Splashy Cube Switch Review: Splash - Ah!
It must be tough to release a game around the same time as Cyberpunk 2077, what with all the hype, and especially tough for an indie title. Splashy Cube is one of those games that can be easily missed but shouldn’t be.
There are so many games I’m looking forward to; the aforementioned cyberpunk outing has been on my playlist continuously since launch and loving it. Still, there are other games to review, and while this isn’t a charity site, I do like the indie titles, not just for the sake of it.
Splashy Cube is a simple puzzle game from Red Dev Studio and No Gravity Games that could easily have been missed, so I’m glad I looked into it and had a chance to play as this is great. In between a handful of review titles and Cyberpunk 2077, Splashy Cube has been a highlight.
Splashy Cube Switch Review
When covering news pieces, I don’t have much more insight than anybody else. These articles are written solely by me by choice, and I try to put my spin on it, but end up self-censoring. One of the trickiest things to do is interpret a game from a press release and teaser trailer.
Splashy Cube wasn’t causing me sleepless nights, but reading about the title and seeing some screenshots had me believe that this was a platform puzzler of sorts, I wasn’t entirely certain. It’s not. Well, not really.
You play a simple cube, and that can move left and right, as long as it goes forward – you can’t turn back, so be prepared for that. Controls are super simple as you use either shoulder buttons; L or ZL and R or ZR and that’s about it.
As each round starts, you have to move along an isometric tile-based course that is drawn in front of you as you progress. Your goal is to collect similar colours blobs and reach the end of the course to move on to the next. Simple.
They’re Out To Get You
Splashy Cube is pretty easy to begin with once you learn the mechanics. You have to forward plan at every opportunity as you’ll come across gaps, obstacles blocking your path or spikey, pointy things aiming to destroy you.
On top of that, you have a time limit, but not the conventional clock counter; the floor will drop underneath you, sending you to the abyss. Fear not, fellow mortal as it’s infinite continues/lives, but no health so anything untoward will kill you on impact.
Early levels will have you dashing through, thinking you’re the mutts nuts, and then the spikes appear. These aren’t much of a problem, but when you have missing tiles, blocks in your way and deteriorating foundations, it adds a hint of urgency to your plan of attack.
Gradually new environmental hazards are introduced such as buzzsaws like Super Meat Boy, as well as cracked flooring that will cave if you stand still for too long. It all adds up a healthy balance to the game that will keep you hooked.
I’m Better Than You
But the real highlight of this game is the competition. As it’s relatively new and not enough people know about it (yet), it’s relatively easy to get on the scoreboard. How do you build up a hi-score? Through an undefeated ‘run’.
The orbs you collect will give you points, as will progressing without dying, but the moment you do suffer a defeat, the score counter resets. Fortunately, you can play the level in which you died, but you have to build up the score once more. For me, it was quite the incentive.
I’d much rather play this on the Switch, and quite frankly, I’m going to have another go after posting this.
However, this is the real incentive: skins. If you’ve read more than one post here, you’ll know that I’m a customisation whore, so having multiple options to unlock had me drooling. There’s not that many, but playing as cheese was a highlight, even if it was unlocked early.
But other than the skins and leaderboard, there’s not much else on offer. Fortunately, the game is very enjoyable on my part, and I could see why this would be a success on mobile – that’s not to say it’s bad on Switch. As a non-mobile gamer, I’d much rather play this on the Switch, and quite frankly, I’m going to have another go after posting this.
A shorter review than usual as there’s not much to say. Splashy Cube is a no-frills puzzle game that needs no introduction and anybody can play (and get addicted to). I’d even go far and say this is one of my favourite puzzle games of 2020.
