Toxic Games je objavio novi trailer za QUBE 2, which is due out during the first quarter of 2018 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. The game will divert slightly from the original Qube by offering gamers a more story-oriented single-player experience and new ways to complete some of the puzzle challenges.

The trailer was accompanied by comments from Dan Da Rocha, the managing director at Toxic Games, who explained in the press release that they were not only hoping to improve on the game’s narrative qualities but also include some open-ended ways to solve some of the test-room style puzzles, saying…

“The Gameplay Trailer shows off the experience players can expect come launch, including improved glove controls and more complex puzzles. We want to deliver players a title with production values that belie the small team creating it,” “However most importantly, we aim to deliver a great narrative experience, wrapped in gameplay that offers players some room for experimentation and more open ended puzzle solving in particular instances.”

Narrative based gameplay can go one of two ways: it can restrict the gameplay to follow the set narrative laid out by the developers, which can severely bowdlerize replayability, similar to the game Turingov test, or it can add enough weight and gravitas to the way the story is told that some people are compelled to play it over and over again.

We won’t know exactly which category QUBE 2 falls in until it comes out, but you can check out the gameplay trailer below.

The trailer showcases a wide range of different puzzle solving mechanics, rooms, and physics-based properties that players will be able to use to complete some of the rooms.

Some of the new properties in the sequel to Qube includes elemental properties, which is what we see at around the 20 second mark where a ball rolls a cube through a flame, setting it ablaze. We also see some more odd cube properties that can redirect an object’s trajectory or change its direction. There are also a few trick blocks, where we see how cubes can be shuffled through an area by defying gravity using connected spring blocks, or the player-character can use the blocks as a mode of transportation in connection with the high-tech manipulation gloves.

The game features 11 chapters and 80 puzzles to solve.

I don’t know how well the whole narrative element will work out. Some games do it well enough to be remembered for it while others attempt to go the blockbuster Hollywood route and fall flat on their face. When QUBE 2 launches we’ll find out exactly which category it falls into.