Cubicle Quest

I originally wanted to keep this one as part of a Steam Pack (the next one, in fact), but then I realized there may be more to talk about than I would in merely 500 words.

RPG Maker games get a bad rep, being frequently sold cheaply on Steam, in bundles. Doesn’t help that a lot of them only use the basic resources and don’t go much further than making basic fantasy stories. I reviewed a few already, some really bad, some okay, some really good!

The engine is merely the material.
Now, sculpt to your liking.

To make a really damn good RPG Maker title, you need either a perfectly unique concept, a full-fledged game, or some stunning resources for your world map, your characters, enemies… Not every game manages to have all three. And due to most resources being more fantasy-based in style (with castles, crystal balls, fantasy-based RPG monsters), it can be difficult to do something in a different style. But hey – when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. And add some vodka to it. The metaphorical vodka is that extra kick anyone with enough imagination can give to the product they’re creating on this software!

Cubicle Quest is a game made by Ian Isaro, published by GrabTheGames, and released to Steam on February 25^th, 2015. The project appeared on Kickstarter with an original goal of 475$, and managed to raise 1599$ - more than thrice the amount. In an interview for GameSkinny, Isaro explained that he wanted to make a game about real life issues, one that was comedic in tone, yet closer to reality than most RPGs tend to be. He wanted a product that was more entertaining than didactic in spite of the myriad of economic terms used in the story, and he also wanted to present a story of hope, where the struggles of real life (especially debt) can be fought and dealt with, “defeated” to speak of.

And now I realize that I haven’t even explained what this is all about! In Cubicle Quest, you’re an aspiring young man known as Insert Name Here… oh, right. Let’s just say his name’s Nicolas. He has just found a desk job and is facing a debt of about 40,000$ in college loans and various credit cards. Desperate with his current state, he goes to sleep, and wakes up in the world of his own mind, at Castle Sanity. In this dream world, his real-life problems are monsters; the debts are armies of demons waiting at his door, the fields are roamed by monsters known as Idle Whim or Mundane Obligation, and his metaphorical in-game money represents troops he can send out to fight, though it can also be used to buy items.

If that's all we're going to face, the journey will be simple.

This guy grows incresingly monosyllabic as the game goes.

The game has a very tongue-in-cheek tone, and the monsters, while using RPG Maker resources, have names and attributes that remind of real life – as an example, the “Unpaid Bill” monster can become “Late Fees” is not defeated fast enough. Creatures like “Slow computers” or “Bad influence” are a thing. There are bosses, lots of them; the first you’re likely to face is on your way to your first promotion, at Work Dungeon. The very first requirement in the game is to get a roommate to split the cost of staying at Castle Sanity, and the best you can get is Randall, a slacker-type guy who pays on time but doesn’t really do much else. After beating the first floor of Work Dungeon, Nicolas gets a promotion, better pay, and better chances of fighting the armies at his doors.

In the first floor, you can find your way easily, and the
enemies are simple to figure out. Wait till they throw in
the invisible walls, and the mazes, and the monsters
with unique weaknesses, and...

That tower looks peaceful. But it has enemies that can beat
you down on multiple levels. ...Pun not intended.

There’s not a single chance of beating the second floor just yet, so Nicolas can explore the surroundings. To the East, there’s Nostalgia Pier, home of Nicolas´ old acquaintances; it leads to Mom’n’Pop Kingdom, which has cut ties with Castle Sanity until Nicolas can live well off by himself. In the starting area, there’s a Shrine of Time that contains a Spirit of Minutes, a boss that can be defeated to skip time by a full year. That’s 12 paychecks in one go! It’s still too strong to be defeated, though. To the West, there’s a clearing that leads towards Societyville. That area also has a bank, of which the Savings and Investment zones are still gated off, and a Self-Improvement tower, a place with four floors allowing the player to make their life better by fighting their greatest personal problems. Keep in mind, though, they’re also bosses, so the chances are that your level isn’t high enough yet.

Another way to receive more money each month is to cut into the expenses, which involves going downstairs in Castle Sanity and fighting the bills head-on, which helps to take them out, or at least reduce them (as an example, by beating the Phone Bill monster that costs 100$/month, you get a better plan that cuts it down to 30$). Those are too powerful when you start, but after the second promotion they become more manageable. And even if you get rid of those, then you have other areas that open, including one for unnecessary expenses that the player really likes or would prefer to keep. But if you want to spare a decent amount of money, you have no other option but to cut down on those expenses too. Finances can be a heartbreaking thing.

