Cubed3's Scores

  • Games
For 4,097 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 39% higher than the average critic
  • 10% same as the average critic
  • 51% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 7.1 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Game review score: 68
Highest review score: 100 Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies
Lowest review score: 0 The Letter
Score distribution:
4097 game reviews
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    It may have taken its time arriving on the 3DS, but Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney is just as engaging as it was over ten years ago. Franchise veterans may be a little disappointed by the lack of positive changes in this new version, but those who didn't get to experience franchise's most exciting leap forward in its original incarnation are ensured a fantastic time here, and it's a great way to contemplate the classic series' genius before its brave leap onto the Nintendo Switch in the coming year.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Tachyon Project is not bad and is a fine fit for anyone looking to kill an hour or two with arcade-like gameplay, but it comes off as disjointed. The story is presented far bigger than it actually is, the marketing tries more to sell the idea of an old shoot 'em up than a new game, and Ada's movements are stiff for the wrong reasons. That said, the missions are structured well; there's a lot to customise in Ada, and it is engaging enough to warrant a playthrough. There's a good game hiding inside Tachyon Project and hopefully a sequel can iron out the kinks to bring it out.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Nine Parchments can be enjoyable in small doses with others. Playing alone can feel depressing as the grind of pressing on feels strongly palpable. There really isn't anything wrong with the mechanics since it controls nicely and feedback is satisfying. The art direction is top-notch and fantasy atmosphere has a much more colourful Magic the Gathering vibe going on. It is the sheer unimaginative level design and pedestrian scenarios that will bore most people. There is very little variation from the first stages to the end game stages and there is desperately a need for something to mix up the action.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    One Piece: Unlimited World Red Deluxe Edition is that rare licensed game with enough lasting power to please both fans and newcomers alike. Prior knowledge of the series certainly bolsters the experience, but the core mechanics are strong enough on their own where newcomers can hop in and enjoy themselves. The gameplay itself can feel repetitive during longer play sessions, but the mechanics aren't so simple to the point where they aren't at least somewhat engaging. At its core, One Piece: Unlimited World Red's MO is to be an easy to play adventure game set in the One Piece universe and, at that, it succeeds rather well.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    While by no means revolutionary or necessary, the Fun Pack is a strong enough foundation to start a season pass on. Two new tracks and eight new vehicles add a hefty amount of freshness to the experience, and the Rallycross focus is a nice way of giving the pack a central theme. The new cars may not be a big enough grab for casual drivers, but more hardcore fans will certainly find themselves pleased with the additions. Time will tell if Project CARS 2's season pass will be a worthwhile investment, but the Fun Pack sets the stage quite nicely with plenty of content and focus to go around.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    One third bullet hell, one third shoot 'em up, and one third roguelike, Enter the Gungeon is a magnificent blend of three genres that go together impressively well. The wide variety of guns keeps each playthrough feeling fresh, regardless of the character chosen, and the diverse enemy design is sure to keep players on their toes as they force their way through the Gungeon. There are some issues that rise from the randomness of it all, par for the course for a roguelike, but the fluid gameplay, massive weapon cache, and bullet-heavy atmosphere make Enter the Gungeon one incredibly endearing experience.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Batman: The Enemy Within - Episode 1: The Enigma is easily the best episode of Telltale's Batman story so far. While Season One put the wheels in motion, The Riddler's return to Gotham invites The Agency into town to make its presence felt, while Lucius Fox, Alfred, and Bruce Wayne are still trying to fully come to terms with the events of the first season. The story is a lot tighter, and the animations are well-polished and cleaner, setting the expectation for what to expect throughout the second season.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Nightmare Boy is an admirable first attempt by a two-person studio, with a compelling artistic vision backed up by wild and unexpected creativity. However, strict adherence to outdated gameplay tropes and questionable narrative pacing make this a difficult game to recommend to everyone, especially with the abundance of other high quality Metroidvanias on the market.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    It's clear that Beholder: Complete Edition is trying to tell a story about oppression, coercion, and state observation, but its heavy handedness and console controls dilutes the message it's trying to produce. Other games have achieved much more with so much less, yet that shouldn't distract from what is a management game with a delightful twist. It's fun to be the bad guy and hauling out a tenant because you spied them eating fish can be strangely compelling. Sometimes admin can be fun and Beholder exploits the subservient and rebel in us all.