Games like Portal distort our perceptions of other games in the same genre. They are made to a caliber above not only what is expected, but also what was imagined. This can have a terrible effect on other titles that would otherwise stand out on their own merits and be praised for originality and innovation. Q.U.B.E. is one such game. Ranging from its aesthetics to the level design, you can feel the influences that Portal had over it. But, if you can manage to peel yourself away from those associations, you’ll find a gem of a game.
The beginning moments of the game are rough: no explanation is given as to the situation you are in, and as you progress, none is given to you as to how to use new tools as they are provided. The gameplay breaks down to using a glove to control different colored… let’s call them cubes. Depending on the color, right and left clicking on them produces different effects. From there, puzzles are born and run a gambit of just platforming – made capable by maneuvering the cubes – to light mirror puzzles with a bit of color courtesy of the cubes thrown in for a bit of added complexity.
The puzzles, accentuated by the artistic design of the game, are the shining stars of Q.U.B.E.. Each provides a sense of familiarity, using what was learned from the previous challenges, but always requiring something new. With the exception of a single one, they each provided the perfect amount of fresh difficulty, which repeatedly blended with recognizable puzzle elements. The single exception, one puzzle that abandoned the logical patterns the others had captured, was a frustrating example of what the rest of the game had managed to avoid. Thankfully, once passed, the remainder of the puzzles stays strong. The ending culminates in an unexpected bang of sorts, but like the rest of the storytelling, it’s unexplained and as a result, poorly executed.
The final moments are marked not only by a growing grandiosity of the puzzles, but also a stark change in the presentation. An inversion of sorts takes place that serves not only an aesthetic difference, but also a functional one, and provides a fulfilling climax to the game. At the end of it all, I didn’t feel like I had missed anything, with the exception of the absent story or characters. The rest of the game brings satisfaction.
If I was to raise a complaint, it would likely be the length; it took me between four to five hours to complete it. This factors in all time spent figuring out and solving puzzles, including the puzzle of frustration that stood as an outlier. If I had to guess, I would say the game could be completed in about an hour if you already knew all the puzzles and their solutions. Despite this, I found Q.U.B.E. to be more than worthwhile and deserving of every minute I spent with it.
If you want a game that is going to put just the right amount of strain on your brain and bring you to an atmosphere that captures a mystery that will draw you in, then Q.U.B.E. is waiting for you, and it won’t disappoint.
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Q.U.B.E. was provided for review by Toxic Games. You can purchase it on Steam for $14.99
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