Qvoid review

Qvoid is a simple but incredibly addicting new puzzle game from Gavina Games, and is a universal app for iPhone and iPad. Gameplay is simple: control a white cube around a board and pick up colored squares along the way. When you pick up a colored cell, that cell sticks to one side of your cube. You must navigate the board and use the same side of the cube to pick up matching colors in as few moves as possible. It sounds easy, and the game walks you through some training levels to get the hang of it, lulling you into a false sense of accomplishment. Soon though, Qvoid throws multiple colors and specialty cells on the board which really make you have to plan each move.

Visually, Qvoid is simple but charming. The colors are bright and vivid and the smiling cube will calm your frustrations as you try to solve each level in as few moves as possible. Obtaining a perfect score for the level will earn you three stars, while more moves will mean less stars. To help you use as few moves as possible, the game lets you undo any number of moves you make, which is great when you realize your last three moves were counterproductive. Undoing moves proves to be quite entertaining as the game “rewinds” your mistakes with the feel of an old VHS tape (that’s what movies were on before DVDs kids). It’s a really fun touch and it just looks really cool.

Qvoid features a casual soundtrack that, while isn’t anything special, does match the feel of the casual gameplay. If you don’t care for the elevator type music, Qvoid recognizes when you are playing music on your device, and won’t interrupt your music (though you can’t play music directly in the app, you’ll have to jump out, hit play in the iPod app, and then come back to Qvoid). I’m always appreciative of a game that lets you listen to your own music while playing, so this is a great feature. Perhaps the coolest feature of Qvoid is the ability to rotate the puzzle using multitouch gestures. This allows you to see all sides of the puzzle from any angle and is very smooth and easy to use.

Qvoid is a simple game that packs quite a challenge. It’s great for a two-minute distraction, or as a lengthy challenge. With almost 100 great looking 3D levels, this app will have you coming back time and time again as you work to get three stars on every level to move up the Game Center leaderboards and earn achievements. If you like challenging puzzlers, this is a bargain to pick up. Qvoid is available for $1.99 in the App Store.