But, of course, that’s not all. There are hidden areas all over the place with tough enemies and rewards at the key, many of which feel like bonus dungeons. Problem is, you’re not usually told how strong the enemies can be in a new discovered area until you face one and lose against it. At least, with most pre-planned battles, it’s possible to flee, and if you lose you’re just back to the map with your team weakened.

Early into the game, you obtain a Ring that lets you travel back to Castle Sanity instantly, and this will work in most areas. It'll also bring any vehicle back closer to Castle Sanity. You can even purchase similar rings for some later areas, in order to return to them without traveling by foot! The rings don’t work in Dungeon Work’s floors, however.

Time to weaken those enemy armies.

The developer of the game stated that grinding for experience was not necessary, but that’s not really true; after the first floor of Work Dungeon, a lot of challenges that open up require a strong team. Your party members get special moves as they level up, as par for the course in an RPG, and many moves become vital to progress, whether they’re healing moves or type-based. In my playthrough, a LOT of time was spent grinding.

These are the worst! Well, until you meet the next
worst thing.

Also par for the course, enemies can be categorized in certain groups, though obviously this game won’t have the usual Fire-Water-Earth-Wind type weaknesses. No, it uses other types: Human, Mental, Personal, Work-based… You’re not told which type each enemy is, but you can do some guesswork based on the situation and the name (as an example, it’s pretty obvious that the “Slow Computers” monsters are work-based). Every special attack indicates which type it’s strong against, so if you can figure out which type each monster has, then it’s possible to use the best moves against every enemy. As an example of logical guesses, a lot of self-improvement monsters and bosses fall into the Personal archetype. Status effects, also common in RPGs, now bear names like Laziness, Demotivation, Complacency, and so on.

I know I certainly have a lot of fun punching the “Stupid Customer” monster on the second floor of the Work Dungeon…

Time? That's guaranteed to kill you eventually.

Eventually, it’s time to face the second level of the dungeon, and after that’s done we see many more options open up for us. However, that also comes with new costs. It’s now possible to visit Nostalgia Pier, meet old acquaintances, some of which may join your party. You can find nine party members in the game, though only four appear in battles (the others still get 50% of the EXP). You can also choose to change around the characters of your party – the main protagonist stays, but you can switch the others around. Around this time, you should be able to fight your expenses as they appear in the basement of Castle Sanity. The monsters in a lot of bonus areas become more manageable. By cutting on costs, you can pay your debts (by sending “soldiers” to fight them, one soldier = one dollar, they’re really pushing the metaphor there). Last but not least, Randall starts skipping on paying his half of Castle Sanity’s rent, so it’s time to kick him out and find a new roommate. You can still keep him as an ally, though.

I might find a nice community soon enough.

The equipment in the game reflects the whole concept, as instead of being a weapon, a helmet, an armor, a shield, an accessory, it’s something completely different. The weapon is replaced by a Goal that provides motivation, increasing Attack to let you go further in the game. Then there’s the Community, represented by people or groups that the character can become a part of; the Virtue, a personality trait that will improve some stats; Books, which can be equipped and will steadily, passively increase one particular stat as you get through battles – those can be very good for maxing out some particular stats; and, last but not least, the Accessory. For everything that didn’t fit in the other categories.

On to all the unnecessary expenses!

I’ll be going over the last parts quickly because I don’t feel like making a longer review for this one; just know that it has a LOT of content, so allow me to show you just how much it’s got.

After you’ve eliminated most of your debt, the South of the kingdom can be explored, with many additional areas. Once you’ve acquired a boat, it possible to go further east, towards areas beyond the sea. And, of course, there’s more to see up north, too.

So you can explore the wider world, what else afterwards? Well, at the bank, once you unlock savings, you can open an account (which somehow involves going through a mine in a cart and beating a boss) and set money aside every once in a while. Then there’s the investment path that can open more options, boosting your revenue even further.

Oh, but that’s not all. You want more options? You got more options. You want a new house? You can buy a new house. Yes, it’s expensive. But it’s possible. You want a boat? Well, you’re obviously going to need one to cross the sea, but you can get a really impressive one. Do you want a car? You can get one!

