Survival is the Name of the Game
Survive! Mr. Cube only asks of players one thing: survive. The game requires little more than that. Once the opening scrawl closes out and players are stuffed into cuboid characters, the action immediately picks up—though, “slaps you in the face” may be a more appropriate descriptor.
Survive! is simple, brutal, and addictive. From those three adjectives, the rest of the game unfolds. The straightforward, dual-stick handling provides an accessible gateway into IntraGames’ rogue-lite. With only few systems to balance, the game’s easy learning-curve leads into brutal gameplay. Players explore procedurally generated maps where each turn leads to ambush, bosses, and great reward. Death is common, but hardly penalized. In fact, death may even be preferable for optimal builds.
Every respawn creates a new map, but grants the players one of countless characters, each with varying stats, designs, and weapons (with each as adorable as the last). While there are no loading screens, each death screen flashes a cosmetic look and humorous bio for potential, new adventurers. In my time with the game, I’ve played as orcs, merchants, vampires and dark knights, though the models get as wild as hamburgers and legally safe, Lego homages.
A Deep Dive With Survive
The weapon diversity may be Survive! Mr. Cube’s biggest strength. Each character spawns with a weapon of a certain class, ranging from swords, bows, and guns to fire, thunder, and missile staffs, to name a few. But beyond weapon type comes level. This is pre-set at spawn, as indicated by the name and number. For instance, my Magnet Staff chained stronger thunderbolts to more enemies than the lower-tiered Electric Staff. Each weapon handles wildly different and even the individual weapons of the same class provide notable buffs based on level. You may dive into a play-through with a strong character wielding a less-than-ideal weapon (maybe you aren’t a fan of the bash-shields). Never fear; set out on an exploration and there’s plenty of opportunity to change things around.
On the maps, players can find several things of note, in addition to the general, mob-enemies. Standard “Skull” chests give one of four potions: health, stamina, strength-boosting, and speed-boosting (the last two being temporary buffs). Players can hold four potions total, leaving your load-out entirely preference-based. I’d scavenge to find two healths, a stamina and a strength to safeguard myself in battle. That balance is entirely personal, though. Players can hunt for more than just potions. Larger chests drop coins and stat boosters. The slower knight can jog with the best of them when having found enough movement speed-boost “gems.”
Players can expect two additional enemy variants—far tougher than the standard mobs. Mini-bosses roam the map as tougher versions of standard enemies. They pack a punch, call for backup, and drop critical health upgrades. Each mini-boss drops half a heart; find two and your character gets an extra life. Trust me: when you have an ideal build and some great weapons, these lives come in handy, saving you from any careless mistakes.
Even tougher than these mini-bosses are wandering explorers. If you adventure long enough, odds are you will bump into another player character. These AI-controlled boxes drop the weapon they’re holding upon defeat. This double-edged sword means you may find yourself a powerful railgun, but need to beat it first, soaking up plenty of damage in the fight. It’s high risk paired with incredibly high reward.
Survive! Mr. Cube comes with a few points of friction. For hardcore dungeon-crawling fans, there are no explicit stats. Any numbers people may enjoy knowing—like DPS—are completely withheld. Serious fans of the genre may prefer something more traditional. The absence of any “Save and Quit” locks you into play sessions. As you may have noticed from my above map, one “floor” took me a very long time to complete. If your PlayStation happens to shut down, yes you keep your character, but they start the floor over completely. With these two pain points outlined, the Switch version provides a more user-friendly answer.
Survive! Mr. Cube may not cater to the hardcore, rogue-lite fans, but for anyone looking for a good entryway into the genre—younger or more casual gamers—this is the perfect grab-and-go Switch title. Crank out a couple of rooms on the train, throw it in sleep mode, finish the floor in the evening. Players are far from bogged down by over-encumbered HUDs or stats. So while the challenge is definitely there, IntraGames crafted a delightful escape into a balanced, accessible rogue-lite.
Pick it up on PlayStation 4 or Switch today.
