Sugar Cube: a platformer with a refreshingly novel mechanic

Another great game review from Greg Costikyan and his Play This Thing! blog: this time, it's the 2010 IGF China Best Game winner Sugar Cube, a platformer with a novel and ingenious (and addictive!) mechanic:

At various points on the level are hidden items -- often platforms -- that are revealed, and switch "on," only when you pass through or near them. As you move about, the four squares immediately around you are tinted, and show the hidden items. Frequently, there are small "lights" on the screen that show the hidden items, in ghosted form, until turned on; but often, items are revealed only when you activate them. Finally, by holding "shift" while jumping, you can prevent items from "flipping" from active to inactive state.
The result is that each level holds surprises, and you have to learn how to time and use activations to get to the level end (represented by a door); sometimes you want an item to flip to inactive state to get through its location, while often you want to turn it on, to provide a location or item you can use.

Sugar Cube: Bittersweet Factory

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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http://www.facebook.com/people/Reginald-Butterfield/1360558251 Reginald Butterfield

Not available for Ubuntu, if anyone cares…
http://rhinocrisy.org/ saurabh

After much digging: Platform Windows PC, $4.99.
JimEJim

Interesting. I had to watch it twice to understand how it worked, but it looks like it could be fun.
http://w3c.myopenid.com/ w3c

Another game exists on the PSN (for PSP) : _Where is my heart?_. It has a very nice gameplay, that uses the competences of the three characters. Here’s a link to the debut trailer : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2V13vFI8rA
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_G6QORMFBZXV7NJRI7NN6QLZNGI Neo

“its deadly fate” not “it’s deadly fate” sheesh…
http://repeaterband.com skeletoncityrepeater

Looks like a fun platformer! I thought it was Ms. Cave Story before watching!
http://seankelly.biz/ Sean Kelly

Cory, in future, please go ahead and mention the game’s platform(s) right in your article.

It’d save quite a few of us from the wild goose chase it took to unearth that it’s just for Windows.