Publisher: TikGames, Creat Studios
Developer: TikGames, Creat Studios
Genre: Puzzle
Release date: Available now
Review by: Andrew Clark

There’s grandma, quietly putting together a jigsaw puzzle by the fireplace, listening to Bing Crosby and yelling single-syllable curses at the fichus plant. Flash forward two generations to Tetris; two lines from the top and all you want is a @#$%! straight piece. I could go on further about color matching, role-playing elements and a host of other complications that can cause unpredicted swearing in the puzzle genre, but I won’t. I’ll just say that Cuboid is a dirty little %#@$ and its simplicity is beautiful.

You play as a rectangular block, with all of its physical properties and weight taken into account. All you have to do is guide said block to the magical exit to complete one of the 66 grid-like levels. Put the peg in the hole? Sounds easy enough, and on the surface it is, even after additional rules such as move limits, wooden planks and switches are introduced as the game progresses. It all seems so simple, so why am I so angry?

The culprit is not so much moving the block as the actual path you take to the exit. Meaning that while you can plainly see your goal, the block itself and it’s relation to the playing field are your true enemies. To thwart them you must backtrack, count spaces and take weight distribution (for the aforementioned wooded planks) into account as you try to put the right end of the block in the right spot. That is, if you want to trigger the correct switch or make that crucial last move into the exit.

This frustratingly simple gameplay, surprisingly enough, boils down to unadulterated genius, which lets the lesser elements of the game (like the merely adequate graphics and serviceable sound) off the hook. The $10 admission fee doesn’t sting either, making this affordable self punishment for the cerebral cortex. Yep, it’s brutal, especially if you want to shave your move count to make it onto the leader boards.

I can’t find any glaring fault in Cuboid’s simplicity, and being a man who likes complex control schemes and oodles of bells and whistles, that surprises the heck out of me. I suppose if I were to nitpick at all it would be that some players, me included, might not be patient enough for some of the later puzzles. We’re talking flips, rotations and backtracking galore, all gone to pot when one stupid move clears the slate. It’s aggravating, but when you have the epiphany that solves the whole thing, it feels so good!

I’m new to the PS3, yet I can tell you that, without a doubt, Cuboid is one of those “keep on your hard drive” kinds of games. Maybe it’s not a complete puzzle revolution, but it feels like something that should’ve been done a long time ago. Heck, maybe it already has! I don’t care, just fork out the cash and swear incoherently for awhile. Puzzle fans, you owe it to yourselves.

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