Chess Cubed is one of the most unique games of this year I have played so far. Default Software brings an interesting twist on the classic game of chess by combining it with the dimension and rotation of an 8 by 8 Rubiks Cube. Although the mass amounts of potential and complexity this game has to offer might deter an average (epic) gamer, the rulesets and variety make this an enthralling experience without becoming an endless nightmare. In short, I would highly recommend this game to any puzzle fan.
I bought this game for myself and my friend who was initally skeptical about the absurdity of playing on six different planes. We are avid chess fans and his concern was that, by essentially adding five more boards to an already complex and time consuming game, the experience would become bogged down and uninteresting. However, upon playing for the first hour, we ended up recognizing the true potential of this game. The rules of the game remain the same as chess in many ways, but differ in a handful of ways, especially when certain gamemaodes are activated.
One of the major changes from it's ancient predescesor is that moves require energy. Energy is regained by two per turn. The maximum amount of energy allowed to be stored is four. Pawns use one energy, all other pieces two, and rotations require one. This allows the potential to make multiple moves in one turn, which can increase the pacing and strategical coordination at the same time. The rules go on, but are best experienced in play oer time and experimenting with different gamemodes.
The gamemodes my partner and I tested prior to this review included the following. Unlimited movetype allows for full range of motion for a piece within their original movement. Rooks can wrap around the entire cube in a straight line, pawns are still restricted to one-two spot movement, etc. Movetype 8 allows for movement up to eight units, much like the original game. Healthtype deplete takes away one health per turn when a king's in check, allowing for an endgame if the king remains in check for twelve turns. Elemental modifier creates different movetype rules depending on which face of the cube is active (ie. red side cannot have pieces on it, white side forces knight movement). Extra formation fills the third row with pawns. The list goes on, but all of these changes together make extremely unique and interesting gameplay maneuvers that I appreciate.
Some of my complaints are practical, many are just small changes that could make the game a bit more approachable. A major issue my friend and I had was the fact the camera wouldn't follow piece movements after a turn was over. It created a bit of confusion when we tried to figue out what our opponent did. Adding in such a feature would be beneficial and could even have a toggle for those who would rather it stay as is. Also, the tabs to check settings, gamerules, and sides are a bit too sensitive and would benefit from having a delay after moving the pointer off of the tab. Minor issues include how the game refers the orange side as "Gold" which confused us for a brief moment. Also, facing the orange side directly in front of view would make the side look yellow due to the lighting casted on the surface. There's also a typo when checking the HP bar. It says "9: King "my" not leave His current side" and it should say "may".
Otherwise, this game is extremely well made and blew my expectations away. I have to give this gamee an 8/10! More updates and fixes would surely land this game as one of my best games of the year.
