A Game That Is Underrated

Glover was first released in 1998, for both the Nintendo 64 and Windows PC, the game is a platformer with a twist. The protagonist is a magical glove named Glover, the antagonist another glove named Cross-Stitch which is contaminated by dark energy. Unlike a traditional platformer where the protagonist navigates the level and reaches the goal on their own, Glover requires the player to guide a ball or balls to specific areas of the level, either by balancing on top of the ball and running or by picking it up and throwing it.

One of my cousins gave me Glover for the Nintendo 64 after they had completed it and didn't want it anymore, I can understand why, this game doesn't have much replay value once you've actually completed everything. The platforming elements themselves can be frustrating at times but once you take the time to learn the mechanics it's not as complicated as it first seems.

This is a game that grew on me as a kid, I was intrigued by the concept when I first saw it, played and found it mildly interesting but wasn't gripped by the story or the gameplay. I put the game aside and found myself returning to it from time to time when I needed a mental break from the other games I was playing at the time. Playing the game in doses like this ended up mitigating the more frustrating elements; I fully admit as a kid if I got too frustrated with a game the effect would be compounded and I'd end up rage quitting. My patience for games didn't really develop until my teenage years.

I'd come back to Glover over time playing further through the game, I managed to complete it which was quite satisfying in the end after all the frustration - this would later be a pattern of gameplay I would revisit as an adult with games like Cuphead which just revel in their ability to make you rage. Glover isn't quite on the level of Cuphead but for the time it's clear it was certainly designed to be a game that was challenging but not impossible but left the player's chances of success fall to how determined they were to finish it.

My biggest criticism of the original Nintendo 64 version is the scale of the environment, the developers attempted to make this expansive by nature but on the Nintendo 64 where that expanse is mostly empty, the game ends up looking like a tech demo at times. The game was remastered and rereleased earlier this year, having yet to play it most of the gameplay footage shows me they have stayed true to the original art style and it still looks a little dated and empty.

If you've never played it before, then it's worth diving into, whether you choose the remaster or the original I don't think makes much difference as far as I can tell the remaster did not introduce any substantial new content. My final thought is that this is one of those games that is underrated in my opinion but I can see why, I understand the criticisms others have of it, I personally think they are worth getting past but understand those that don't want to - after all I held that view too when I was a kid before I came around to the charm of the game.