Q.U.B.E. 10th Anniversary Review (Xbox One)

STAFF REVIEW of Q.U.B.E. 10th Anniversary (Xbox One)

Saturday, September 24, 2022.
by Adam Dileva

There’s something special playing a puzzle game, becoming so frustrated that you’re on the verge of giving up and uninstalling because of the ‘impossible’ puzzle you’ve been staring at for the last hour, then all of a sudden getting that euphoric ‘ah-hah’ moment and the realization of how dumb you were for not figuring out the solution sooner. That was a basic summarization of my time with Q.U.B.E. 10th Anniversary, developed by Toxic Games Limited, becoming infuriatingly stuck then unable to put it down as I finally progressed.

Originally release back in 2012, Q.U.B.E. was a small indie game that was received quite well, eventually getting a Director’s Cut two years later in 2014, adding a narrative element with voice over, more puzzles, an updated soundtrack and more. Here we are a decade later from its release with Q.U.B.E. 10th Anniversary, adding both the original and Director’s Cut in one package, along with even more content included, revised and improved gameplay sections, and much more appealing visuals.

There’s an interesting story revolving around you waking up with these special gloves being worn in some sort of massive cube that’s in space somewhere. Someone is talking to you over the radio but you’re unable to respond back, detailing what's happened. It’s actually an interesting narrative that has some twists and turns that I didn’t expect, so I don’t want to spoil much else, something better off experienced than read.

With over 100 puzzles to complete, they will progressively become much more challenging as you continue through this seemingly never-ending room after room. Even if you mastered Q.U.B.E. at release and it’s Director’s Cut, there’s a whole new sector of the game that opens up once completion, adding another 4-6 hours of brain-bending gameplay. Visuals are vastly improved, there’s a whole slew of developer commentary to listen to and plenty of collectables that make an already challenging game even more difficult for those that want even more challenge.

A physics based puzzle game, Q.U.B.E. 10th Anniversary centers on you trying to progress one puzzle at a time, placing you in a room where you can’t reach the next path or doorway until you reach a specific area or open a doorway. The core principle is that you’re manipulating different colored cubes in a mostly pure white room made out of cubes as well, where each color type is manipulated in a different way. How to use each, when to do so, and how they all interact with one another is the only way you’re going to be able to progress and survive.

Blue cubes act as a springboard, not only for you, but other blocks as well. This is how you’ll reach certain areas or get specific blocks to new platforms. Red cubes can be extended up to three times, as you might not need it to raise vertically or horizontally the full length all the time. Yellow blocks extend into a three tiered staircase or even a podium, as all three sections can’t be the same height. Later on you’re going to have to deal with magnet blocks, lasers, redirectors, arrows that rotate platforms and more.

Regardless if you play the original or Director’s Cut, you’ll explore along a linear corridor until you reach a puzzle room, trapped until you solve it, move to the next room and puzzle, repeat until credits roll. Each chapter or section introduces a new mechanic or block, easing you into the increasing difficulty for the most part, but I won’t lie, around the fifth or sixth chapter, the puzzle challenges absolutely skyrocketed quite quickly.

I’d like to think I’m generally decent at puzzle games since I think logically, so even though I may get stuck here and there, I eventually figure it out. I swear at times near the end I thought some of the puzzles were impossible. The first few chapters really ease you into the gameplay, thinking I was going to breeze through it no problem, then I hit a brick wall, almost ready to call it quits when I was dumbfounded for over an hour on a single puzzle. Of course once I figured it out I realized the simple thing that didn’t ‘click’ with me, thus renewing my enjoyment once I felt like a genius again.

While the majority of the puzzles aren’t timed in any way, there are a handful where you do have to be quick and deliberate with your movements and timing. This is slowly introduced with arrows you can interact with that will rotate or move certain platforms or walls in a specific direction, or magnets that pull blocks in that specific lane. There’s even some puzzles where you’ll have a white ball that drops and then rolls, having to make it go through specific colored boxes to mix ‘paint’ and land in the corresponding colored box to progress. Layer this with rotating walls, lasers and blue jump pads, and you can see were the quick dexterity requirement comes in.

Puzzles become quite intricate and confusing, infuriating me at times because I just can’t figure out the solution for an hour at a time to the point of wanting to uninstall, but then I stick with it and eventually find the solution, wanting to progress even further. With a large number of optional collectables to find along the way, there’s plenty here to challenge even the most skilled puzzle solver.

Vastly improved visuals from its original release, actually decent voice overs and a soundtrack that never overstays its welcome, the generally logical puzzles were a pleasant surprise for someone like me that never played the original releases, now able to enjoy it on my console of choice. The constant ebb and flow of frustration and elation is why I generally enjoy puzzle games like Q.U.B.E. 10th Anniversary, going from feeling like an idiot one minute to a genius the next.

**Q.U.B.E. 10th Anniversary was provided by the publisher and reviewed on an Xbox Series X**

Overall: 8.0 / 10
Gameplay: 8.0 / 10
Visuals: 8.0 / 10
Sound: 8.0 / 10

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