Smart Cube

[code][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/]Follow our curator page: IndieGems[/url] for more reviews.[/code] [h1]Introduction[/h1] [b]Smart Cube[/b] is a first-person puzzle-platformer. The goal of each level is to reach the exit as quickly as possible (although I don’t think the timer affects anything). There are 50 levels with increasing difficulty. Levels are short and take anywhere from 20 seconds to a few minutes to complete. There is no story or narration of any kind. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] The main focus of games like Portal is solving clever puzzles. The main focus of [b]Smart Cube[/b] is building bridges and stairs Minecraft-style to get to the exit of the level. You have two tools at your disposal: cubes and jump pads. Cubes are self-explanatory: you can place them in specified areas and you can remove them. You use cubes to build simple structures to reach areas you otherwise cannot reach. Since you have a limited amount of cubes per level, it is a constant cycle of placing cubes, progressing a little further, then removing cubes behind you so you could use them again elsewhere. Jump pads can also be placed only in specific spots and they will push you up and forward when you step on them. You can turn them to change the direction of the jump. [h1]Complaints[/h1] First-person platforming can be very frustrating if not done well. Sadly this is the case with [b]Smart Cube[/b]. It feels like you are controlling a grease-covered astronaut trying to escape the moon base. The gravity is lower than normal. You are almost floating in the air rather than dropping and yet you can barely jump high enough to reach the top of a single cube. You better land right in the center of it too otherwise you will slide right off that cube. Jumping pads are very unreliable. You can see me struggling to get them to work around 04:45 mark of the video I linked below. For some reason, vertical field of view is limited to ~110-120° so you cannot look all the way up or down. I don’t remember if I’ve ever seen that in a first-person game. There are plenty of spots where you can get stuck (likes holes in the ground you cannot climb out of) forcing you to restart the level from the beginning. Those are intentional too, not random glitches. All levels are short so it is not a big deal but not fun either. [h1]Visuals and sound[/h1] Graphics are minimalistic and not bad by any means although I had an issue with random frame-drops regardless of the settings. Water is especially pretty but serves no gameplay purpose. Music and sound are all okay as well. [h1]Verdict[/h1] I like puzzle-platformers and I was looking forward to playing [b]Smart Cube[/b] but it ended up being a letdown. I kept playing hoping to see some new mechanics or actual puzzles but it never happened. The basic block building and climbing you learn in the first level is what you should expect from the rest of the game. The level design is too simple and the only difficulty comes from poor controls. There is a free demo available on the store page so try the game for yourself and see if you feel differently. Here is a video of the first 8 levels of the game: https://youtu.be/-XmAfMIoRLQ [code]Disclaimer: A copy of the game was provided by the publisher, however, it did not influence my opinion in any way.[/code]

[b][i]Review copy provided by developer via Curator Connect[/i][/b] First impressions are always key, and Smart Cube makes a good one with its crisp, clean aesthetics. The white and colored cubes seem polished to perfection, and when you come across pools of water or flower beds the level can take on an almost idyllic presence. It's a great way to pose a first-person puzzler, and I entered into the trials with plenty of optimism. The challenges I faced seemed creative enough as well, allowing you to pick up and place cubes and jump pads like some kind of Minecraft challenge map. The solutions seemed logical, and the mechanics clear. But doing what needed to be done proved to be a whole other matter. I first noticed it when trying to platform across some narrow pillars, in that you have no air control. Once you're airborne, you're going whichever direction you threw yourself. That may be realistic but it can easily become a source of frustration when so many other first-person games give you at least a little freedom to shift around in midair. And it's horribly compounded by the slippery hit detection near edges which will have you slipping off platforms you should be safe on, and fiddly controls with the cubes that never get fully explained. The real dealbreaker though was a jump pad that simply failed to function and kept dumping me in the same pit over and over and over. In the end it doesn't matter how pretty your puzzler is, it matters how it plays and Smart Cube has some of the dumbest controls I've ever seen. You can find more mini-reviews like this one, along with full reviews and other features, at https://goldplatedgames.com/ or on my [url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/11322459/]curation page[/url]!

