Review | Glyph

LifeisXbox’s Glyph review |

Howling winds roll over a long lifeless desert, inert ruins of a late civilization sticking out above the sands. A lone automation, skipping stone to stone, rolls up to an altar. Offering up a bright purple gem to it, the altar springs to life. Obelisks rise from the floor brimming with energy. A brief assembly later, another automaton powers up. This is you. You are Glyph. And a grand task awaits you.

Glyph was developed and published by Bolverk Games.

ℹ️ | We played Glyph for 8 hours on PC. This game is also available on Nintendo Switch.

What we liked!

• Gameplay | Glyph is a puzzle platformer where the floor is lava, and you are a balled-up mechanical scarab. You are tasked with clearing levels via either exploring them, beating a time trial or a boss. Since a malevolent energy has gripped the desert and corrupted the sands, you are only safe while standing on the ruins your long-dead masters left behind. With this in mind, you start in a hub world that begins rather small, but as you complete the various levels it leads to and gather power gems in said levels, you will quickly begin opening up more of this hub world temple. Now the bulk of these levels come in two flavours. The more casual, at your own pace, exploration levels. And the time trials which are the true tests of your skill. As straightforward as that is, it’s also fairly unforgiving. No ifs or buts, you start the level over again. Small concessions are made in the fact that secrets revealed stay revealed after respawning, yet will need to be collected again.
• Movement | Glyph is all about moving from platform to platform, the floor is lava style. To do this, you will receive a variety of movement skills and have to get used to finely controlling your momentum. Basics first: you roll and jump on safe surfaces. While in mid-air you can spread your wings and glide short distances. This is great for when you need to get that little extra distance or change your direction in the air. You avoid the orange lit surfaces, crystals and floors, touching any surface lit in aquamarine will power you up for an extra jump. This extra jump doesn’t need to be used immediately, so you can hold onto it for when you need it for some complex jumps. Explaining the mechanics aside it’s a simple and rewarding system that, once mastered, can see you bounce your way through the game with grace.
• Graphics | This would be Glyph’s most average point. I say average, but they hold up very well and help set the casual and relaxing tone of the game. They’re all very soft, and for lack of a better word look like they’re as close to cell-shaded without actually being so. From the warm colours of the desert to the cooler shades found in levels set in the clouds. The lighting is also pretty good. I recall certain levels set in underworld like locations where they really captured extra this sense of deadness, even more so than in their above-ground counterparts.
• Audio | The audio in Glyph is a delight. It gets stuff right on all manner of levels if you ask me. While the desert is silent, the howling winds, crackling flames in the braziers and shifting of the sands all make it feel alive. Even Glyph itself well realized. When you roll you can hear the little gears and joints of its body. The hollow and metallic thuds when Glyph hits a stone surface. Even the more magical elements have a soft yet noticeable sound. Be it getting Glyph charged up for a second jump or listening closely to the soft humming of the Heart of Creation. Soundtrack wise Glyph is also alright. I found it mostly accentuates the ambient sounds and the theme of the levels.
• Cosmetics | Now this I like to see in games. Cosmetics that are plentiful and easily obtainable. Every level has one collectable cosmetic which is either unlocked through hitting a secret switch or beating the golden time in a time trial level. And it’s more than just reskins. You’ve got new models and glide trails too. This way I went from a scarab to another type of bug. Then onto being a drone for a couple of levels. To eventually become a parrot in an egg leaving a starry nebula for a trail. I ended up beating the final boss as a small fighter plane; somewhat reminiscent of League of Legends Corki. It’s even better when the sounds you make change with each model & skin. Lots of fun and variations to customise your playthrough.

Somewhere between

• There are no aspects of the game disliked a little.

What we disliked

• Nor were there any things I actively disliked.

How long to beat the story | 7 hours if you don’t do all levels.
How long to obtain all achievements | 12 hours
Similar with | It’s a puzzle platformer, but I’ve not played anything quite like it.

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