What if there was a game that took massively multiplayer gaming to a new and decidedly unique level? What if there was a game that offered more than just a challenge or reward system, but instead offered the players a chance to find something truly amazing at the end of the game? Curiosity wants to be that game. The question though, is it unique enough and entertaining enough to hold your interest until the final questions are answered?

WHAT IS IT AND WHAT DOES IT DO

Main Functionality

Curiosity is a cross-platform massively multiplayer gaming experience. In fact, calling it a gaming experience isn’t quite right, it may be more apt to call it a social experiment. The primary goal of the game is to chip away at a giant black cube, one pixel at a time. This cube is simultaneously being chipped away at by thousands of other players across multiple platforms, all working toward the same goal of eliminating all of the layers of the cube in order to find the secrets hidden within.

According to the game developer, 22cans, somewhere deep in the center of the cube is a great secret that only one player will be able to view, the player who chips away the final piece of the cube. It’s all very mysterious, unique, and a bit over-the-top.

Pros

• Extremely unique concept
• Efficient and effective reward system
• Literally anyone can play this game

Cons

• Virtually no understandable goal except for the final chip
• No end in sight, developer says it will take months
• Sometimes it’s literally impossible to play because of the server load

Discussion

To call curiosity unique, is like calling a real life unicorn mildly interesting. When you first open the game you are presented with a white screen and a few sentences to read before you begin. The game will essentially ask if you are ready to take on the task of finding the secret inside the cube. Simply tap your screen after reading each section to continue.

After you finish reading the vague words of instruction, the game will try to connect you to the server. I say try, because realistically you’re going to be presented with these words about 90-percent of the time you try to join:

Due to the popularity of the experiment there is an overwhelming demand to join. Please keep trying. Retry

Tap Retry, trust me it’s worth it. Keep tapping Retry until you finally see it, the giant black cube. You can’t do anything from this view, so pinch zoom or tap zoom until you see the individual squares. Start tapping. Notice that the squares will start dissolving away, and sometimes you get coins for your efforts. Are you excited yet?

Chances are you are excited, but for no discernible reason, other than you are actually finally in the game. Once you get bored with chipping away at the cube, which is bound to happen at some point, take a step back and observe everything that’s happening around the block. Remember, you’re not alone on this cube, thousands of other players are also chipping away at the same time. The developers encourage players to be creative, to chip away words into the cube, leave messages, make music, to express themselves however they can with this new environment.

The developers maintain that the act of chipping away at the cube can actually be very therapeutic, and I’m inclined to believe that’s true. At first it may seem frustrating that no matter how much you chip away, when you zoom out you can see that you really haven’t made that much of an impact. A game without attainable goals sounds like a nightmare, and it might be at first, but eventually a certain calming effect takes over and you’re just happy to keep chipping away.

As each layer of the cube is chipped away, the developers promise that a new and unique gift will be revealed to the world. Eventually someone is going to chip away the final piece of the cube, and that person will apparently learn something incredibly important. But, the developer is completely mum about what it might be, not even a hint!

CONCLUSION AND DOWNLOAD LINK

It sounds crazy, but this game is worth trying. Who knows, maybe you will find the therapeutic aspects of it pleasing. Maybe you’ll want to bash your head against a wall after 3 hours of chipping away at a black cube. The only way to find out is to try it out, and I definitely recommend giving it a chance. Also, if you happen to be the player that finds the secret in the center, don’t be stingy, share it with us here at dotTech!

Price: Free

Version Reviewed: 1.2

Requires: Android 2.3.3 and higher

Download size: 11MB

Curiosity on Google Play