Love the aesthetic, puzzles are nice but a bit on the easy side, mostly consisting of placing some blocks and climbing them to get to your goal with a few switches thrown in. 50 puzzles that mostly take from 30sec to 3 minutes to complete. These won't have you tearing your hair out or getting stumped for too long. Jumping is not perfect but the game is easy enough that it doesn't matter. A little over-priced for the time it took to complete, I'd say it's worth $3 to $5, more like $3 really. I'd buy a DLC with more levels if it was $2 or less (hint hint).

7/10 Creative work with suitable music ! A funny puzzle game with flexible cubes to create your own route but not too hard. Good for a short-time break. The atmosphere of this world is like portal plus minecraft.

[quote][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/9686972/]Follow our curator page "[b]First Person Exploration and Puzzle Games[/b]" for more games like this![/url][/quote] Not much to say about this one. I only did the first handful of "puzzles", but the game seems more about jumping between platforms [i](difficult due to the floaty controls)[/i] and fighting with cube placements than actually solving puzzles. There are much better options, including the game they were clearly attempting to imitate, Q.U.B.E. Do yourself a favor and buy one of those instead.

哈哈哈哈哈看外国暴躁老哥给的差评真是把我吓尿了 不过全成就之后感觉这游戏，其实还行，至少不至于差评 至少从制作来说，画面还是比较细致的 第一人称解谜，涉及到动作和位置时，本就有些困难 还不如把第一人称的位置换成一个抽象物品，甚至是个卡通形象都挺好 这游戏受诟病的地方我觉得归纳起来就两点： 1、难度设定比较低，或者说不够硬核，大部分关卡所需要的箱子都远远少于提供的数量，可能给部分硬核玩家就不是很喜欢。有可能是设计者没有很用心，也有可能是这个解谜模型设计者也没能力很好地把握。 2、在上述低难度条件下，这个游戏打着解谜游戏的名号，却把大部分难度都加到了操作和寻路上面，这反差就给人的感觉很不好了，尤其是很多需要准确跳来跳去的关，本来第一人称就很难定位，结果这个屎一样的物理引擎让大家玩的很烦躁，尤其是在惯性、摩擦、斜面处理三个方面，是说设计的太奇怪了呢还是太真实了呢，总之操作起来非常不顺手。你能想象，我已经破解了一个关卡中的所有逻辑谜题，却因为操作上的问题一遍一遍地重来？这是游戏设计中典型的不分轻重。 不过我个人是觉得这些情况还不至于给差评 支持一下，或者说，包容一下。

Wow, where do I start. 1. These are not even puzzles. Every level is so easy it's unfathomable the devs would charge $$ for this. 2. You are literally buying achievements for every level. You should feel like an idiot when you get any of these "achievements" because you literally achieved NOTHING. This game is so easy I just say, wow dev, you suck. You literally put ZERO effort into making ANYTHING hard or even midocre. 3. DO NOT SUPPORT THIS DEV, Games this easy, uninspired, and downright awful deserver NOTHING. 4. This game can actually be beaten in less than 1 hr. I sat on my ass pretending there was something more meaningful IN ANY LEVEL, there is NOTHING. Each level is actually only a couple mins. Children can complete this while napping. 5. A game like this should not be allowed on Steam, devs should have to put some work into make a "game" when they claim "your mind will bend" etc. 6. Not even worth it if it was free. I'm so deterred by this game it's just annoying. I really waited on this one because the concept seemed good. The basic premise of the game has a lot of promise, but the puzzle making is SOOOOOOOOOOOO bad it's unbelievable. Take my advice, ALL first person puzzle games are better than this one. It's THAT bad.

Many of the complaints in the other reviews are valid, albeit a little harsh (in my opinion). For instance, the jumping is rather floaty, but once you get used to it, I found it fairly okay. Landing on a single block is frustrating and challenging and too precise, but this isn't needed in very many cases. The levels are mostly very simple, in some cases invole find the hidden block. Intentional soft locks that force you to restart the level is poor level design, but (again) not so frequent that it became a problem for me. With all of these problems, I still enjoyed it. I played through the entire thing in one sitting (106 minutes to 100%) without getting bored or overly frustrated, which is more than I can say about many games. Is it worth $11? Maybe not at this point. But with more refined level design, and a few minor tweaks to the controls, it definitely could be.

a little better minecraft parkour, except jumping is absolutely awful, also mouse sense is broken, you got bookah effect when you move the mouse, which succ. overall; good for free, not worth one dollar