Metascore

Mixed or average reviews - based on 26 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 90 Ratings

  • Summary: Set in a mysterious and abstract sterile environment, Q.U.B.E. (Quick Understanding of Block Extrusion) is a first-person puzzle game that challenges players to navigate each level by manipulating coloured cubes that surround them. There’s little to go on as the game begins - the player is d dropped into an all-white room with few instructions, and simply has to figure their way out. The tone of game changes as the player finds small and big alterations to their environment, supported by an original score, inviting each player to let their imagination take over as to where they might be. Through experimentation and discovery, players will progress through an ever-evolving series of cube puzzles that will challenge them with logic, physics, platforming. Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 26
  2. Negative: 0 out of 26
  1. Jan 19, 2012
    84
    With an acceptable duration, some challenging puzzles and the ability to constantly surprise, Toxic Games has created a title with personality. It's a must have for any lover of the genre and a great way to enter the world of the puzzle for novices.
  2. Feb 5, 2012
    70
    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.
  3. Feb 21, 2012
    70
    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.
  4. Feb 15, 2012
    70
    A fine puzzle game and inferior Portal-clone. It takes four hours to run through this fun experience.

See all 26 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 37
  2. Negative: 3 out of 37
  1. 10
    Wonderfull game! Our era need more games like this. Simple yet innovative. Nice music. Visually atractive. Quite challenging at some points. And above all that, SMART. Worth every single cent. Amused me in every single puzzle, specially the ones in the dark. Surprising ending too.

    Some people think that the game is crappy for the lack story but in my opinion one thing that make this game so good is exactly the lack of it. That way when you proceed through the chambers you wonder who created them, what was the purpose of all that and many other things that are, at least partially, explained when you beat it. People with at least a drop of creativity, imagination and logic should love this game.

    Looking foward to Q.U.B.E. 2!
    Expand
  2. fairly good game that is enjoyable. Some will deem it disappointing because it doesnt have witty narrative writing like portal but that doesnt appear to be its purpose. Sure this would make it a more enjoyable experience but it only ever attempts to be a puzzle game. Those looking for a portal 2 ripoff should look elsewhere. recommended for people who like to chill and do a few first person puzzlers. Expand
  3. Q.U.B.E is a first-person puzzle game that tries very hard to be Portal. It's a decent game, but it falls far short of Portal's glory.

    The de
    cision to not incude any instructions is interesting. I was able to figure everything out after a while, but there are many moving parts and it's easy to forget which parts do what. Portal was elegant. Portals were the solution to every problem. In this game, you push blocks, pull blocks, rotate rooms, move balls, switch gravity, push wires, and more. Once you figure out how something works, instead of mastering it, new moving parts are thrown in. Combine that with non-resettable puzzles where you can get stuck, and it adds up to poor level design. The puzzles are somewhat entertaining and decently tough.

    The setting is really boring. Little sound, and nobody says anything. It's like walking through a hospital.

    Puzzle fans may enjoy this, but don't pay too much for it, especially for such a short game. $5 is about right.
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  4. This is a very interesting puzzle game. I just beat it, and let me say, it HAD THE POTENTIAL to be as great as Portal or Portal 2. What held it back? Lack of story explanation. Some people would count that as a plus, but it makes you feel empty after you beat it. The game was very fun, but very nail rippingly difficult at times. Sometimes I knew EXACTLY how to solve a puzzle, but you have to be so PRECISE to solve it, it's ridiculous. I highly recommend it if you like any sort of mentally challenging puzzle game. Simple mechanics, complex challenges. Strange environment. Uh, what else.. Oh the music. Play your own, it gets very old very fast. Expand

See all 37 User Reviews