When comparing Q.U.B.E. 2 vs Grim Dawn, the Slant community recommends Grim Dawn for most people. In the question“What are the best indie games on Steam?” Grim Dawn is ranked 37th while Q.U.B.E. 2 is ranked 74th. The most important reason people chose Grim Dawn is:
Basically you choose 1 class and select skills as you level up. At level 10 you can select a second class, which already gives you 5x5=25 character type possibilities. Each character has dozens of skills, plus you have this additional passive skill tree that you unlock through cleansing shrines. Then there is item customization with crafted "modifiers", adding additional unique stats and skills that you can use, all this adds literally to thousands / millions of character possibilities. Do you want to use a double weapon shooting lightning bolts? You can do that. Do you want to summon your creatures and support them with fireballs? You can do that as well, you can push it wherever you want.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Simple, but entertaining cube puzzle mechanic
The game throws some curveballs from time to time like switches that have to be pressed, oily floors that can move cubes, or pressure plates that require a cube to depress, but overall it's the simplicity of the easy to grasp base mechanics that makes the puzzles shine.
There are blank spaces on walls and floors where you can place 3 different colored cubes, with each having a different effect. For example, orange cubes can be pulled out to form a ledge, and blue cubes act as a jump pad.
As you move from chamber to chamber, it's up to you to figure out how to best use the cubes in each room to reach the exit. It's fun to experiment creating ledges and jump pads, and trying various color combinations as you figure out how to best navigate the room.
Pro Unique and immersive atmosphere
There's a distinct sense of feeling alone and isolated immediately as you wake up on the surface of a dusty planet with no memory of how you got there. The landscape is empty and alien, but before you lays a giant cube fortress. Once inside, the pristine cleanliness, seemingly endless chambers, and strange technology can be a bit unsettling and adds to the overall mystery. The feel and polish of this unique, almost surgical environment will have you believing you're actually in some strange alien fortress manipulating odd cube technology.
Pro Great graphics
This game uses the Unreal 4 engine and looks gorgeous. Everything is shiny and glistening in a pristine, almost surgically clean environment. The lighting effects as it reflects and shines off smooth metal surfaces is a treat to look at.
Pro Minimal UI that allows the puzzle solving to take center stage
The UI is very minimal, only showing the color cube you currently have selected in the lower right corner. This allows the game world itself to fill up the entire screen and makes puzzle solving the main focus. Looking around and exploring while solving the various puzzles within the alien world is clutter-free with no distractions.
Pro Enticing, mysterious narrative
You play as Amelia, and you've woken up alone with amnesia on a strange alien world. Soon, your earpiece crackles to life and you are informed by a woman named Emma you were on some sort of space mission. Guided only by the voice of Emma in your headset, you'll take shelter in a large structure and move from room to room using a mysterious suit to manipulate cubes and solve puzzles.
The game is peppered with dialogue between Amelia and Emma that reveals pieces of the story, a little bit of a time. It gives you just enough to keep the mystery alive, and actually develops into a plot with some thriller elements. You'll be wondering what in the world you're doing on this strange planet, what Emma's real motives are, and how you're going to escape. The story doesn't feel tacked on, and it serves as a great way to keep you invested during the puzzles.
Pro Complex leveling system with thousands of possible builds
Basically you choose 1 class and select skills as you level up. At level 10 you can select a second class, which already gives you 5x5=25 character type possibilities.
Each character has dozens of skills, plus you have this additional passive skill tree that you unlock through cleansing shrines. Then there is item customization with crafted "modifiers", adding additional unique stats and skills that you can use, all this adds literally to thousands / millions of character possibilities.
Do you want to use a double weapon shooting lightning bolts? You can do that. Do you want to summon your creatures and support them with fireballs? You can do that as well, you can push it wherever you want.
Pro Great homage to old school ARPGs
This game is very dark, and grim. It harkens back to games like Diablo 2 or Titans Quest. While other ARPGs have come out since then, none have hit all the marks of what fans of the genre have been asking for. For those that wish for an updated version of Diablo 2, Grim Dawn is the game for them.
Pro Exploration
Pro Highly modifiable
Relevant in modern gaming because the community can keep products like this fresh and varied, even if the developers eventually decide to slow down their updates (which they have not!). The possibilities are great with modding, while the experiences in Diablo 3 and Path of exile are a lot more static.
Pro Drop-in co-op (online and local)
Co-op is pretty convenient as players can drop in and out of your gaming session at any time. This way there is no wasted time jumping out of ones game in order to find players to play with.
Cons
Con Puzzles get repetitive
While the puzzles do gradually get more complex and add some new mechanics from time to time, the same 3 cube mechanics are in play for most of the game.
Con Mistakes are overly punishing
Some puzzles can require manipulating over a dozen cubes, and if you mess up at any point, you have to start the puzzle over from scratch.
Con Only some builds are fun
There is a definite meta, with superefficient vs non-viable builds.
It's easy to mess up a build, and attribute and spec-bar points are non-respeccable (you can use a cheat editor, but devs want you to reroll a new char).
Con Difficult to move when fighting, especially when you are ranged
Con Static pre-rendered levels
This may cut down on replayability a bit as all the levels in the game are pre-rendered, meaning that each playthrough will have the exact same layout, making for something that can get tiring and too familiar. Similar games have gone with randomized levels, which can keep the game fresh. While Grim Dawn is meant to be a throwback to earlier games in the genre, some newer features found in more recent released would have been welcome.
Con Lots of trips to town
The majority of loot in the game can be useless, with odd stat restrictions or repeats of vendor items. This means the user will need to make many trips into town to sell it all off in order to have room for even more loot they will not necessarily need.