Marrying the bookworm lady seems like a popular option.
She certainly seems to be the philosophical type.

Not to mention the biggest commitment of all: Mawwage! Mawwage is what bwings us togethah today. Er… Sorry, I got some leftover Princess Bride in my brain. Yes, there is an option to marry one of the many women around this world, given that they express an interest in you. How can you sway them? By maxing out a particular stat of your character. Some women like intelligence, others prefer agility, then some are all about raw attack power – you have to find the one. And, in fact, I believe there are alternate endings available for every female character you can hook up with. Oh, but don’t worry, there’s still an ending if you choose to beat the game and remain single.

I need attacks that destroy delusion too. Where can I get
one of those?

Last but not least, there are career options that eventually open. You can keep going at your desk job until you complete the four available floors of the Work Dungeon… or you can tell that boss to go screw himself while you go out and create your own job, with you as your own boss. That’s yet another possibility. Frankly, I am amazed at all the things that can be done in this game.

This may actually be the most complete RPG Maker title I have played so far. Don’t let the name “Cubicle Quest” push you away, don’t lump it in with the cheap-looking games in the RPG Maker category. This game is impressive.

The concept is silly: An RPG world as a humongous metaphor for life, self-improvement, work and finances. Vanquish your debts, your fears, your loneliness – become the best person around. Ian Isaro wanted this game to be more entertaining than didactic, but the didactic elements are there, even if they heavily rely on the metaphor to work. It’s almost beautiful how all the big and little inconveniences of adult life were given monster form and can be battled in this game. How many monsters are there? I haven’t counted, but… a lot, certainly. Over a hundred, I'd say. Is it silly? Perhaps, but it works! And the tone is very tongue-in-cheek, very meta and self-aware, which improves the whole thing.

There are multiple tutorial areas to help you, as well.

The maker of this game also wanted a game where grinding was never required. There, I would say that this didn’t succeed. You start off as fairly weak, with limited options. However, as you level up, more areas are revealed and the place nearly becomes an open world, which is great – you can go further and further. But it’s also an issue, as you can never really know the strength of the monsters in a new area until you step in, get the beating of a lifetime, see the Game Over screen, and reload your save file. Get ready to see the Game Over screen a LOT. Exploration and experimentation is required, and while you’re not going to run out of things to do (especially after you defeat the Debt Armies and get access to a boat), it’s always a gamble which areas you can actually beat at any given time. Your best option? Return to the last area you finished, and grind there if it’s possible. Since many areas open early on, some creatures tough like bosses at first may just turn out to be regular enemies later on.

I can't keeop the massages?
Fine, then, I'll just find a less expensive way to relieve
myself from stress. I'll find a way. Eventually.

Also, save often, save frequently, but make sure you can leave a place by yourself before you save there – on the off-chance that you get stuck in an inescapable death trap of a dungeon or room where the enemies are too strong, and you’re unprepared. Like, say, getting stuck in a Work Dungeon floor.

All the characters have distinct personalities, offer pretty interesting dialogues, many of them can become your roommate… and then there’s the possibility to marry one of the women you meet on your journey, with associated perks and such. I could go over the various things you can purchase or gain in this game, but there’s just too much.

And of course, there are many secrets on the map, which can be found while exploring. I actually thought the game’s Steam page was joking when it said the game had 15 to 20 hours of gameplay. It’s not a joke. I  fact, even after beating the final boss (which I won't spoil), you get access to an airshipo that can land in places you couldn't reach before, giving you access to more secrets.

Oh crap, this game even has mimics!

Most of the game has been fairly well thought-out, but I did spot small issues here and there. Usually nothing major. There are times where the menus won't appear when a battle starts, causing the game to freeze and close. It happened most often on the second floor of the Work Dungeon, but it also happened in other areas at rarer times. You might like to save frequently, just in case that it occurs. Also some things aren’t explained very well, such as the effects of some equipment items, how are the Books best used, how some special items can be found or what opens depending on your state in the game. I’ve also read that some marriage options may have strange effects on the late-game progression, but I would need to experience all of the possible alternate endings to properly report on that.

This is, without a doubt, the best RPG Maker game I’ve played on Steam. Go play it. Spare three dollars on the side and play it. It’s got flaws, a few programming erros perhaps, but otherwise it’s pretty fantastic.