Cubikolor Review

While console gaming has always been closely linked to a wide range of genres, whether it be first person shooters or open-world adventure games, puzzle games are a rare sight. Occasionally, in the form of a genre mashup we will see the occasional exception like Portal or The Witness but, for the most part, puzzle gaming remains very closely associated with handheld or mobile gaming. Cubikolor, developed by Moving Player, is a block based puzzle game for the Xbox One and is a prime example as to why standard puzzle games just aren’t suited for consoles.

Cubikolor tasks the player with manoeuvring a cube through the 150 levels, trying to reach locks. Throughout the game, different blocks are introduced to the levels that all make your mission that bit harder. At its core the game is very simple – move your cube up, down, left and right – but the challenge comes from your environment. Some blocks move higher and lower while some disappear after only a single touch. As puzzle games go, Cubikolor feels like a chore to play as levels quickly deviate into repetitive attempts to simply find the right path rather than actually ‘solving’ the puzzle. While most puzzle games require deep thought and a need to think outside of the box, Cubikolor turns into a long session of trial and error.

This is most prevalent in the occasional timed missions or levels that require you to complete them in a certain number of moves. It’s a cheap way of adding additional challenge that leads to frustration more than it provides the player with a feeling of satisfaction when the mission is complete.  

Visually the game is very basic, featuring levels made up of various coloured cubes and, while this suits the gameplay, it doesn’t look or feel like it should be on consoles. The simplicity of its design gives it a very cheap feel, not really justifying the £6.39 asking price when you can get much better puzzle games on handheld or mobile for cheaper.

Everything about the game, whether it be its gameplay, visuals or sound, feels mediocre. While the core mechanics of the game are sound, it never really evolves into anything truly gripping. While it is never insufferably bad, the game draws its ideas very thin and often has you hoping for the best rather than forcing you to really think of how best to approach the level.

Realistically, it’s hard to envisage a time when you will be sat on your sofa on your Xbox and pick this over a quick round of your favourite shooter, as Cubikolor’s structure of short simple levels is clearly better suited to the quick pick-up-and-play nature of mobiles or handhelds.