I thought that the film Cube (1997) was an excellent example of an imaginative film done on a budget, presumably so did games developer, Gamedust, who have produced the cube puzzler Neverout. The game can be played as a VR or non-VR experience. On the PS4 you can get a version which is enhanced for the Pro.

As the player you find yourself inside a cube with only one exit. The view is from your own perspective and gravity remains under the your feet, so no matter if you have walked on the walls or find yourself on the ceiling the cube reorients itself so down is always below you.

This reorientation allows you to move objects around, effect railings and to climb to previously non-accessible areas. Solve the problem in the room and you are dropped into the next. There is no story to follow and the only object is to get out of the cube.

There are fourteen trophies to collect as you traverse more than sixty cubes divided into four zones. The earlier cubes are basic but as you progress the game throws in teleports, spiked pits and electric fields.

It’s an interesting idea and the whole game should keep you going for two to three hours, which is about my limit for spending in environments which feel very similar. There are a few niggles with the game. Sometimes if you get too close to a wall the game will decide that this is the direction you want to travel in, most of the time this disrupts whatever blocks you are trying to move into place. Secondly, the transition between the surfaces of the cube is not handled well giving an effect like a slow blink with everything fading to black before coming back.

Using a VR experience does enhance the game, but with such a limiting premise and environments it's not a significant improvement. VR does have the advantage of allowing you too look around to see where all the elements of the room are.

Overall, it's a nice, small puzzle, which succeeds in what it sets out to create, but it's neither the best puzzle game nor the best VR experience.

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Charles Packer