Glyph Switch Review
| Platform | Nintendo Switch |
| Release Date | 2/1/2021 |
| Cost | $19.99 |
| Publisher | Bolverk Games |
| ESRB Rating | E |
Games like Glyph are why this site exists. Glyph is a game that sunk into the slush pile, never to be seen again. Its mere existence was brought to my attention on Twitter, where another site was saying the game wasn’t selling well and was 90% off on the E-shop at the time of this writing. So I have taken it upon myself to buy it, play it, and review it. And boy was it worth it.
In Glyph, you play as a round little metallic ball that jumps around the ruins of a dead civilization trying to restore it. You can mainly jump, double jump, “bounce,” bounce jump, bounce double jump, and glide. You can only double jump when the ball glows blue, which can be restored by touching anything blue in the level (glyphs, pads, and flames mostly). And you can only glide once per jump. With the bounce double jump and glide combo, you can go really far, such as to get the crystal above.
After a brief tutorial, you arrive at the hub world and unlock your first set of levels. The main type of level is exploration levels. These range from tiny to large and require you to find the necessary keys and make it to the portal. Also present are coins, gems, a scarab (which can only be collected once all coins are obtained), and a secret collectible which unlocks avatar cosmetics. The coins unlock collectibles, gems unlock parts of the hub worlds, while scarabs unlock time trial levels.
Compared to most platformers, Glyph’s time trial levels are a little different. There are no coins and gems, just the keys and the portal. Your goal is to get the keys and make it to the portal as quickly as possible. These are generally much more difficult than the exploration levels, but there are far fewer of them. Each medal you earn gets you a gem, and gold also unlocks a new tail cosmetic.
Be it time trial or exploration, the platforming is generally the same idea. You can only touch “the ruins,” and if you touch the sand or any rocks, you die. While you have infinite continues, it does not make things any easier as you return to the start with the keys back where you got them. The other collectibles are thankfully collect once forever, because getting them can often be “a one-way trip.” Meaning, you collect them and then die.
My only real complaint about Glyph is the camera. It’s very easy to lose focus of the ball, so you’re constantly shifting the camera on the fly to see where you are going. What’s more, you often are jumping blind because the camera is facing the wrong direction.
There are eighty exploration levels and thirty time trial levels in Glyph, meaning there is a lot of game here for your twenty dollars, as much as some more expensive titles. And while it can get really hard, you always keep trying again because the game is that fun. There’s a lot I’m not telling you about Glyph, but you should discover that stuff for yourself!
Glyph is worth it on sale. Glyph is worth it at full price. An instant Must Play!
Overall: Glyph is an amazing platformer, simple as that.
Verdict: Must Play!