also workeds perfectly with the Steam Controller, it actually feels a lot better than using WASD.

I do have on strange issue with it though, GNOME Shell always thinks it's being unresponsive until I ALT+TAB away and back to it, then it works fine.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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8 comments

Suppen Mar 26, 2018
The video gives me a strange urge to punch GLaDOS in the face and leave her alone and companionless
razing32 Mar 26, 2018
You should have used footage from the Friday stream
Your deaths were hilariously glorious :D
Gobo Mar 26, 2018
Instant download for the demo.

If it really controls as tightly as Marble Madness, Kororinpa, Super Monkey Ball or Marble Blast, this will be bought for sure!
slaapliedje Mar 26, 2018
Quoting: razing32You should have used footage from the Friday stream
Your deaths were hilariously glorious :D

Didn't watch the stream, but the article mentions 'fond memories' I don't know if I'd call them fond, more like frustrating memories. When they called it Marble Madness, it was the perfect name, because the game does drive you mad!

This looks excellent, I'll probably pick it up and again be afflicted by Tourette's.
Philadelphus Mar 26, 2018
Oh man, those little spheres with hearts on them…it's a bunch of Companion Edgeless Safety Cubes! :D Definitely gonna give that demo a try.
rustybroomhandle Mar 27, 2018
What a coincidence, that is also the title of my sex tape!
slaapliedje Mar 27, 2018
Quoting: rustybroomhandleWhat a coincidence, that is also the title of my sex tape!

Ha, one of the great running jokes on Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
elmapul Apr 6, 2018
i aways wanted to play super monkey ball, but never managed to.
this looks like super monkey ball
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