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QUBE sequel squaring up for PS4 with Project Morpheus support
Toxic Games is building a sequel to its late 2011 physics-based puzzle game QUBE. Dubbed QUBE², the sequel is in development for PS4, the studio announced via PlayStation Blog. The first-person follow-up will include refined mechanics and new puzzles along with a "tightly-woven narrative" that expands the series' universe. The "definitive version" of the first game, QUBE: Director's Cut, arrived on Steam in May. The upgraded version added a new story to the game, a sore spot for our review of the original edition. QUBE: Director's Cut is still planned for PS4, PS3, Wii U and Xbox One. It's unclear what platforms QUBE² will target other than PS4, but it will be powered by Unreal Engine 4 and support Sony's Project Morpheus virtual reality headset. [Image: Toxic Games]
QUBE: Director's Cut spins a new story on Steam, 15% off
QUBE: Director's Cut is now available on Steam, and is 15 percent off ($8.49) until Wednesday, May 28. The Director's Cut edition features a new story and additional puzzles, and is described by developer Toxic Games as QUBE's "definitive version." It also adds a ten-level time trial mode and Oculus Rift support. The original version of QUBE first arrived on PC in December 2011, and our review of it noted that game wasn't strong on narrative, but acted more as a "delightful on-screen Rubik's Cube." The first-person puzzler draws many comparisons to Valve's Portal, and has players moving blocks to solve puzzles with increasing difficulty. QUBE: Director's Cut will launch on PS3, Wii U and Xbox One "throughout 2014." [Image: Toxic Games]
PSA: QUBE DLC out now on Steam, 10 percent off until May 13
The Against the Qlock DLC for puzzler QUBE is out now on Steam, and is 10 percent off ($5.39) until May 13. Against the Qlock challenges players to beat ten levels in record time to top the scores of their friends. QUBE will be coming to Wii U the form of QUBE: Director's Cut. "Quite possibly," it may also make its way to Vita. No release date for either platform has been announced.
Q.U.B.E. 'Against the Qlock' DLC coming to Steam May 6
Q.U.B.E. is blocking out May 6 on its qalendar for new time-trial DLC titled 'Against the Qlock.' The DLC brings ten more levels to the Portal-like puzzler, with players trying to beat the timer as well as leaderboard scores. There's also a batch of new achievements. While Q.U.B.E. is currently contained on PC and Mac, the game we deemed " a delightful on-screen Rubik's Cube" looks set to break out onto Wii U and maybe Vita.
QUBE takes a spin on Wii U, 'quite possibly' Vita
QUBE, the first game to come out of (the pockets of) Indie Fund, is on its way to Wii U and maybe Vita, according to a series of messages on the game's official Twitter. Toxic Games reveals a picture of QUBE running on the Wii U (shown above), along with the note that it "can't wait to get this out." As for a Vita version, Toxic responds to an inquiry with, "Quite possibly!"QUBE launched on PC in December 2011 – and we found it to be "a delightful on-screen Rubik's Cube" – and made its way to Mac one year later, in December 2012. The game recouped its $90,000 development cost in just four days, selling more than 12,000 copies on Steam in that time.
QUBE makes a break for Mac on Steam
QUBE, the whitewashed indie puzzler from Toxic Games and backed by Indie Fund, is now out for Mac on Steam. That's right, PC gamers no longer have a monopoly on playing with bright blocks in sterile white spaces. Children in waiting rooms worldwide, rejoice.We first heard that QUBE was breaking out of its PC prison in January, when Toxic said it was working on iOS, Mac and OnLive versions of the game. The last update mentioning an iOS version was in August; Toxic said information on a touchscreen game with "similar mechanics" to QUBE was coming "soon enough." That same post says DLC for QUBE is in the works, and QUBE 2 is a possibility, perhaps with some crowdfunding. Toxic has a few ideas regarding a sequel, at least.
Q.U.B.E. moves 12K copies in first four days, recouping full Indie Fund investment
Beyond being a game we're quite fond of, Q.U.B.E. is also profitable as of right now. Well, okay, a little bit before now, as the folks who funded the project -- the major league indies who comprise the "Indie Fund" -- have already recouped their expenses, according to a recent blog post at their official site. "We are happy to announce that Q.U.B.E., the first Indie Fund-ed game to market, took only four days on Steam to generate enough revenue for Toxic Games to repay the full investment amount of $90k," the post reads. The project was originally supposed to cost just $42K, but the eventual budget ballooned to $90K, paid out in several big chunks. Thankfully, that investment paid off with 12K sold copies since the game launched last week. The post also notes that Toxic Games is already discussing the possibility of moving Q.U.B.E. "beyond PC," though it's unclear whether that just means "to OS X" or to somewhere even more enticing (XBLA/PSN, perhaps?). We've asked Toxic Games for more info, naturally.
Q.U.B.E. review: Questionable Understanding of Block Extrusion
If someone had told me I'd be spending a peaceful night this week in a stark white room playing with bright blocks, I'd have run before they could wrap the straightjacket around my shoulders and throw me into the back of a windowless van. Instead, I spent a few hours positioning primary-colored cubes around a vast test chamber from the comfort of my own home -- with full mobility of all my extremities -- and I enjoyed my time immensely. Toxic Games' Q.U.B.E. (Quick Understanding of Block Extrusion) joins other puzzlers as the crossword of the plugged-in generation, stimulating spatial, physics and reasoning skills in a direct way that shooters can't touch (or shoot).
Q.U.B.E. enters our space December 16
Toxic Games will be the first to get an Indie Fund-backed game out, when its abstract first-person puzzle game Q.U.B.E. is released on December 16. It'll be available for PC on Steam, Desura, and Playism for $14.99. A Mac version will follow "shortly after PC." Q.U.B.E. asks players to navigate a series of puzzles by manipulating colored cubes they find in the environment, all with their own unique properties. You may have played it at our last Joystiq meetup! It was the one with the cubes.
Come hang out with Joystiq (and play a bunch of great games!) at our E3 2011 reader meetup
We love you, Los Angeles, you know that. Sure, it's been awhile since we last hung out, but we wanna make that up to you. And not just any boring old dinner-and-a-movie kinda thing either, a full blown party! Next Friday, June 10, Joystiq will take over the La Cita bar in downtown LA between 5:30 and 9:00PM PST for a game-filled, giveaway-packed reader meetup. As our staff will be all up in your city for the duration of next week, we took the liberty of renting out a bar for a few hours so you -- our best friends -- could hang out, talk about the week's big news, play a bunch of great games, and take all the game swag that's been piling up in our domiciles. Chris Hecker will be swinging through with SpyParty, as will Andy Schatz with Monaco, to name just a few of the games/game devs at the event. And how about a chance to play Harmonix' next project before anyone else? 'Cause that'll totally be there too. Unfortunately, for our friends under 21, the event space is restricted to those of us with legal access to alcohol. We're really sorry and we still love you! It was, as they say, out of our hands. An extra big thank you to all of our participants! SpyParty, Chris Hecker (@SpyParty) Nidhogg, Mark Essen (@Messhof) Unannounced Project, Ska Studios (@SkaStudios) Monaco, Pocketwatch Games (@MonacoIsMine) Retro City Rampage, Brian Provinciano (@RetroCR) Q.U.B.E., Toxic Games (@qubegame) Unannounced Project, Harmonix (@Harmonix) Still with us? Head past the break for details, and make sure to RSVP on our Facebook event page so we know how many of you to expect!
