So much better then portal, waiting for the sequel

[Drowning Witch]

compared to portal 1, this game was a blast. challenging, unique, great soundtrack, varied gameplay.

Would love to see you guys get some financial backing for a sequel.

basically finished the game in a single sitting, and actually had to think, unlike portal 1 where 17 out of the 18 levels were more tutorials then actual gameplay.

great job devs

[mikeopam]

This game can't hold a candle to Portal.

[killpion]

Q.u.b.e is a great game but i have to agree with mikeopam

[mikeopam]

You give it more credit than I do. The word "great" is not even close IMO. Decent or Average would be a more accurate word for me but certainly not great. I would reserve that word for games a whole lot better than this one but hey that's just me.

[Masakari]

Eh. While it's not as polished as either of the Portals, I found the quality of puzzles in this game much more enjoyable than Portal. It's all just a matter of opinion - to each their own!

[inspiral66]

QUBE is good enough to make me come here looking for news on DLC and possible sequels....but better than Portal? I think not.

[_Spee_]

QUBE is a great game and Portal too. I love games like these and so differents from each

A sequel or DLC as soon as they can would be awesome

[Drowning Witch]

Originally Posted by mikeopam

This game can't hold a candle to Portal.

in what respect? budget? sure. gameplay? no way. portal 1 had no challenge. it was a tutorial game for portal 2.

[bessent]

Originally Posted by Drowning Witch

...portal 1...18 levels...

You should've played the whole game!

[DeadPoolX]

Portal and Portal 2's major strengths really were in the supporting characters. Without them those two games would've been just another puzzle game; a good puzzle game, no doubt, but certainly nothing as special as it is now.

QUBE, while a good game in its own right, lacks the supporting characters. Plus, it's only single player, whereas Portal 2 has co-op play.

[netnerd85]

Originally Posted by DeadPoolX

Portal and Portal 2's major strengths really were in the supporting characters.

And when you find those characters annoying, it ruins the game

Portal 2 was fun COOP, despite the annoying robot talking in the background

Can't wait for Quantum Conundrum! and more Q.U.B.E. of course

[Nobodo]

Originally Posted by netnerd85

despite the annoying robot talking in the background

Yeah, that robot in Borderlands can get pretty annoying. Oh, wait, you're talking about Portal 2.

[Ariyous]

I'm going to throw in my 2 bits then abandon this thread.

#1: Portal 1 wasn't meant to be a full game. I believe somewhere in one of the commentaries in commentary mode one of the developers either admits or implies that yes, Portal 1 was designed to be like one long tutorial. They did it that way, as well as not making it a full game, because it was just going to be a game that Valve threw out there to satisfy us while they worked on another project. They released it not expecting it would become as popular as it is.

#2: With that in mind, Valve wasn't planning Portal 2 at the time. Therefore, Portal 1 was NOT a tutorial for Portal 2 but it feels like that because they made Portal 1 to be like a tutorial.

As a note, it sounds like I'm defending Portal but I'm not because I haven't played QUBE yet (except for the demo when it was initially released). I'm really just dropping off some information that I have picked up over time from paying attention to what is said.

I hope that I furthered you knowledge, even just a little.

[inspiral66]

My problem with saying QUBE is on a par with Portal is that QUBE's puzzles were inconsistent in terms of quality. Some were quite good but several were little more than 2D puzzles, example: the ones where you were looking down at a ball in a maze. Portal on the other hand made full use of a simple mechanic to move you, the player, around. And it had loads of atmosphere, another quality QUBE lacks IMO.

I'm not knocking QUBE - it's worth buying - but it's not a classic.

[freibooter]

Originally Posted by inspiral66

My problem with saying QUBE is on a par with Portal is that QUBE's puzzles were inconsistent in terms of quality. Some were quite good but several were little more than 2D puzzles, example: the ones where you were looking down at a ball in a maze. Portal on the other hand made full use of a simple mechanic to move you, the player, around. And it had loads of atmosphere, another quality QUBE lacks IMO.

I'm not knocking QUBE - it's worth buying - but it's not a classic.

As Yahtzee once said perfectly: Valve playtests its games almost to a fault.
The result are the usually perfect and slick, almost too slick puzzles that can be found in Portal - clever, fair, sometimes hard but never too frustrating.

Indie studios simply don't have the same resources and opportunities.

Considering this, Q.U.B.E. is an impressive achievement. When it shines, it does so brightly and while not all puzzles are up to par, I'm almost surprised by the amount that are.

Sadly there are also those puzzles that are far less stellar or those that shine a light on flawed gameplay mechanics.
One of the best examples are the "hardest" magnet puzzles. Some of the difficulty simply comes from the fact that it requires precision that the gameplay mechanics don't allow for.
The difficult perspective combined with the annoying animation delay between possible button toggles and the unforgiving nature of the puzzles causes frustration rather than fun. In this case the puzzle would have had to adapt to the mechanics or the mechanics to the puzzle.

The other thing that I disliked about Q.U.B.E. is the lack of charisma. The visuals, while sometimes impressive, are never really put to good use. Whenever it feels like they might finally attempt some form of story telling it never develops, it's all fluff and no substance.

The complete lack of storytelling is probably the most disappointing aspect. That doesn't mean I wanted them to copy Portal (even though what little "story" there is - broken "testchambers" and the now famous "behind the scenes" peaks - is shockingly similar). I don't need witty side characters or sarcastic robot voices.

But with some more visual elements and the simple attempt to tell us a little story would have made this game infinitely better. I didn't expect much, but I expected something.

It's also too short. The real gameplay in Portal began after the final test chamber, when everything the player had learned so far had to be combined in a series of puzzles that used all elements of the game. Q.U.B.E. just ends, way too early and without ever properly combining everything the player has learned so far.

I'm still hoping for some free or cheap story-based DLC - or even adding a story to the main game and extending it beyond the current ending - to make the game fully worth its regular asking price.

Until then, it's a good, slightly buggy and sadly too short game - but still worth it for those parts that work really well.