Saturday Morning Gaming: Q.U.B.E.
This week’s free game from the Epic Game Store is the Q.U.B.E. Ultimate Bundle.
This is a game that I’d never played or, really, looked at. I figured from the design of the splash selling it that it was a variant of one of those games where you move dice around a track and the goal was to end up on a particular square with a particular orientation.
I was, like, totally and *COMPLETELY* wrong.
Q.U.B.E. is, instead, somewhere on the spectrum between “Inspired by Portal” and “Ripping-Off Portal”.
You wake up on an elevator going down…
And you’re in a test lab? I guess? Go through the door…
Yeah. You’re in a test lab.
Use your trigger buttons to extend or retract the red cube in the floor:
And use the cube as an elevator to get you to the next area.
Use the cubes as stairs!
And then learn about blue cubes (I won’t spoil what they do but I will say that they do something different):
And yellow cubes:
And once you master all of those, they put puzzles together with each:
And you just have to figure out how to make the cubes work together and solve the platforming puzzle and get to the next area.
Where they introduce green cubes.
The number one thing that sold Portal was the quality of the writing and voice acting. I haven’t encountered any of that yet. So, as far as I can tell (10 minutes into the game), it’s a pure puzzler.
But, you know what? It’s a free one.
So… what are you playing?
(Featured image is a screenshot from Q.U.B.E. All screenshots taken by the author.)
There are also green buttons, purple buttons, and orange buttons.
The “director’s cut” of the game has a voice actress. She explains the story to you. This is a rotten situation. Your radio doesn’t work and so I can only talk to you but I can’t get progress reports from you about anything… You probably lost your memory, huh? Most people who went through what you just went through do. Well, I’m a friend and I can help explain what’s going on. I’m in an orbit, though… I can only talk to you for a few minutes at a time… but when I’m on the other side of the orbit, I can talk to Home Base. Wait, I’m getting out of range… *crackle*crackle*.
And so you run around doing physics puzzles and occasionally get a voice actress explaining the story.Report
Okay. I have experienced a couple of puzzles that had me confused and then gasped in realization at the solution.
This is definitely worth picking up.
Play the director’s cut. Yeah, it’s a tribute. But it’s an interesting one.Report
I got QUBE the other day too, though I didn’t think I would try it. Maybe I will now.
Currently playing Stellaris and Starfield. I got Stellaris a few years back, dabbled a little, but never really sank my teeth into it. I finally decided to really give it a good go, and I am approaching the end-game for the first time. This would be my first time reaching the end game in any Paradox strategy title. I might revisit Crusader King 2, after seeing how well this plays on the Steam Deck.
In Starfield, I have been going through the Free Star quest line. I am on the final mission, then I will probably go back to the main quest.Report
I’m actually kinda surprised by how good it is.
The director’s cut storyline is surprisingly strong. Sure, it’s a “tribute” to Portal (you’ll recognize the tropes) but since I have not yet beaten the game, I don’t know which direction they’re going to take it.
It’s worth playing. I mean, if you liked Portal, anyway.Report
Aaaaaaand I just beat it.
It’s not the longest game in the world but it’s one of those games that is “just long enough”.
The last puzzle the game throws at you is one heck of a final exam incorporating all of the crap they put you through until the end.
The voice acting is good, the story is good, the puzzles are good, the length is good, AND THE GAME IS FREE.
Check it out.Report