Product Info

Platform

Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PC

Publisher

QUByte Interactive

Developer

QUByte Interactive

Genre

Action, Platform

Players

1

File Size (Minimum)

235 MB

Release Date (NA)

Feb 27, 2025

Purchase From

eShop

PSN Store

Microsoft Store

Steam

Glover brings back nostalgia of the late ‘90s 3D platforming genre but comes with a lot of frustration, especially for new players.

Good vs Evil

The wizard who wears magical gloves in the once peaceful kingdom accidentally creates an explosion from a mixture of potions, causing the wizard to turn into stone and scattering the kingdom’s seven crystals across the land. Before turning into stone, the wizard’s gloves came off, one fell into his cauldron of mixed potions and the other fell to the side. The glove that was contaminated has turned evil and is causing havoc in the once peaceful kingdom. It’s up to the other glove to collect all the crystals to return the wizard and bring down the evil glove.

It’s a straightforward story, with short cutscenes. These cutscenes themselves may not have aged well, depicting the wizard turning into stone and the collapse of the kingdom’s castle. For a game from the ‘90s, it was acceptable, but newcomers may find it odd.

Be One with the Ball

As you play, you control the living glove in each stage while guiding a bouncing ball. This unique idea sets Glover apart from many 3D platformer titles like Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie. Players must use the glove’s ability to bounce and shoot the ball to solve platform puzzles, such as hitting target boards to unlock secrets. Without the ball, you explore as a humanoid character. To complete each stage, players must protect the ball and have it with them at the end.

As a magical glove, you can change the ball’s form in various ways such as a bowling ball, a glass gem, or a magnet. If you attempt to dribble the glass gem, you break it and lose a life. This feature feels like a comical gimmick, but it could have been disabled to prevent cheap deaths. Most of the time, you’ll use the default bouncy ball to complete stages. Controlling the glove with the ball feels loose and can lead to easy deaths by falling off platforms. If you leave your ball and venture too far without it, you’ll also lose a life. It feels more like a game on how many ways you perish than completing it.

Controlling the glove in water presents a different challenge when navigating deep water depths. Without your ball, your glove sinks to the bottom, requiring you to return to shallow water or dry land. With the ball, your glove automatically jumps on top. In normal mode, the controls are reversed. In easy mode, they remain the same as playing on dry land.

Normal mode offers a more challenging gameplay experience in Glover. However, in easy mode, you start with ten lives, earning extra lives and points is easier, there are no reverse controls when standing on the ball, but you don’t have access to bonus levels. Bonus levels are unlocked in normal mode when you collect all the Garib cards scattered across each stage.

3D Headaches

Glover feels like an inspired Super Mario 64, a 3D platformer with low polygons, rough textures and a camera angle that players will struggle with throughout the game. You can freely move the camera when not in a stage, but it becomes restricted while platforming.

Camera angles and the lack of shadows make it difficult to judge depth, especially when jumping onto floating platforms. Players may need to experiment with different ball types, like the bowling ball, to progress through certain areas.

The graphics, while looking sharper in HD compared to a CRT television, still have aged with their polygon designs. The game’s backdrop is not visually appearing, with simple gradients and some shadowy architecture in the background. The soundtrack is average, but the sound effects can feel cheap and overly loud at times, such as when returning to the main stage. Glover is one of those ‘90s 3D games that have not aged well.

Glover is more of a nostalgic piece of history for those who played it before or have a love for the simple polygon era of the ‘90s Nintendo 64.

The Final Snap

Glover offers the nostalgia of the classic late ‘90s era but also presents the challenges of 3D platformers that may prove difficult for many players to handle. If you enjoy a challenge, then Glover may be the game for you.

A PlayStation 5 code provided for this review. The re-release of Glover is available now on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.