The Last Cube Review

The Last Cube is a puzzle game in which you play as a cube, sticking different powers to each of your sides in order to advance to the next level.

The beginning cutscene was one of the most puzzling things about the entire game; the screen shows a square planet that seems to shatter, and then you start your tutorial. That’s it, no context, just straight into the game. The Last Cube starts strong by letting you learn game mechanics the same way you will for the entire playthrough: by trial and error.

After playing around in an enormous room and learning how to apply powers to your six sides, you must stick the blue-coloured X symbol onto one of your sides in order to press a button that has the same shape; despite how confusing the system sounds through text, it isn't so when in practice.

Since you'll often have to press buttons with particular stickers, the game has this nifty system that tells you, step by step, how you have to move to ensure that the necessary sticker is facing in the right direction; this system saves a lot of time, and it was definitely welcome, despite how little use I thought it would have at the beginning. After a while of battling and trying to understand how to make a sticker face in a specific direction without haphazardly pressing buttons, I surrendered and accepted my defeat; I used this mechanic quite often thenceforth.

Each new level is signified by a different colour that will be the most commonly-used sticker in that particular cluster. You start with blue, then move on to red, green, purple, and finally orange, meaning you have five different clusters of three levels to beat; don't let the small number fool you, though, as each level is more perplexing than the last. I often found myself unsure on how to advance and had to step back, stare at the puzzle for a while, and finally put into action a solution that I hoped would work; the puzzles are incredibly complex at times, so you'll have to be clever in order to beat them.

Don’t let the seemingly low number of levels put you off, though, since The Last Cube has tons of content present within it. Depending on how clever you are, you’ll have far more (or less) playtime, but this is where the game’s “challenges” come in. These challenges are tailored to that particular level, offering an often very strenuous run of the level in hopes of completing whatever the bonus objective is. It is worth mentioning, however, that these challenges are by no means mandatory, and are only meant to offer more playtime and harder puzzles for those that want them; I personally really enjoyed my challenge runs for the few levels I was able to finish.

One of my favourite mechanics was the collectibles scattered throughout each level, cleverly hidden within places that aren't immediately visible unless you look for them. Often, these white cubes will require a more in-depth solution to a puzzle you are already working on, adding one or two steps; this isn't to say that some cubes don't get in-depth puzzles of their own however, since several do. 

This brings me to the lore. The game gives you small entries with each white cube you find that are supposed to teach you about the game's world, how it works, and what's happening. Honestly, the lore might as well be its own puzzle, as I was unable to understand most of what I was reading. These lore entries seem to be written in a handbook-like style, talking about several other destroyed cubes that were not "as clever as you". Admittedly, I cared very little for the underlying lore of the game, as I was far too preoccupied with the gameplay to really delve deeply into what all of it meant.

The Last Cube is a brilliant puzzle game, featuring unique mechanics — many of which I neglected to mention in order to keep the review spoiler-free — that I'd never seen before in puzzle games. The mere thought of playing as a cube inspired a whimsical joy within me, as I'd never actually got to play an "inanimate" object in games before, and I could not have hoped to experience it with a better game.