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Minecraft: Story Mode Season Two - Episode 5: Above and Beyond reaches its epic conclusion as the great battle between Jesse and the evil Admin, Romeo, threatens to tear Beacontown apart. Featuring a shorter experience than previous episodes, this is also the most finely tuned one in terms of pacing, as the excitement ramps up from the opening credits right through to the eventual ending. While the decision-making in earlier episodes seems very watered down in retrospect, the final few choices mean that the next Minecraft season will need to answer plenty of questions, if Telltale does indeed go down that path.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Minecraft: Story Mode Season Two - Episode 4: Below the Bedrock heightens the sense of urgency, thanks to Romeo's shape-shifting powers that have granted him complete control of Beacontown. Traversing the Underneath is an exciting but equally thrilling journey that grants inside access into the minds of each of the Admins. Learning more about Romeo, Xara, and Fred forces the group to look inward at times, adding yet another layer to what is becoming an intricate story. Since the "filler" portion of this episode can simply be skipped by just losing the trivia contest, it is a wonder why there was even a point in this sequence anyway.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Minecraft: Story Mode Season Two - Episode 3: Jailhouse Block throws the gang into its mid-season low point, as the group embark on a prison-breakout with the help of the mysterious inmate, Prisoner X. While Prisoner X adds a great new complexity to the overall adventure, and drops important exposition, she is a welcome addition to the gang. Unfortunately, most of the good stuff does not occur until beyond the midpoint of this episode, as the beginning stages suffer due to a warden and prison hierarchy that makes no sense.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Looking at single aspects, SpellForce 3 is successful on all fronts, but this does not tell the whole story as on some level the game fails to come together cohesively. Building up RPG characters works largely well, but the RTS strategy sections leave a lot to be desired and the heroes simply melt into the background too much to be in any way meaningful. There is nothing 'wrong' with the game; it is just never an awesome experience.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    Sadly, The Red Strings Club will fool some into thinking it follows in the footsteps of classics from WadjetEye Games purely because of its aesthetics. Do not be mistaken, though. This is not a patch on any of that company's releases, nor is it affiliated with it at all. Instead, this takes an intriguing style and theme of the world gone mad for technology, mixes in some extremely random love story between the lead duo of hacker and bartender that bears no relevance to the underlying tale, adds in a heavy dose of some of the most painful attempts at puzzles, and then perfectly tops it all off with an overly wordy script filled with too much padding.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    Altogether, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard Gold Edition is the ideal pick-up for survival horror fans. Ethan's night of horrors is liable to go down as a classic. There's also a lot of excitement to be had in the DLC. Some of the offerings, notably Daughters, are weak and uneven, but they are still worth a play-through. At this point, anyone who hasn't already experienced this game is doing themselves a disservice. It's an astonishingly executed title that pours a lot of love into its mechanics and game design - the hallmarks of a quality Capcom product. What else can be said? The company makes it look easy.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    The flaws of the free, mobile version have been carried over to the Nintendo Switch port, and as such, destroy what little fun could be had by this word-scramble title, the reason being that, rather than the ability to craft words, Spellspire is all about grinding.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    Violett itself is an enjoyable point and click adventure, but it also has so many glitches and even a game-breaking bug that renders it pointless for purchase on Nintendo Switch. Since the error stems from the touch screen controls, anyone intrigued by this would be better off trying out Violett Remastered on PC to witness its charms without the problems.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Nicalis brings one of the toughest and addictive gaming experiences from almost every other format to Nintendo Switch, and the transition is seamless. With dastardly levels of difficulty, a quirky aesthetic, and an absolutely sublime soundtrack that has definitely stood the test of time, the major drawback comes from how short the experience is. Once accustomed to overcoming the challenges faced, there is not much left to do after rescuing everyone. Hopefully, an expanded successor is on the way.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Looking lovely and colourful on the TV or portable Switch screen, Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Overdrive is a quality little chibi beat 'em up that deserves a chance by any genre fan. There are plenty of characters to choose from and make available through various difficulty modes, and the ability to level up, unlock moves and build stats, compete in leaderboards, and battle in multiplayer means there is huge scope for replayability that not many other brawlers have. It can take a little getting used to, but once the mechanics are down, the depth and uniqueness in terms of each fighter is second to none, and the outlandish and just plain weird enemy designs give it its distinct personality. The one major pitfall is keeping online play at bay until Nintendo launches its paid service, which hopefully won't backfire when the time comes.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is not a perfect game, but there is a good reason why it has become one of the most popular, and discussed titles of 2017. A great synthesis of mechanics, map design, and emergent gameplay, as well as a successful reiteration of the groundwork built by previous games, mean that PUBG is a fantastic experience, when it's working as intended.