The core gameplay loop behind Minecraft is so well-put and so iconic it’s actually really hard to make a game based on it without just feeling like a blatant clone. That goes to show how creative and unique that game was, and still is to this day. As a matter of fact, I think Dragon Quest Builders was the only title to truly take the Minecraft formula and create something unique with it… or so I thought until now. Let me present you Cubic Odyssey, the answer to the question you have never asked yourself: what if Minecraft and No Man’s Sky had a baby?

It’s essentially the best of both worlds (and remember, we live in 2025, so we currently live in an era that considers No Man’s Sky to be a good game). From Minecraft, Cubic Odyssey retains the voxel-based graphics, cubish environments, (very slight) survival mechanics, mining and crafting. Everything retains that classic Minecraft visual style, but with slightly more detailed character models, pretty good lighting effects, and an increased sense of scale. It obviously looks better than its main source of inspiration as a result.

From No Man’s Sky, comes the overall sci-fi vibe, emphasis on a plot that drives the gameplay loop forward, and focus on exploring countless worlds in a truly mesmerizing galaxy. Just like Hello Games’ 2016 title, you are told to hop between solar systems in order to look for the resources that will help you defeat an evil force of nature hell bent on destroying your galaxy. It’s not exactly an interesting or intriguing plot, but, well, the game gives you a reason to do what you’re supposed to do, other than just mine and craft for mining and crafting’s sake.

There are more mechanics than those I’ve mentioned in the previous paragraphs. Cubic Odyssey might be a straightforward game when it comes to its elevator pitch, but its developers went wild with its many features, mechanics, restrictions and winning conditions. More than a mere survival and crafting game, there are combat elements reminiscent of a basic-but-functional first-person shooter, RPG stats, commerce, exploration, sidequests stealth, and much more.

In essence, while there’s an overarching plot revolving around visiting sacred temples and cleaning planets from the corruption of this so-called Darkness Material, Cubic Odyssey lets you become anyone you want to be in this open world space odyssey. In fact, it occasionally feels even more daunting and option-rich than, say, Starfield or even Elite: Dangerous. If you want to go from town to town and complete sidequests, have at it. You can become a bounty hunter and chase after space pirates. With this money, you’re even able to buy new starships, or materials to construct a fully-functional ship of your own.

Maybe you’ll prefer to visit each planet and stealthly kill all pirates in each of their outposts; doing so helps repopulate said planet with colonizers that can provide you with additional quests and resources. You can even unlock shops that sell landspeeders shaped after a Porsche 911 and a DeLorean. You can become a space trader, since prices fluctuate between towns. Cubic Odyssey puts a huge emphasis on trading, as many important resources are only obtainable when visiting colony shops. And considering how demanding the game is with the amount of resources needed to craft pretty much everything, you will need to barter a lot.

Cubic Odyssey is a game that demands an insane amount of patience, as its first few chapters are a tremendous SLOG. The game takes its time teaching you all of its mechanics, as well as all items you’ll need to properly explore each planet. Besides your extractor, you’ll need a gun, a jetpack, battery for both, a Darkness Purifier, fuel for your ship, a battery for your ship, an item printer, a premium iron printer, a resouce refinery, an equipment crafting bench… and that’s just, like, half of all essentials you’ll need in order to properly colonize a planet and become self-sufficient.

In order to do so, you’ll need to manually craft these items. And for that, you’ll need a LOT of resources, all of which need to be mined nearby. There are dozens of different minerals you need to collect, as well as other materials such as wood, sand, water, stone, and dirt. Dirt makes clay, clay and stone make bricks. Wood becomes coal, which is used as fuel for your refineries. Combine those materials with the aforementioned minerals, and you’ll be able to create everything, from a simple bed to an uranium-powered interstellar portal.

I may have made this game sound like it’s the biggest and most pointless waste of time in history, but, in a shocking twist, I loved Cubic Odyssey. Despite its flaws, despite its horrendously grindy nature, I clocked in 23 hours in a mere week. I was immersed in its world, I was feeling accomplished whenever I was able to upgrade my gear, or when I was able to stealthly murder every single pirate in a base. Seeing my little base grow from a derelict shack in front of a temple to a complete scientific station with advanced tech and self-sustaining capabilities… flawless. The best part was being able to basically colonize any planet I wanted to, and still go back and forth between them. It felt like I was making an impact in this galaxy.

It’s definitely not for everyone, and it suffers from feature bloat. For some people, Cubic Odyssey will feel like a pointless waste of time, or a blatant Minecraft clone. I, on the other hand, couldn’t stop playing it. In fact, I still can’t. It’s addictive and immersive in a way both of its main sources of inspiration (Minecraft and No Man’s Sky) weren’t able to for me. Granted, it requires an ungodly amount of patience at first, and you will be frustrated with some unfair deaths and item losses. But I enjoyed each and every moment, from finally finding a rare mineral half a planet away from my base, to making a full-sized replica of the Millennium Falcon for me to cruise the galaxy around. It’s all up to you, and it’s one hell of a treat if you give it a fair shot.

Graphics: 7.5 Voxel-based visuals, cubes everywhere, but with pretty good lighting effects and an increased sense of scale. Let’s just say that it looks a lot better than Minecraft, of course.	Gameplay: 7.5 The gameplay loop popularized by Minecraft, but with more complexity. This is both a good and a bad thing.
Sound: 6.5 It’s there. It gets the job done but it’s not memorable. It actually sounds way too serious for its cartoonish vibe.	Fun Factor: 9.0 It takes an absolute eternity before the game becomes truly immersive and entertaining. There are also way too many features and mechanics to get a hold of. With that being said, I’ve been unable to put this game down, and I’m absolutely addicted at the moment. It’s flawed but still amazing.
Final Verdict: 8.0

Cubic Odyssey is available now on PS5, Xbox Series S/X and PC.

Reviewed on Intel i7-12700H, 16GB RAM, RTX 3060 6GB.

A copy of Cubic Odyssey was provided by the publisher.