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Suzy Cube review - A retro platformer that goes for that Mario 64 vibe

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iOS
| Suzy Cube
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Suzy Cube review - A retro platformer that goes for that Mario 64 vibe
|
iOS
| Suzy Cube

While there are a lot of games on the App Store that ape retro platformers, there aren't that many that hark back to the golden era of the 3D leaper. I'm talking about the time when Mario 64 ruled the roost, when everything was fat polygons and clever camera angles.

All that's set to change though with the release of Suxy Cube. It's been a long time coming, but the cute-looking game sets its stall out from the very first level - this is the game that's bringing the third dimension into mobile platforming.

Gleaming the cube

You play as the titular Suzy, and galivant across a series of levels littered with enemies, obstacles, and secrets. You control your movement with the left side of the screen, tapping on the right to jump.

The controls take a bit of getting used to. They're deliberately floaty, lacking the precision of analogue control but giving you more margin for error. That's welcome, because there are some tricky situations in the game from the get-go.

Suzy Cube iOS review screenshot - A snowy level

You can pick up different hats to give you special powers. One gives you an extra life, one lets you double jump and hover, another means you can smash down on enemies with your helmet-clad head.

New hats are threaded through the experience to make sure things stay fresh. And it's the same for mechanics. You're never just leaping from A to B. There are simple puzzles to solve, ice slides to navigate, and enormous drops to plunge down.

Suzy Cube iOS review screenshot - The second boss fight

Suzy Cube is definitely doing its best to emulate the likes of Mario 64, and for the most part it does a really good job. It might not have the ingenuity or charm of Nintendo's classic, but it doesn't miss the mark by too much.

The only real niggle in the gameplay comes in the shape of the bosses. They're the least interesting part of the game, and while they're all different, they're not different enough to really get the adrenaline flowing. Thankfully though, the fights you'll have with them are pretty brief.

Cube route

It might not have all the panache and swagger of its inspirations, and there are some problems here with wonky cameras and controls that take a while to get used to. But there's enough here that you can look past those black marks.

Suzy Cube isn't a great game, but it is a really, really good one. And I don't think I'd be wrong to call it the bst 3D platformer you can play on mobile at the moment.

Suzy Cube review - A retro platformer that goes for that Mario 64 vibe

It doesn't quite reach the heights of its inspiration, but Suzy Cube is still the best 3D platformer on the App Store
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Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.