Rube Works: The Official Rube Goldberg Invention Game (Video Game Review)

Rube Works: The Official Rube Goldberg Invention Game is a new title from Unity Games and Electric Eggplant. As the title clearly indicates, Rube Works: The Official Rube Goldberg Invention Game is all about the classic comic strips from Rube Goldberg in which zany contraptions are built to perform the simplest of tasks. The Rube Goldberg inventions have inspired new works including the highly popular board game Mouse Trap, and the series has also been copied or imitated across nearly all forms of media. Rube Works: The Official Rube Goldberg Invention Game offers one of the first chances for fans of the inventions to experience what it is like to piece together obscure items to creating a working machine for performing tasks, but just like the contraptions players will build in the game, the title is very much unnecessary and loses its appeal very quickly.

The most blatant problem with Rube Works: The Official Rube Goldberg Invention Game is the game's length. There are 18 levels in total, and each adds more items to use in inventions, and as such, the missions continue to get more and more difficult. Rube Works: The Official Rube Goldberg Invention Game does have a fairly good sense of progression through the entire game, but since players are always given the exact tools needed to complete a puzzle, even the most difficult stages won't take very long to solve. Even worse, the game is over before players get their money's worth out of the title, and there is very little incentive to come back and play through the same levels multiple times.

Rube Works: The Official Rube Goldberg Invention Game awards players with points for using as many items to complete a contraption as possible. Many levels can be completed in a variety of different ways, so it's very simple to complete the game for players who aren't perfectionists. The game does award points for using as many items as possible to complete machines though, and players are encouraged to do so with a golden prune system that awards up to three medals based on the player's performance. The game seems interesting at first, but it quickly loses its appeal, and even the hunt for high scores and 100% completion of the game isn't enough to keep players interested.

The presentation of Rube Works: The Official Rube Goldberg Invention Game lacks the high quality polish of many other Steam games. The game was clearly developed for mobile devices in mind and features clumsy navigation through game menus with check mark and "X" boxes. The point-and-click controls during levels isn't quite as bad though, and one neat feature occurs when a level is completed and players unlock a classic comic strip the level has been inspired by. Other not so great features include an inadequate and nearly pointless replay system and graphics and animations that aren't very impressive.

Rube Works: The Official Rube Goldberg Invention Game also features a Hint System which can be good for those gamers that have trouble with puzzle games but can also be a crutch for skilled gamers to use just to simply breeze through the title. With so many negatives outweighing anything good the game attempts to accomplish, it's difficult to recommend Rube Works: The Official Rube Goldberg Invention Game for anyone. The game isn't completely terrible or broken, but it isn't very good, and it's very short lived for a game that would be better served in a free-to-play model on mobile. With no Steam Workshop support, Level Editor or other features to give the title some longevity, players will have a tough time justifying the $5 price tag for a game that can be completed in just a couple of hours.

Rube Works: The Official Rube Goldberg Invention Game is now available on Steam, iOS and Android and can be purchased for $4.99. For more information on the game, check out the official Rube Works: The Official Rube Goldberg Invention Game website.

Game Features:

• Single Player
• Use Wacky Inventions to Make Simple Problems, Complex 18 Levels
• Get Hints When Stuck
• Test Inventions Before Making Machines Final

Game Information:
Developer: Electric Eggplant
Publisher: Unity Games
Platforms: PC (reviewed), Mac, Linux, iOS & Android
Release Date: April 19, 2014

Score: 3 out of 10