Puzzle games don’t always get the fanfare they sometimes deserve, such as this game, Cubicity. They come in a variety of appearances; small ones, big ones, some as big as your head. Wait, I’m thinking of coconuts. Anyways, simple puzzle games sometimes overcomplicate their design with quirky graphics or gimmicks to stand out.
In contrast, others can get away with zen-like simplicity – titles such as SEN Seven Eight Nine come to mind. Cubicity is a gentle balance of cute graphics and a simple concept, but through execution can be pretty darn challenging, so you have to look into those big, bold eyes of your cube-like animals (forget the humans) to chill you out.
Your mission is simple: guide your team of cubes across a series of maps, ensuring that they finish on their designated spot within a certain number of moves. Each cube can be moved independently of the others and in multiple directions, but not diagonally.
Your cube will keep moving until they reach an obstacle such as a wall, another character or falls to its death down a gap. While this can be a challenge, using the environment and your team to your advantage allows you to complete the mission.
Cubicity, from Overgamez and Pirate Parrot, is an Angry Birds-like format; you’re awarded a total of three stars per stage based on the number of moves you perform – the lower, the better. Additionally, you can collect coins from each successful run, allowing for the purchase of more goodies.
First and foremost are the number of cute animals on offer. Pick from lions to pandas, each with an ability that you can use to your benefit. Get extra moves, the ability to fill holes on the fly and win extra coins.
Appearances aren’t everything, but Cubicity is a nice-looking game. On a larger screen, the cubes can look a little pixelated when in the shop, but when it comes to actual gameplay, they’re a mixture of cuteness and lush greens and blues, with dynamic lighting.
My only real major complaint with the game is the controls. To pick an available cube, you move the left stick to choose, and the A button to switch to movement. If you want to stop them from moving, you have to press the A button once more.
I often found myself forgetting to deselect the cube, move the cursor to another player, but in reality, the existing character would move to my detriment. There’s an undo option available, which seemed infinite when I tried it, but even though you can correct your errors, it’s frustrating to have to keep going back due to a silly mistake that’s easily made.
Cubicity is an easy-to-pick-up title that most people should be able to get a kick out of, more so if a fan of the puzzle genre. The presentation certainly helps it forward with the colour palette and cute characters, but as can be expected in puzzle games, it’s pretty much void of any narrative. But you don’t need it.
Bear in mind that this is a solo-player game with no features other than the primary campaign, with repeat plays to earn more coins/improve on your rating if not already at three stars.
If there were a two-player mode, such as split-screen battle or similar, this could have added a lot more longevity to the game, but alas, it’s only the campaign on offer with a shop to unlock new characters and skins.
The Cubicity game came out relatively under the radar, so it wasn’t on my desk long enough to build up any expectations; therefore, I can say that it was a pleasant experience overall.
