Marble Maid – Nintendo Switch Review

Overview – developed by Shady Corner, in collaboration with Molegato and Gingy Kitten with publishing handled by Eastasiasoft, Marble Maid is a puzzle ball platformer with a sexy twist. As the maid Marble, clear up the dust bunnies that have infested the rooms of the mansion that has hired her services. This title is exclusively available for the Nintendo Switch console platform, with a link to the game available at the bottom of this review.

Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Eastasiasoft for providing the copy of Marble Maid that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.

Mature Content Warning: this title is intended for mature audiences, with sexual content, imagery and heavy fanservice elements. If you are under the recommended age or find the content mentioned offensive, please proceed at your own discretion.

Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review. I will be skipping the story segment and moving straight into discussing the gameplay.

Gameplay – the objective of this title is simple, as Marble, the player is tasked with capturing the dust bunnies that infest the mansion. To complete this task, the player will be able to roll, bounce and dash across more than 50 stages, collecting at least 3 of the 5 needed dust bunnies and reaching the goal. However, this won’t be easy as there are hazards that will hinder the player, along with tight time limits that will apply more pressure.

The areas that the player challenges in the game are separated into zones with 10 stages, each with their own unique themes, including a bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. While in each stage, the hazards aren’t the only thing that the player must contend with, as it is possible for Marble to fall off the edges of platforms. There are also gimmicks that increase the difficulty, including falling platforms and blackout stages, where they must be lit up by candles to navigate the darkness.

When Marble falls of the stage or makes contact with a hazard, she will be returned to start of the stage. However, if a dust bunny has been captured, marble will be returned to the spawn point for that bunny as a checkpoint.  But take care, as the bunnies will dash away if they spot Marble, becoming a slight setback if Marble falls of the stage after capturing a bunny that has run away. The dust bunnies can also fall off the stage, returning them to their original spawn point if this happens.

Some of the stages will have bunnies hidden or in difficult to reach spaces, making it tougher to collect all bunnies in a stage within the time limit. To offset this, there are time pick-ups scattered throughout most of the levels, providing just enough time to make it to the goal. If the time limit expires, without reaching the goal with enough bunnies the player will fail that stage, starting again from the beginning with any progress made lost.

At the end of each set of stages is a boss battle with the Nega Maid, where Marble must push her off the edge three times. However, this is no easy feat, since Marble can fall and be knocked off the stage, as well as getting hit by attacks that the Nega Maid will be able to pull out in later stages. If this happens, progress will be reset, but the timer will continue to tick down. When the boss is defeated, 5 dust bunnies will spawn and Marble must capture at least 3 before being able to clear the stage.

Outside of the stages is a hub world that the player can freely explore, showing off gimmicks that will be used in later stages, including rolling wine bottles, cleavers and water pools. These areas help the player to get used to the hazards that will be faced, which can prepare the player for the trials ahead. as well as the exploration while moving between zones, there are galleries that can be viewed on the walls of the hub world, a fan art, behind the scenes and reward gallery.

The fan art gallery is unlocked from the start, with the behind the scenes and reward gallery images being unlocked as the game progresses. The main way that images are unlocked is by capturing dust bunnies, with each artwork being obtained by meeting different milestones. There is also a speedrun mode where the player can challenge the entire game, with a timer that will be persistent throughout the playtime for each run.

The gameplay is fairly solid and a lot of fun, but unfortunately there are some small flaws to the experience. During play there are some minor issues with the camera, where it can get stuck needing to press the camera reset button to get it in position and allow Marble to move again. The physics can also work against the player, most notably when trying to dash which can cause Marble lose momentum, bounce in a way that causes her to fly off the map or even get caught on level geometry.

These minor errors can be a source of frustration, as the tight time limits and sometimes uncooperative physics/camera is not a fantastic combo. This can cause time losses from falling off the stages, unintentionally colliding with hazards and simply getting stuck while trying to move or climb platforms. However, these issues are a small hiccup that doesn’t severely impact the gameplay and can be adapted to.

Now with the gameplay covered, I will be moving onto the other aspects of the game, starting with the controls.

Controls – this title has a very basic and easy to learn control system. The left stick moves Marble, the right moves the camera to the left or right. The face buttons are used for jumping and dashing, with the shoulder buttons used for adjusting the camera zoom and re-centering it behind Marble. These controls work well, but there can occasionally feel delayed when trying to dash, as well as feeling slippery when trying to make precise movements due to the physics.

Difficulty – there is a slow and gradual difficulty curve, introducing new gimmicks and challenges over time. However, if the player wants to be a completionist, there are very hard platforming and movements to get every dust bunny, made more challenging due to the time limits. But that doesn’t mean that it is impossible to get all the bunnies, it just takes some practice. There is an unlockable hard mode that makes the stages even tougher, for those who want a challenge after completion.

Presentation – Marble Maid has a very cutesy look to it, with Chibi style models for the characters of Marble and the Nega Maid, bold designs for the stages and easy to see hazards. The 2D art that appears for Marble in the top left portion of the screen is adorable, reacting to what is happening on screen with simple expressions. These different elements combine well to create a charming experience, which is pleasing to the eye.

The art galleries are where the mature content for this title is located, with adult imagery that is not appropriate for younger audiences, but the art is of a high quality and modified well to adhere to rating guidelines. The sound design for this release is very good, with music from Hentai Hero, offering a relaxing yet upbeat experience. There is limited voice acting in this title provided by Kum Bomb, with the opening cinematic and some voice lines that occur during play, which is a nice touch to the presentation.

Final Thoughts – I had a good time with this release, it’s a fun puzzle ball platformer even with the minor flaws to the camera and physics. The levels are designed in a way that challenges players, but isn’t punishing, with secrets and rewards that are perfect for those who want to put the effort in to get everything. I can happily recommend this title to fans of lewd games, as well as those who want to challenge themselves with the speedrun and hard modes.

In the end, I give Marble Maid a final score of 4/5. This is a fun puzzle ball platformer with challenging stages, varied designs to the different thematic areas, a charming soundtrack and a lot of cute yet lewd art to unlock. If you want to check this game out for yourself, a link to the game will be below.

Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)