Returning fans from the original Wii U version will find much to offer in this remake for PC.
The original Cube Life: Island Survival beganReturning fans from the original Wii U version will find much to offer in this remake for PC.
The original Cube Life: Island Survival began as a shameless attempt to fill the market vacuum that Minecraft had left on the Wii U eshop. Released in 2015, it captured the attention of many Wii U consumers and Nintendo fans, providing a worthy substitute to Mojang's hit title while also introducing ideas of its own. Over the course of several years, the game took on a life of its own in the form of new updates, eventually ending at v1.3. By this time, the game had recieved many of the features fans asked for. Cannibal AI had been reworked, Beds had been added, various new modes made their debut and the game became increasingly stable, complete, and in depth. But even then, it left much to be desired.
The Wii U version has been criticized for it's seemingly inconsistent art style. Often, it was unclear whether the developers were going for realistic block textures or a pixelated retro look. (These clashes were made most clear in the gravel and the stone block.) No more in this version. The graphics have been completely redone, the beautiful lighting of the original has been enhanced with realistic shadows, the goal of the textures is now clear, they are highly detailed and realistic. The addition of ragdoll physics and crumbling block mechanics drastically improves the game's aesthetics and overall experience. Overall the atmosphere is beautiful and immersive, water drips down across the screen and when it rains things fog up appropriately. Lightning flashes across the whole world illuminating things. One thing I wish was different as far as atmosphere goes is that the rain isn't quite bold enough. You can hardly hear it and if you start moving you can only ever see a few rain drops usually in the same exact spot on the screen as before. Interestingly, Most mobs still have 8-bit textures. Though the devs are working to update them all to 16-bit.
Surviving is now much more balanced. The devs have added floating chests on various islands, giving the player a headstart by letting him access a sampling of advanced materials such as Explosive arrows. Over the course of many patches released after the game's initial launch, tool durability is much longer. Maintaining both Hunger and Thirst is a feature not present in other games of the same genre, and CLIS succeeds in bringing it to the table. As in the original, you will have to gather a lot of food and water in order to live, which is difficult but so fun. There are lots of cool things to craft in Survival mode, and crafting them is an in-depth experience that I believe actually outdoes Minecraft. (Though it is mauled by a kinda archaic UI) One thing that bugs me do is that over time your crafting tables break. You can only use it so many times and then you have to make a new one. Same with the Furnace. This is just annoying and doesn't make sense. Oh No! I used my table too much and it broke! I don't care about it that much but I do hope the devs change it someday.
One other thing about Survival Mode that really sets it apart from Minecraft and other imitators is Combat. The game has a really cool combat experience. Everything in the game kills you. Even Chickens! While during the day you have to watch you back for 'giant and dangerous' Eagles that swoop from above, and huge sharks that try to eat you every time you enter the water, during the night you have to either hide... or stay awake and fight off hordes of Hostile natives that apparently want to eat your flesh. These cannibals start off weak, basically like Minecraft Zombies on steroids. But as you level up more powerful cannibals appear. But they aren't the only ones who get stronger as you level up. With each level you can stay underwater longer, cook food faster, hit harder and trade better. (I'll talk about trading soon) Besides more powerful and sophisticated enemies, the game features a mechanic called the "critical hit", basically a stealth attack. Approach a cannibal from behind, and if it doesn't see you, you can kill it in one shot with any weapon! However, if the Cannibals see you, they will tell all Cannibals in the vicinity where you are and they will chase you until either they die, or you do. Makes sneaking around at night very fun, and pretty scary too.
Exploring the world is a joy. It isn't procedurally generated, which is an immediate turn-off for many, but I appreciate it. The devs did a good job crafting the world. And there are all kinds of secrets, plus beautiful hand-crafted terrain you would never find in a Minecraft world without a special seed. There are villages with Natives, who you can trade with if you want. Most villages have chests to loot, but if you want what's in them, you will have to kill the Natives. All of them. There are four bosses to kill, which is really neat.
All in all, good game. Very fun, immersive experience. Looking forward to future updates!… Expand
