Cube Gothic
- September 24, 2020
- Arkhouse Telegraph
Get on SteamCube Gothic is a side-scrolling shoot 'em up game with a progressive Gothic-esque soundtrack and hand-drawn graphics. Battle your way through the Dark Tower, fighting surreal hazards and solving puzzles to reach the First Vampire and ancient God. With adjustable difficulty and integrated mini-games, Cube Gothic offers a balanced challenge for both casual and experienced players. The game features a diverse bestiary, unexpected puzzles, and a unique, sensical story.
Reviews
- The game features stunning and unique visuals that create an immersive atmosphere.
- The soundtrack is excellent and complements the game's dark and mysterious tone.
- The gameplay includes a mix of genres, offering creative elements like puzzles and platforming alongside traditional shmup mechanics.
- The difficulty is often described as unfair and punishing, with many players finding it excessively challenging.
- Text is presented in reverse, making it difficult to read and understand the plot without external tools.
- Controls are clunky and unintuitive, with some players unable to customize them, leading to a frustrating gameplay experience.
- graphics21 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique and beautiful art style, often described as dark, creepy, and surreal, contributing to a strong aesthetic experience. However, many reviewers feel that the visuals are overshadowed by frustrating gameplay mechanics, leading to a disconnect between the artistic presentation and player enjoyment. Overall, while the visuals are a standout feature, they are often seen as not enough to compensate for the game's challenging and sometimes clunky gameplay.
“Wild and inspired visuals, interesting music, solid gameplay.”
“The artwork is very unique to this developer; there is nobody else out there that draws characters and backgrounds like that. It's almost like visualizing a deteriorating mind, a very unique visual experience if nothing else.”
“The visuals and the music are amazing to me, and the controls are pretty good.”
“The art style is dark and creepy.”
“Are the visuals worth the pain you have to go through?”
“Even for an art house game, this was a very masochistic experience; it's a shame because this game has a great story and I wish more people could experience it - it's almost like the developer does not want anyone to see his artwork.”
- gameplay19 mentions
- 37 % positive mentions
- 47 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
Gameplay reviews are mixed, with some players appreciating the unique mechanics and challenging elements, while others find it frustrating and punishing due to confusing hitboxes and a harsh checkpoint system. Many highlight the game's strong visual style, suggesting that if the focus is on aesthetics and storytelling, the gameplay could benefit from being less irritating and flawed. Overall, while there are elements of fun and creativity, the difficulty and execution of gameplay mechanics leave room for improvement.
“This has to be one of the most visually striking and mechanically inventive shmups I've ever played.”
“Visuals are awesome and the gameplay overall is pretty fun and interesting.”
“Wild and inspired visuals, interesting music, solid gameplay.”
“I really wanted to like this game, but if you're going to focus on visuals and storytelling, maybe it's better to use gameplay that isn't so annoying, flawed, and punishing or simply have no gameplay.”
“Gameplay is ridiculously difficult despite what the store page says.”
“I love the art style and the overall uniqueness of the visuals, but the gameplay is pretty bad.”
- story15 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The game's story is presented in a confusing manner, with text written in reverse and an overly stylized font that hinders comprehension, leading players to struggle to piece together the plot. While some find the narrative intriguing and appreciate its dark, mysterious elements, many feel that the convoluted storytelling and challenging gameplay detract from the overall experience. Overall, the story has potential but is often obscured by frustrating design choices.
“The story is intriguing, with very loose nods to old Castlevania titles.”
“Wonderfully dark and mysterious, with an interesting story to match.”
“A very unique visual style, eccentric gameplay decisions, and a simply glorious story.”
“All the text in the game is written in reverse and the font is too stylized to read efficiently, forcing the player to take screenshots and invert the image in paint to try to understand the game's plot (and the text doesn't even help you understand what's going on).”
“I mean 50% of the story in a game is shown as reversed text and honestly that looks stupid and a bit childish.”
“The story is kind of a clusterfuck to where even if you play all three games of the gothic trilogy, I still can't fully wrap my head around what the hell is happening.”
- music13 mentions
- 69 % positive mentions
- 23 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its beauty and ability to enhance the dark atmosphere, with standout tracks like "legion 52" being particularly noted for their haunting quality. While the soundtrack is considered excellent and atmospheric, some players find it niche and not universally appealing. Overall, the combination of evocative music and striking visuals contributes significantly to the game's immersive experience.
“The music is beautiful and haunting, where every piano key in my favorite track 'Legion 52' sounds like desperately throwing white paint to make stars on an endless black canvas.”
“It has great music and a beautifully dark atmosphere.”
“Greatest atmosphere and soundtrack I've ever experienced in a game.”
“I didn't love the soundtrack as much, but it's still pretty decent.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its beautifully dark visuals and exceptional music, creating an immersive experience reminiscent of classic titles like "Seal of the Curse." Reviewers consistently highlight the outstanding soundtrack, which complements the game's overall ambiance, making it one of the most atmospheric experiences in gaming.
“It has great music and a beautifully dark atmosphere.”
“Greatest atmosphere and soundtrack I've ever experienced in a game.”
“Every Arkhouse game is very atmospheric, and the soundtrack is always good as well.”
- humor1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is noted for its clever and amusing dialogue, which adds an enjoyable layer to the challenging gameplay.
“Difficult but very beautiful, and the dialogue is pretty damn funny sometimes lol.”
