Q.U.B.E.

Absorbing logical game scores with its stylish visuals and brilliant puzzles. Pity there is no level editor to extend a pretty short life span. [Jan 2012]

If you're a fan of puzzle games, you can go and buy Q.U.B.E. now. If, on the other hand, Portal is the closest you ever came to the genre and if you can live without Portal's charm and are willing to take on a more challenging series of brain teasers, then, by all means, go for it.

Overall, Q.U.B.E. isn't on par with Portal 2, but it offers a delightful on-screen Rubik's Cube to puzzle-lovers and perfectionists everywhere -- maybe just don't tell anyone you played with blocks all day.

Q.U.B.E. it's a niche product that deserves the attention of all puzzle game addicts thanks to an original gameplay concept. There's no doubt about the fact it can't match the wonderful appearance and storyboard of Portal 2, but for 12 Euros on Steam you can be sure there's no point to complain about one of the most original puzzle games released in recent years.

Fundamentally, this is a very satisfying puzzle game, and one that manages to stay surprising throughout by keeping things incredibly tight. It escalates from the start and doesn't stop, providing more than enough reason to spend a couple of hours pushing around brightly covered blocks.

The game's wonky art assets and cursory narrative trimming feel like placeholders, but take it as a no-frills Portal mod pack and there are ideas here worth winding your brain around--building blocks of a development talent almost as impressive as the game it apes. [Apr 2012, p.81]

Q.U.B.E. is a true puzzle game that has great gameplay but you'll never really get motivated to reach the ending because of a lack of story. The game also has a few bugs and the darkest rooms feel like a lazy way to let you do the same puzzles over again. Still, if you're looking for a puzzle game with some nice graphics and at times very difficult puzzles, look no further.

Quotation forthcoming.

Q.U.B.E. is a very interesting indie production that will delight fans of environmental puzzles and, in some ways, stands as a possible complement to Portal 2.

For the price (currently available for $15 on Steam) Q.U.B.E. is a decent way to spend a few hours. I found it a welcome change from the glut of open-world RPGs that have seemed to come out month after month recently, and I would happily buy DLC for additional puzzle packs if they became available. The short length of the campaign left me wanting more later on, but as a palate cleanser between meatier affairs, it hit just the right spot.

A fine puzzle game and inferior Portal-clone. It takes four hours to run through this fun experience.

Q.U.B.E is a decent indie attempt, but its similarities to Valve's masterpiece cannot be ignored, and it's this constant comparison that will be its downfall. While the effort has to be applauded, at its most basic level Q.U.B.E exhibits very little to engage players, and as such won't keep your attention for very long.

It's difficult not to draw parallels to Portal. You are a test subject in a unique environment interacting with your surroundings in a creative way. But here you are alone: There is no humor, no cynicsm, no cake lie, only partially frustrating puzzles thanks to the imprecise controls – nothing else.

Q.U.B.E. may not be the most original game. It has problems and leaves plenty of room for improvement. Regardless, it's a genuinely enjoyable experience that fans of first-person puzzlers should not miss out on.

A nice diversion from the famous portal gun.

Pity about the lack of detail, originality and music. The price is affordable by all and deserves a chance.

A solid puzzler but little else. What it sets out to do, gameplay-wise, it succeeds in, providing admirable and occasionally fiddly conundrums to cudgel your grey matter with. However, outside of that, there's little to charm you, little to make you 'love' the game, rather than just like it.

Q.U.B.E. offers some short-term fun for puzzle fans and not a lot else. With so little emphasis put on story I can't help but feel that Q.U.B.E. may have benefitted from having no story elements at all, instead of loosely hinting at some bigger picture that goes unseen.

Q.U.B.E. may have some wonderfully clever puzzles, but without any sort of personality, it ends up feeling as boring as its whitewashed walls.

The puzzles are truly brilliant, in both concept and execution. No disagreements here. But this core should have been dressed with a more tasteful wrapper to make the whole package more appealing. [February 2012]

An enjoyable, finely crafted puzzler that's over far too soon. [March 2012, p.66]

Its ideas for first-person puzzling mechanics are original, and when it starts combining them all into larger and more baffling setups it has great moments with a chilled-out pacing all their own. But that creativity is smothered under slavish imitation of the aesthetics and structure of the Portal series, and such a large influence is malign.

Too short, too easy and devoid of atmosphere. [March 2012, p.69]

As a final misstep, there's no final, ultimate puzzle that combines all the mechanics I'd learned -- it just sort of ends.