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Obulis, made by IonFX, is a puzzle game involving marbles and ropes. The object of the game is to get each colored marble into a vase matching its color. To do this, you cut ropes at specific times to release the marbles and send them into a free fall.
Each level starts out simple, but they get progressively more challenging. There are many different types of rope to cut. Normal ones that swing the marble side to side, stiff ones that keep it going in a full circle, ropes attached to small catapults to launch them into the air, and more. Not only must you time your rope cutting carefully, you must also use marbles to give other marbles some momentum, such as shooting a red marble into a blue one to start it swinging. The total number of colored marbles grows and grows, making for more elaborate puzzles as you progress through the game.

Unfortunately, the game lacks a puzzle creator or any kind of puzzle download service, meaning that when you've finished all the puzzles included in the game, you're done. Thankfully, there are more than 150 different puzzles to complete, which should keep the player busy for a decent amount of time.
The graphics look very realistic, though the backgrounds are static with no movement whatsoever. Though this does make it easier to concentrate on the puzzle itself, it doesn't really leave the player with a memorable graphic experience.
The physics are well done. Releasing a marble mid-swing sends it right where you'd expect it to go, and ropes bounce a bit when the marble attached to it is hit with another marble. One thing that is unrealistic about the physics is that, when one marble collides with another, the former comes to an abrupt halt. All momentum is transferred to the marble that was hit. Additionally, marbles never slow down and ropes never stop swinging. These are not large problems, however, and may even work in the game's favor. The lack of deceleration gives the player plenty of time to think about their next move, which is helpful when trying to complete each puzzle in a single try.
The music is where Obulis takes a dive. It's very bland and quiet, not at all memorable. It's certainly not distracting, but it's so dull that there might as well have been no music at all.
The full version of Obulis costs 20 dollars. There is a demo version with 19 levels available on the website. Try the demo first, then decide from there. Obulis is a good investment for those who absolutely love puzzle games, but I personally find the price too steep for what you get.

3/5

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