What Death Squared does do is keep all
the levels interesting. You aren’t learning
new moves or unlocking special abilities,
but instead everything simply gets
rearranged in really interesting and mind-
challenging ways. If you are new to puzzle
games Death Squared offers enough
variety to keep trying that next level, and
if you are a puzzle veteran, the random
stages and shifting difficulty will keep
your mind sharp.
All this would be more than enough for an
indie puzzle game priced at $15, but the
developers really crammed a lot of content
into this title. On top of the really fun
story based single-player, the game also
offers up a wild multiplayer mode that
your friends can join in on. The game plays
essentially the same in the Party Mode, but
instead of simply playing with one friend,
up to four people can control four blocks to
make things really interesting.
In fact, I truly feel that the Part Mode is the
heart of Death Squared, and this is coming
from a guy that hates most multiplayer
experiences. The mode really encourages
people to work together, but because of the
nature of the game death is only ever one
move away. Multiply that by four people
and you have the makings for one of the best party
experiences on any console. There will no doubt be a lot of
yelling and cursing between friends in fun as you are
working toward a shared goal.
But even if you don’t have any friends, the party mode can
be played by a single person giving you another 40 levels to
challenge your noodle with. And because these levels are
built with four player in mind, they are really going to be the
challenge for a single player. Likewise you can play all four
cubes with only two player or in any combination so that
nobody gets left out of the fun to be had.
And once you beat those two mode you can take a stab at
Vault Mode that offers up some really insane challenges for
only the most serious of players. Here you are going to be
dealing with a lot more complicated stages that are filled
with moving platforms and obstacles. If you are looking to
wreck your brain, then this is the mode for you. But just
remember to give it a go after you think you’ve mastered the
Death Squared experience.
Visually, Death Squared is simply alright. Puzzle games are
the sorts of games that focus of the gameplay first
37
GAMBIT | SEPT/OCT | 2017
and foremost, and that’s also the case here. The cubes you
control are all bright and colorful and contrast well against
the metallic, industrial look of the test stages. Music also is on
the bland side without a single tune sticking with me after
playing the game. Still, these are minor issues with this sort
of genre and don’t take away from the core gameplay
experience.
Death Squared looks like your basic puzzle game, but it hides
some interesting gameplay under the surface. There is
nothing quite like seeing how each stage reacts to your
movement and how the path of least resistance isn’t always
the one you think it is. Experimenting is key to success in
Death Squared, so if that sort of action puzzle game if your
thing, this one shouldn’t be missed on any platform. And if
you play it on the Switch like I did, you get the ability to take
the game with you which makes this version the best of the
bunch. -J.Luis