I’ve liked mazes ever since I was a kid. There’s something relaxing and challenging about navigating a good maze, whether it be on paper, on a touch screen, or even a huge corn maze that stimulates the brain and creates a sense of satisfaction. That’s why Hardcore Maze Cube from YAW Studios and QUByte Interactive is so fun. It hits that gratification spot in just the right way with an excellent mix of challenge, frustration, and style.
Hardcore Maze Cube is one of the most literally named games I’ve ever seen. You play an anthropomorphic cube. You navigate mazes. The mazes are full of abrupt deathtraps and are most assuredly ‘hardcore’. That’s pretty much the entirety of the game. Survive a maze, go to the next even harder maze. It doesn’t get much more basic than that.
However, there are a few little twists to make things even more challenging. In addition to the death traps, Hardcore Maze Cube features a riddle at the end of each level. Collect scrolls through the level to reveal the answer to the riddle. Collect them all, reveal the answer, type it in and you move on. However, if you fail to collect all the clues, you can still move on, but you must solve the riddle anyway. Fail and die instantly. Hardcore! Once you reach the second level, there are save points hidden in the levels so you aren’t repeating levels constantly, but even then, it’s a tough game with very little leeway for mistakes. I found myself repeating the first few levels for hours because I would get overconfident and then accidentally move slightly too slow or get stuck in a corner. Dead. Restart. Dead. Restart. Even with multiple lives, this is one tough game!
The addition of multiple modes is a nice touch, but to play them, you have to beat them in Adventure mode first and that’s a tough thing to do. Hardcore Maze Cube is a game to while away the hours with challenging casual gameplay. And if you die, it just pushes you to try harder, in which case you die more, and try again. It’s an addictive little loop from a simple game that is designed to torture you. You should be able to get through levels easily, but you won’t. Inevitably, some new trap will kill you, forcing you to start over at the last save point. And playing for score? That’s even tougher! Good luck with that unless you’ve memorized every single level. Of course you probably will, considering how often you die and restart them…
There’s no real plot here and no impetus for finishing the game besides the sheer challenge of it. That doesn’t seem to matter with Hardcore Maze Cube however. It’s just simple and addictive. Visually, it’s a dark game, with only black, white, shades of grey and red most of the time. It feels bleak and oppressive, which suits the game admirably. I loved the graphical presentation and my first riddle death was absolutely shocking! Each death, while frustrating, was great due to the clever little animations and fun touches the devs tossed in. There’s not much here in terms of music or anything, but that takes a backseat to the gameplay anyway. Your cube controls smoothly, ghosting about with ease and occasionally boosting through traps at high speed, inevitably wearing off at just the wrong moment and dooming you to yet another oblivion.
In addition to the addictive maze-based gameplay, the riddles were pleasantly interesting as well. Randomizing the riddles makes for a challenge all its one and some were quite clever, even if they’re older. I did try using sleep mode on the Switch in portable mode to pause the game while I looked a puzzle up once. The devs at YAW thought of that little bypass though and re-entering the game was instant death! Absolutely perfect for the challenge the game represents! Take that, cheater! Wait…that was me. Ah well, I deserved it!
This isn’t a ridiculously huge game and levels are not procedurally generated, but there are 16 mazes in total and four different modes as well. Adventure Mode is the main mode of the game. Beating a level in Adventure mode allows you to play it in the other modes, Hardcore mode, Time For Life mode, and Relaxing Mode. Naturally, Hardcore mode is ridiculously challenging, making all traps invisible until triggered and lessening your chances of survival exponentially. Manage to beat it and you’ll unlock two additional mazes, the completion of which will allow you to finish the game and win. How do I know that? Because the devs have it on their description of the mode! I definitely haven’t managed to get that far yet! This is one tough game and while I haven’t seen everything every level has to offer, I definitely want to play more!
Relaxing mode allows you to play through the mazes with no traps or enemies and a random exit, rewarding you with stress-free play by managing to defeat a level. Time For Life mode is pure stress, adding a timer to each level forcing you to try to blaze through and solve the riddle, a tall order in general and even harder if you’ve got almost no time to collect clues! Each mode is excellent in its own right and well-worth playing! That’s pretty much the entirety of the game, and the lack of story leaves you with satisfyingly unanswered questions. What is the cube? Where is it from? Why is it stuck in a maze? Why are there riddles and what purpose do they serve? It’s all unexplained (unless that happens at the end and I won’t get there soon!).
Hardcore Maze Cube scratches that old-school gaming challenge itch with a simple, interesting game that just bids you to survive. There’s nothing deep or meaningful about it (or at least there doesn’t seem to be) and that’s entirely fine. At a measly $2.49, you’re paying a pittance for a fun little game to while away the hours with and possibly punch holes in your walls out of frustration! As of the writing of this article, Hardcore Maze Cube is currently on sale for a whopping 87 cents! And if that isn’t a good way to spend a buck, I certainly don’t know what is. Don’t even think about it. If you like mazes, challenging games, and some excellent replay value, Hardcore Maze Cube is definitely worth your time, especially at the wondrously low price point! Enjoy!
This review was based on a digital copy of Hardcore Maze Cube provided by the publisher. It was played on a Nintendo Switch in both docked and undocked modes and was excellent in both! Hardcore Maze Cube is also available for PC on Steam and iOS! No go navigate some mazes and don’t come crying to me if you die horribly!