QUBE 2 Review
In recent years puzzle games have surfaced. It seemed that beyond Portal or Professor Layton there was no room to rack their brains being that the main purpose of the game, but examples like this QUBE 2 , The Witness or The Talos Principle show that in recent years, and supported by the general In the independent development, these projects manage to get ahead and achieve some commercial success, so Toxic Games returns to the fray seeking to repeat the result of the first QUBE and its subsequent revision Director's Cut .
About the Game
QUBE 2, based on the acrostic for Quick Understanding of Block Extrusion, will again present us with the same game mechanics. We control in the first person the character, Amelia Cross, who, using high-tech gloves, can manipulate the certain colored elements of her environment, in a series of scenarios that will instantly evoke us to the Portal saga, both visually and mechanically . There is a certain touch of platform to solve each of the scenarios, although the important thing will be the coconut, never the ability to perform several actions in a short time.
As we progress in the main story of QUBE 2, new functions for technological gloves will be unlocked. In this way, we will be able to incorporate into our arsenal various tools to overcome the levels, such as jumping platforms, retractable structures, or additional blocks. The actions are carried out on certain neutral items, so that is where we usually have the main headache to know how to superimpose the different skills of the gloves, since we can change phase to our own choice, instead of scenarios whose interaction was already prefixed in advance.
This main change makes our own impact on the environment more relevant. Broadly speaking, and without revealing surprises in the outcome, we deal with three types of cubes to place in the so-called extrusion blocks: blue, red and green, corresponding respectively to the functions mentioned above. The freedom of choice is there, but you have to follow a simple rule: just one cube of each color simultaneously .
Despite the apparent simplicity of the functions to be developed, the game stands out for its perfectly traced difficulty curve that makes us move from simply knowing the operation of each of the main colors to moving through the stage in a fluid way, constantly exchanging colors and functions of our gloves. Little by little, the use of physics will have greater weight, the result of which is sufficiently satisfactory without becoming frustrating. Which brings us to this next paragraph.
The level of Difficulty in general is Quite low.
It does not suppose the same level of challenge that other games like the own Portal, main inspiration for the initial project of this group of students who formed Toxic Games, or The Witness, whose puzzles and solutions were not so evident at first sight. Here in QUBE 2 we always know how to solve the puzzles since the mechanics do not change; interacts with the extrusion blocks and combines the possibilities. In fact, QUBE 2 is designed so that there is only one way to go, a single entry and a single exit and if we solve a puzzle in a different way ... it will be because something has "broken".
Yes, it is appreciated that the scenario itself is changing as the chapters progress . Start to appear elevators and mobile platforms with which to transport or manipulate structures on both sides, there are switches by weight, magnets, fire and oil. In this way, and linked to what we mentioned previously of the difficulty curve, it is making the game win whole if given an opportunity beyond the enigmatic prologue not playable and the insipid first chapter.
Speaking of chapters, the game is structured in 11 different episodes that usually last half an hour as estimated time for each one. It is difficult to calculate the number of hours for a puzzle game, because it is something totally subjective and inherent to our logical reasoning abilities, but in about 6 hours we can surely complete this second installment . Of course, it is recommended you create two games as the end approaches, because it has a couple of different endings.
Narratives
Precisely at the narrative level, the background story is constructed mainly through radio conversations between Amelia Cross and Emma Sutcliffe . Do not delve too much or there are additional collectibles that allow us to immerse ourselves much more in the plot background of the work, leaving this section somewhat light one more time. At least, it is a relief for those who are going to join now to this license to know that it will not be necessary to have passed the first one in order to have guarantees to know what is happening on the screen. Similarly, those who do come from the first will capture many additional details here and there, knowing to be solvent in both fields to please veterans and novices.
From the technical point of view, we will not find a game that is very over , as it presents a level of detail somewhat poor in its textures and that the design of scenarios is based on simple geometric structures. It has been improved mainly in terms of resolution regarding the revision of the first installment and, although it is improved for PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, it will not be the game that takes the biggest match. As for the sound, it is a simple game in which the conversations are well resolved and know how to transmit the different moods of the two main characters that we see.
Game Details
Developer-----------------------Toxic Games
Publisher------------------------Toxic Games
Headup Games (Germany),
Trendy Entertainment (Android),
Grip Digital (consoles),
Engine-----------------------Unreal Engine 3
Platform--------------------------------Android
Microsoft Windows,
OS X,
Linux,
PlayStation 3,
PlayStation 4,
Wii U,
Xbox One
Genre------------------------------------Puzzle
Mode-----------------------------Single-player
Conclusion
QUBE 2 arrives fulfilling the promise inherent in a sequel: more and better. Improvement in level design and puzzle solving, in narrative terms and in amount of content (to which some extra hours will be added thanks to the Season Pass). In spite of everything, some games of its same genre in recent years - like The Talos Principle and The Witness - have shown us that you can be much more ambitious in the genre.
Happy Gaming!!!!