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Max: The Curse of Brotherhood is a triumph in design, both in terms of how stages are crafted and the way the smart puzzles contained within each world are put together. Held back by its control scheme in the past, the shackles have now been removed, making this the superlative edition thanks to the excellent touch screen system now employed on Nintendo Switch, leaving Cubed3 now hungry for an upgraded version of Max & the Magic Marker in the future.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Applying a new aesthetic to the established gameplay formula of Konami's Bomberman series, BRAWL brings a unique darker feel and subtle mechanic changes, grouped together in a bundle of multiplayer goodness. There are only some frame-rate issues that hold it back slightly, and the lack of online play also proves to be a bit disappointing.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Although Embers of Mirrim doesn't last long, it has some unique ideas and stays entertaining throughout. The controls for both Mirrim and the embers are functionally solid. The most clever moments tend to unexpected, such as when trying to move the embers in different directions. Dodging minions and navigating a twisting passageway becomes quite a bit more interesting when it requires controlling two heroes at the same time. While the lack of replay-value is a shame, this is still an adventure worth experiencing.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    The cinematic platformer had a very simple formula to follow and it isn't hard to make an appealing game in this genre. There have been so many over the years and the recent influx of independent developers doing their take on the whole 'kid in a nightmarish world' sub genre, there are more options now than ever. This should be at the very bottom of that list of options as it feels more like a Chinese boot-leg than anything of artistic merit. Dull, buggy, unpolished and, most of all, Albert & Otto is criminally derivative - its best quality is that it is over in about 90 minutes.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    InnerSpace falls more than a bit short of the heights it aspires to. The levels feel hard to navigate and they aren't helped by the laggy controls and constant motion of the Cartographer. It feels poorly optimised for Nintendo Switch, with frequent camera stutters and choppy frame-rates. It's overall a very unsatisfying experience, which is made all the more frustrating by the sheer potential InnerSpace has. The beautiful environments and quietly haunting atmosphere are still enchanting, but everything else just feels empty.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Energy Invasion shows some interesting and bold design choices that challenge some core aspects of one perhaps the most static genres that is still relevant today. However, these changes are badly implemented, only adding too much unnecessary clutter that is sometimes annoyingly hard to spot due to the small size. It is easy to want to like Energy Invasion as it adds more action to a genre in which some people desire more action and there is a desire to see more like this, but the drawbacks and flaws slowly creep up on the player. All that can be done is to hope that a sequel or spiritual sequel to the game get made that fixes some of the annoying things and decrease clutter to make it a more enjoyable experience as there clearly is a lot of untapped potential.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    What Bleed lacks in play time, it makes up for with one of the most fluid control schemes to grace a platformer. Wryn's triple jump allows for a flow of movement that encourages dodge heavy, bullet hell style level design. Coupled with a well implemented bullet-time mechanic, stages require quick reflexes to complete, especially when taking rank into consideration. While the main story takes less than two hours to complete, unlockables, Arcade mode, and higher difficulties keep Bleed a highly addictive, and highly replayable, experience.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    A World to the West is actually superior to its predecessor. The puzzles are wonderful and offer up some real head-scratching challenges, and the mechanics are engaging and fun. Parallels are evident between this and A Link to the Past and considering the quality of that game, in the comparison, it shows the quality of this one. A real surprise here, it is definitely one of the best Nindies to hit Nintendo Switch yet, and considering some of the titles hitting the console recently, that's really saying something.
    • 39 Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    The blurb for The Deer God promises to Challenge your religion and your platforming skills, but it does neither. The platforming moments are ridiculously easy, and the combat is easily abused. The worst of the game, though, is the story, which constantly stresses a morality that makes no sense at all, all culminating in an absolutely moronic ending. There are many fantastic indie titles that have made the jump to Nindies. This is not one of them.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Steep: Road to the Olympics is a separate expansion, meaning it's not included as part of the season pass. That's a shame because, if it was, it would be easier to recommend. For a game all about freedom of choice and spontaneous activity, with quite an arcade-centric physics engine, it was clearly going to struggle to convey the technical side of the Winter Olympic Games. The 'Be a Legend' story-mode seems rushed and ill-devised. The footage of athletes is poorly integrated and the narrating and tutoring is all too intense, especially when the experience is so fragmented and dull. Japan, on the other hand, is a beautiful and large region, which really does expand the Steep world with a new aesthetic, new event types, and new challenges. Hence, Steep fans who persevere with the first segment, will eventually receive an impressive content injection. Fans of the Winter Olympics, however, will probably find this one quite underwhelming.

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