Cubicity Review
Cubicity has cute visuals, occasionally challenging puzzles, and lots of different character styles to unlock. What’s not to love? After a handful of hours, I found my interest waning quickly though, and it became difficult to boot up for more than a level or two.
I think a lot of it came down to the progression here. This is a mobile game on Nintendo Switch. It apparently flew under the radar for me because it also launched on PC a while ago. Similar to games like Candy Crush, each level is short and to the point with a three-star rating system. It even has a level select layout like most mobile puzzle games. Maybe I’m being picky, but I prefer puzzle games to have a little more substance.
It’s a good thing I don’t always expect a narrative because Cubicity has absolutely none. However, I don’t think the gameplay suffers from a lack of this though; most people are going to be focused on the puzzles anyway. For $5.99, there’s a lot of content too. Plus, more stages are planned for the future.
Don’t expect much of a challenge
Puzzles are pretty easy throughout, but they do get a bit more difficult as you progress. The gameplay is simple. Players take control of a stage with several cute cubed animals on it and must navigate each of them to a specific point on the map. Animals can be moved left, right, forward, or back but not diagonally. When you press a direction, your animal will move in that direction until obstructed by something.
Most of the puzzles here can be solved just by looking at the starting locations and basic movements that you’ll be doing. None of the puzzles are very difficult. Later upgrades and tools you unlock make things even more forgiving.
One thing that Cubicity does really well is gradually introducing new mechanics to players. Each new mechanic is introduced over a couple of levels that let you get the hang of things before settling into slightly more difficult stages. The other thing that makes stages even easier are the passive abilities that our cubed little friends have. Some animals can jump over a gap in the stage; others net you additional turns to complete stages. I don’t think Cubicity was designed to provide much of a challenge, but I wish there had been more difficult stages or the animal abilities were optional.
Visually, Cubicity isn’t outstanding. That being said, the stylized aesthetic of the animals and bright, vibrant stages make things fun and interesting to look at. I didn’t notice any framerate issues or hiccups either – nor should they because Cubicity isn’t very demanding. Luckily, things hold up throughout.
The controls need improvement
My absolute biggest complaint with Cubicity is the controls. When going through a stage and choosing which character to select, an opaque arrow appears over your currently-selected animal. It’s easy to miss. It often ended up with me moving an animal I didn’t intend to.
Additionally, if you don’t press a button after moving an animal – and use the left joystick to try to select a different one – it moves the initially selected animal again. I quickly became frustrated with this. I think touchscreen controls would have been a good control choice for Cubicity. Automatically deselecting an animal after moving it would have been helpful, too.
Conclusion
Cubicity isn’t a bad game; far from it, actually. It’s a cute and charming little puzzler. More than anything, it’s a forgettable one. For six bucks you’ll have a decent time for a few hours, but the easy puzzles and mobile game-like presentation didn’t hold my interest for very long. If you do end up enjoying it, there’s a lot of content here for the asking price.
