Hello! Today I have a special piece for you to check out, courtesy of our friends over at Shady Corner Games. I was given access to their upcoming title Marble Maid 2: The Negative Levels, which is currently scheduled to release in the near future. This title is coming exclusively to the PC, offering a higher level of challenge than their previous release, Marble Maid, which I previously reviewed on the Nintendo Switch (HERE) for you to check out.
This is a follow up that acts as a prequel to the previous game, setting players in the role of the Nega-Maid, who was the antagonist in the first title. In this entry, the player is trapped in the basement of the manor, with the Dust bunnies and the Bun Babes. Her goal is to defeat the Bun Babes and capture all of the Dust Bunnies, allowing her to unleash them upon the manor above and cause chaos.
In this preview, I will be going over the core mechanics of the game, giving my experience and some thoughts on my time with the game. This will be spoiler free for the surprises, bonuses and extra content that is included in the game. So let’s get started with talking about the gameplay.
PLEASE NOTE: This is an adult title, featuring explicit content of 18+ characters in fantasy settings engaging in consensual acts. This content is for those of 18 years or older, if you are under the age limit or find sexual content uncomfortable, please leave this page and check out the other content available on this site.
Gameplay – Marble Maid 2: the Negative Levels, uses a ball rolling style of play reminiscent of the Monkey Ball series. The premise of the game is pretty simple, clear each of the stages by capturing the dust bunnies that are infesting the dungeon below. To achieve this objective, the player is able to roll, bounce and dash as the Nega-Maid through the different settings that make up the basement dungeon, with many secrets to uncover along the way.
The game itself is split into worlds that contain 9 standard stages and a boss battle, with the objective of the game being to clear all of the worlds. In each of the stages, the player must get to the goal after collecting Dust Bunnies, with a minimum of 3 out of the 5 in each level needed. But that isn’t the only challenge that players will face in these stages. Each of the worlds are accessible via the Hub world, which players can explore freely and practice their skills.
Within the stages, there will be hazards that will “kill” the player if contact is made. The most common ones are spikes, which kill on contact, along with rolling obstacles and pitfalls that will cause the maid to fall out of bounds. It is also possible to just fall off the stage and go out of bounds, causing the player to earn a miss. When this happens, the player will be sent to the start point, or if a dust bunny has been captured the player will respawn there.
Each stage has a time limit, with some being tighter than others. This is the main thing that players must take into account when tackling the stages. To help players get to the end of a stage, there can be hourglasses scattered in stages, with small ones offering 7 seconds, with large ones providing 15. These can be critical to success with a stage, as running out of time will lead to a game over, making the player start the stage from the beginning.
New to this game are elemental powers, which are available from the start and can be harnessed in order to overcome obstacles. These powers are the flame, which can cross lava and protect from explosions, alongside the electric spark which can stun dust bunnies and use power lines. These powers also affect movement speed, with the fire being slower and the electricity being faster when compared to standard movement. Efficient use of these powers can make harder sections much more manageable
At the end of a world, the player will face a Bun Babe Boss, who will trap the player in an arena. The Bun needs to be defeated before the player can proceed, which is accomplished by pushing them out of bounds. The Bun Babes can attack the player with a variety of abilities, as well as push them off the stage. if the player is defeated before the boss is taken down, they will be sent back to the start of the battle, if they have been beaten the dust bunnies will appear to open the goal.
Like the previous game, when the player clears stages, collects dust bunnies and completes special objectives, new content will be made available. These can be found in the main hub world, where the player can view a gallery of adult images featuring the characters in various compromising situations. There is also a special Bun Book, where special dust bunnies that have been captured in stages will appear, detailing their name, age and some details about them.
There are many more secrets and bonus content that this game contains, but I do not want to spoil the surprise for players, so I will be leaving some of those details out. Now onto the general game feel when playing Marble Maid 2, starting with the controls.
Controls – there is a generally solid feel to the controls of this title, with movement that works very well, but can feel slippery when trying to perform precise movements. This may be due to the controller I was using, but as a whole the game works very well. There is the option for mouse and keyboard or Controller Inputs, which provide a flexible way to play the game and the inputs are laid out well. However, for the best experience it is recommended to use a controller.
Difficulty – this is a much more challenging experience compared to the previous release, which is the only real issue that I had with game. The most challenging aspect of the general difficulty is the time limits of a stage, which can be extremely tight in some stages, especially those with water. But there are also some stages that have a dark theme to them, which can be difficult to see where you are going. This is caused by low screen brightness, so you may need to adjust your screen settings.
Presentation – Marble Maid carries over the cutesy style from the previous game, which carries over to the characters and vibrant settings, giving the experience a stylized look. The 2D art featured is drawn by Gingy Kitten, who gives the experience an additional layer of cuteness with the work that she does. The music is thematically fitting and enhances the visual presentation. There is also voice work from the talented KumBomb and Voice of Midnight featured in this title.
Final Thoughts – Having played the previous Marble Maid title, I went into this expecting more of the same, but boy was I in for a surprise. The overall challenge of the game was significantly higher than I expected, with the new stage layouts, hazards and game mechanics really knocked it up a notch. There were some parts that need a little more polish, like the collision with edges when in water stages, but overall it is a very satisfying game to play.
I very much enjoyed my time with this game, I have only just scratched the surface of the game when it comes to the secrets, but I plan to return to it and get them all. This title is coming soon and I look forward to others getting to grips with this game. However, it will test your endurance and skills as it can be really tough in some sections. But for fans of the first marble maid game, this will be right up your alley, as it elevates everything that was established in the first game.
In the end, Marble Maid 2: The Negative Levels is something that fans of the first game and those who love adult games with substance must play. It is a fun and challenging experience that will push your skills to the test, rewarding those who really go for it with optional harder challenges, a gallery of spicy content and lots of secrets to discover.
Please be aware, this is the only trailer currently available, Marble Maid 2 starts at 1:17
If you are interested in this game, you can wishlist it on Steam (HERE), you can also check out the official Shady Corner website (HERE) as well as the official SNS page for them (HERE) where they post updates about games, share previews and more.
W.Kohaku Media 