Roguelikes have been around for decades, but in recent years the rouge-lite genre has become very popular. These involve elements of roguelikes, typically the procedurally generated portion, allowing for seemingly infinite replayability as no playthrough is the same as the last. The most recent game we reviewed that falls in this category we ended up loving, so how does this one stack up?

Survive! Mr. Cube is a simple game that places you in the role of the titular Mr. Cube. He’s tasked with leaving an alternate dimension he’s ended up in, and the only way out is through hordes of monsters and other people trapped within it. You can move, attack, and use the potions the game offers. This is the first rogue-lite I’ve played where I almost beat the game in my first attempt – some poor reaction time resulted in my untimely death just before the last boss. But by the time I had started the first level with the second character, I had 90% completion for the trophy list – I was only missing the accomplishments for five deaths and killing the dimension defender. It’s not as if I had some overpowered character, as I started with a rusty sword.

When exploring the levels, you’ll find a number of enemies and chests to loot. The game is kind enough to let you know if there will be a trap, such as a mimic or a poison gas cloud. Your weapons have an unlimited amount of uses; this makes things like the Winchester seem overpowered. Each weapon uses stamina, but it regenerates fairly quickly. Even Mr. Cube’s health will regenerate over time, although it’s hardly necessary with the number of potions you’ll come across while playing. In addition to potions for health and stamina, there’s one for boosted agility and enhanced strength. These both last a short period of time, but chances are you won’t require them too long after you use them.

Pretty much every weapon or attack you face from enemies can be used by yourself, either from starting with it, purchasing it from the merchant between deaths using the gold you acquired, or by killing another cube person. These fights will likely be the most difficult that you face depending on what they have. Each one has a different strategy for victory, and while I was able to take down the Winchester enemy early on, I fell to him at the end of the game in my first run. Facing these cubes not only serve as an added challenge, but show you just how each weapon can be used; when they get absolutely destroyed by what you’re using, it’s likely you won’t be switching. You can carry two weapons at once, so it’s good to have two different types, such as a long range and a melee combination. This means you’re ready for whatever the game throws at you, although having a short range burst weapon and a long range weapon with pinpoint accuracy is also a good way to go.

For a genre that is often seen as time consuming and difficult, this game shatters that concept. While some may struggle with it, chances are you won’t find much trouble if you’re familiar with similar games. Merely running to the towers you need to defeat to move on worked out for me in the first level, although attacking enemies as they came was much more fruitful as I progressed. The levels themselves all feel almost identical, with some minor changes to the environment and color palette. You’ll spend 90% of your time wandering around looting chests (and special gold chests) as you look for the next gateway out. Looking at your map you can see how many paths there are (similar to Portal Knights), with some rooms having only one, meaning you’ll likely be backtracking.

There’s not a whole lot to Survive! Mr. Cube. While complexity is hardly a necessity for a rogue-lite, the main draw is to keep coming back to do better next time. If you’re able to beat it after a couple of tries with very little difference between playthroughs other than the character you play as, that aspect is abandoned quickly and you’re left wanting more from the game. However, if you’re looking for a quick platinum trophy, you could do a lot worse than this. The game is enjoyable enough, but it could be fleshed out quite a bit to make it more memorable.

5 out of 10

Pros

• Easy to Play
• Neat Characters

Cons

• Overly Repetitive
• Not Much Replay Value

Survive! Mr. Cube was developed and published by IntraGames. It was released on iOS in 2016, PS4 on April 26th, 2018, and Switch June 21st, 2018 for $14.99. The game was provided to us for review on PS4. For more on Survive! Mr. Cube, visit its PSN store page.

 

Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth playing, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great title that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate a game, please let us know.

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