This $500 ‘Rubik’s Cube’ Plays a Mind-Bending Version of Pac-Man (and More)

If you’re the type of one that spins Rubik’s Cubes to not clear up them, however simply to really feel the satisfying click-clack as you rotate their sides, then the WOWCube could also be a extra participating method to fulfill your fidgety tendencies, so long as you’re prepared to pay for it.

I used to be capable of get a brief fingers on with the WOWCube at CES. It’s a dice with six sides, however with eight particular person cubes that include three OLED screens every. Each dice can rotate on completely different axes similar to a Rubik’s Cube, which permits for some fairly thoughts bending interactions on the set of video games the corporate demoed for me. I performed a easy guide-the-ball sport that launched some problems in the best way the completely different sides interacted. I additionally performed a bizarre model of Pac-Man that was managed by tilting the dice, whereas the completely different paths across the dice might be manipulated by twisting the perimeters.

The WOWCube’s been at CES few a couple of years as a work-in-progress, however now it’s truly one thing you should buy. The system is up for pre-orders for $399, however after that, the system will retail at $499 customary. That model comes with three pre-installed video games. Its “Black Edition” goes for a ridiculous $699, and comes with a carrying case, dock station, and steel nook caps to cease you from cracking the screens once you inevitably drop it. It additionally comes with 21 video games inbuilt and a $100 reward card to buy extra.

I’m at all times hesitant when an organization comes at me with something that claims to be “the next dimension in gaming” whereas costing simply as a lot as I paid for my PlayStation 5. But the WowCube actually is a captivating piece of tech. Still, it’s a disgrace you’ll must pay such a excessive worth for such an attention-grabbing novelty.

The good factor is that the WowCube itself is a stable hunk of tech, at the very least based mostly on my restricted interactions with it, it feels hefty with out being heavy. The particular person contact screens themselves felt attentive to inputs. From the few video games I performed that used tilt controls, objects on the display screen additionally moved as meant. It was enjoyable to shake the factor to get it again to the primary menu. However, one of the best half concerning the factor was how clean it felt to rotate the person blocks. Twisting it was as instantly satisfying as flicking the buttons on a fidget dice.

Company CEO Max Filin additionally took aside the system to indicate that every dice can technically operate independently, which he mentioned opens up the potential of enjoying video games by connecting completely different cubes collectively on future variations of the WOWCube.

It’s actually an attention-grabbing piece of tech, although I’d need it for rather more than simply video games for such a worth. The firm did say it comes with extra instruments, like a climate app, digital photograph frames and a wise night time mild, however I’d wish to spend rather more time with it earlier than I may say if the worth is price it. The firm can also be encouraging extra folks to develop video games utilizing its proprietary devkit, however time will inform who additionally jumps on the dice bandwagon.