The WowCube is more than a video game gimmick

digitaltrends.com:

I was charmed by a strange little gaming device earlier this year at CES 2022. The WowCube is essentially a digital Rubik’s Cube with 24 screens. Players can twist it to play puzzle games or put an image onto it and use it as a neat little home conversation piece.

It comes at a time where we’re seeing lots of video game gadgets outside of the usual console giants. The Steam Deck is revolutionizing how players access PC games, the Analogue Pocket is a must-own for players with lots of old handheld games, and the crank-controlled Playdate is so strange that it’s captured the curiosity of the gaming world. The WowCube exists in that same space as a device that fuses toys, video game consoles, and tech gadgets into one device.

When I sat down with Max Filin, the CEO of WowCube creator Cubios, it immediately became clear that the black box is more than a cute gimmick. It’s a shockingly impressive technical feat that could shape the world in some very unexpected ways one day.

The most surprising thing about the WowCube is that it deftly delivers on its wild pitch. The device is a dense black box made up of eight cubes, with four screens on each side. When you fire it up, each screen lights up with a different app icon. Tap on one and the screens will light up with a tactile game that’s controlled by twisting.

Many of the current games available on it at present are straightforward. In one game, players move a ball around the cube, collecting points. Rotating the cube creates different pathways for the ball to move through. Another title is a 3D version of 2048, a puzzle game where players match numbers until they multiply up to 2048. The latter is what I ended up spending the most time with, as it’s a tactile twist on an