Cuboid

Have you ever wanted to play a game where the protagonist a rectangular shaped block? How about one where you can only move by walking a block around a level on each of its faces? If this sounds appealing to you, then Cuboid is the game for you. Wait, it doesn't sound that great? So why the heck am I so addicted to this game?

Cuboid is a pure puzzle game where you do exactly what I just mentioned. The objective is to take your rectangle block, and walk him towards the goal without falling off the floating platform you are placed on. The goal is a 1x1 square, so you'll have to position yourself in such a way that you are standing upright on it. When you do that, you'll pass through the board and head to the next level. If this sounds a little familiar to you, its because there was a flash title called Bloxorz a while back that followed the same formula.

Adding complexity along the way are weak wooden planks which require your rectangle to be laid flat to traverse, two types of pressure switches, and teleportation devices that can even split your rectangle into two perfect cubes until they meet again and rejoin. These elements are all presented in the form of some quick tutorials and slowly enough that you get the hang of what you need to do before proceeding.

With the exception of a handful of 'boss levels' which actually limit the number of moves you can make, that's the whole game right there in a nutshell. Each level allows you to achieve a different type of medal based on speed and move count so there is replayability there for you puzzle fiends that just need to achieve the best you can, but much like Portal... once you figure out how to get to that goal, you can probably do it again with relative ease.

Therein lies the rub, though. Cuboid causes you to wrap your head around something that should be so simple, yet becomes more and more difficult as the game progresses. Its a pure mental puzzle game through and through, not requiring fast reflexes or brutal accuracy.

I think what makes Cuboid so attractive and addicting is its simplicity. There's really not much you have to learn or remember, and with the exception of being split apart via teleporting, you can control the entire game with just the d-pad. There isn't any multiplayer and there are only two difficulty modes with a total of 66 puzzles, but none of this stuff detracts from the experience in the slightest. If I may be so bold, this is the type of puzzle game that's almost on par with the likes of Portal. If you enjoy puzzle games, and have a PS3, do yourself a favor and shell out the $9.99 on PSN for Cuboid. Its a great game, a great buy, it has trophy support, and your head will explode at least twice (if you're into that sort of thing).

The Good:

• Addicting, Addicting, Addicting.
• Devilishly Simple
• Will make your head a splode
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The Bad:

• Addicting, Addicting, Addicting
• Light on the overall puzzle count
• Presentation could use some more flair
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The Ugly:

• Broken Controllers