I know that not every retro gamer has an interest in the ZX Spectrum, I do apologize that the last few articles have been about the ancient 8 bit microcomputer. I promise that this will be the last article about the Speccy for a little while, but a very special type of game has come from an amateur coding competition which is definitely worth reporting on. A yearly coding competition for the ZX Spectrum called YRGB which ran this year from the 7th to the 20th of August has been the catalyst for a very unique (for the ZX) type of platformer game to come into existence. It’s best described as rotating 3D platformer based on the mechanics of a game called Fez. The game has generated a lot of interest and hype as it’s the first of it’s kind for the ancient 8 bit microcomputer.
Cubix is a game about a cube shaped hero that has been living in a peaceful and harmonious cube shaped world until the evil lord of chaos, Hexatron stole the sacred talisman responsible for maintaining the peace and harmony of the cube shaped utopia. The player controls a brave Cubix being known as Bix who escaped Hexatron’s curse and now must gather the broken talisman’s 6 faces over 6 levels in order to restore harmony and save his people. The game’s levels consist of towers which Bix must navigate by climbing to the top. When he reaches the end of the screen, it then rotates horizontally to the next screen so he can climb ever upwards around the tower in a pseudo-3D type effect. The game has many logical puzzles with more then 10 different game mechanics. As the game progresses the player gains more abilities which allows him to negotiate the towers in a non-linear manner. The game mechanics of each tower changes as the player progress’ through the game which results in an ever increasing complexity of the puzzles encountered.
If that description was difficult to understand then it’s probably best to experience the game yourself if you are so inclined. The ROM can be downloaded for free from the YRGB website which can then be played on emulator or on a real ZX Spectrum 128 or, of course, the legendary ZX Spectrum Next. However you experience the game it is definitely worth your time and will make an excellent addition to your ZX Spectrum game library. If you are interested please visit the YRGB website 2025 webpage which I’ve included, as usual, in the relevant links section below. With the YRGB 2025 coding competition having now come to it’s conclusion, participants await voting for the best game after which point the winner will be announced. It’s very likely that Cubix will be the winning the game but it won’t be until the end of the August that the winner will be officially announced.
Relevant Links
- Official website for the YRGB yearly coding competition [www.yrgb.org] Download the Cubix ROM here
- Time Extension article on Cubix [https://www.timeextension.com/news/2025/08/dev-reveals-secrets-behind-stunning-new-3d-platformer-for-the-zx-spectrum] See this article for more detailed information about the game.
