Greak is a beautiful action game with a few flaws, but I enjoyed it and appreciated what it tried to do. Starting with the eponimous Greak, you eventually find your sister, and later your brother, to form your 3-person team. The movement and combat are pretty standard, though the world is beautiful with an excellent soundtrack. Unfortunately, the game takes a little too long, at least compared to its total length, to get all three characters, so it doesn't do enough puzzles where you have to use their unique abilities. The last dungeon was good for that. Combat isn't really good, though the last character did feel like the better soldier he was. Again, there's no reason to switch around. In fact, the difficulty might increase due to them having independent health bars. The story is fine, though I left wanting to know more lore. I also don't know why the game is named after the first character. I didn't see it as a coming-of-age story for him, like the younger boy in "Brothers." What I think I loved most about the game was the tone. Spoiler warning: You don't "win" in a traditional sense. Greak's people are beset by an invading army and a plague that spawns monsters. His people are leaving. You don't save the land, you save your people by making escape possible. It was actually sad watching the airship leave the fort, and their homeland, behind, even though it ended on a hopeful note as they met other survivors and landed in their new home. I really appreciate that difference, and it stuck with me throughout the game. This was especially true in the last chapter, as your characters attempt to comfort a young girl after her brother died. The scene is mostly quiet, punctuated by sounds of rain and her soft sobs. Good job, game!
Q.U.B.E is an enjoyable puzzle game. It's appropriately compared to Portal, which is the better game, but it actually borrows from Portal more in it's narrative than it's mechanics. More on that later. Where it is similar to Portal mechanically is that you get into rooms that you must solve to move on. You do this using your ability to manipulate various blocks that make up the rooms. Each color of block has a different mechanic and you must use them to either advance yourself or manipulate the room in a certain way so as to get a ball in a slot, for example. There are even some color additive rooms, which were my favorite. There is a narrative going on in the background and it will have you questioning what's going on around you. However, it definitely preys on a player's instinct to question what they are being told in a game like this, especially those who know Portal. Especially by the end, they had me questioning everything I was hearing. What I'm not sure on is if they "cheat" with this. Things that turn out to be true are told in such a way that makes them sound implausible or phony, so you are already questioning them before you are told to. If they purposely had the voice acting sound fake to make you think it was fake, I think they cheated. Still, it ended well. My only complaint is the linear ending. While I was questioning who I should believe up until the very end, I have to listen to one voice. There is no choice. I actually thought both would be lying. I think this was a missed opportunity. In closing, if you liked Portal, you'll still like Q.U.B.E. If you haven't played Portal, go do that!
