Q.U.B.E. 10th Anniversary Review

Q.U.B.E. 10th Anniversary is a first-person puzzle platformer game both developed and published by Toxic Games. The game follows you, the protagonist, as you make your way through a seemingly infinite collection of puzzle rooms, where you are required to navigate them using several different colored cubes that operate in differing ways. As the titular game states, it has been 10 years since the original Q.U.B.E. title was released, and 8 years after the Director’s cut, and thus Toxic Games wished to revitalize the game with enhanced visuals, added puzzles, and overall improvements requested by fans. But does the 10th Anniversary edition hold up to its promises, or does it fall flat on its face?

The story in Q.U.B.E. 10th Anniversary is based on the Director’s Cut story. The basic premise though is that you have awoken in a strange place armed with nothing but a pair of strange gloves that give you the power to manipulate certain aspects of the environment. Not knowing who you are or what you’re doing there, a strange voice contacts you, informing you that you are on a priority mission to destroy this “Cube” and to save the Earth from it. That’s pretty much all I’m going to tell you because the story is actually quite good and needs to be experienced for yourself.

The functions of the objects are distinguished by their color. Blue cubes initiate a spring action, launching you into the air once stepped on. Yellow cubes can change shape and red cubes can increase their length. There are a ton of ways to manipulate the levels as the actual play area is the puzzle itself. Being able to twist and turn walls, floors, and objects create this dynamic feeling that is best described as living inside a Rubix cube. It’s a surreal feeling that very few puzzle games I’ve experienced have been able to capture. There are a total of seven sectors with multiple levels in each sector from the original title. The 10th Anniversary edition includes a brand new sector fittingly titled sector eight that adds an additional four to six hours of gameplay. The main game can take around three hours to complete, giving this package a total of seven to nine hours to complete. There are over 100 levels across 8 sectors that all felt unique and gave me great satisfaction once I figured them out.

The rebuilt game uses Epic’s powerful Unreal Engine 4, making walls and floors shine like never before. Textures and shaders are at an all-time high, making Q.U.B.E look better than ever. Colors also seem to have a deeper and brighter hue, really giving the puzzler a much-needed decade-long makeover. The game still features the fully voiced narrative from 2014 but with updated visuals. It’s nice to know we still get that awesome ambient soundtrack to jam to while solving the cube-littered puzzles. The only thing missing in this package is a leaderboard. It would be great to keep track of the community’s efforts to beating different Sectors in the fastest time possible. Also, the main campaign fell a bit on the short side for me, but it was redeemed by the newly added Sector 8 content.

Overall, Q.U.B.E. 10th Anniversary is a solid remake of the original. Not only does it offer updated visuals but it re-works some updated gameplay and offers brand new content adding to an additional four to six hours of gameplay. This is one of the best puzzle games you can play on any platform. Whether you’re a new or returning fan, this title will satisfy your puzzle-solving heart with ease.

Purchase Q.U.B.E. 10th Anniversary on Steam!