This gorgeous postapocalyptic platformer is 2024’s first must-play indie game

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SHOULD I PLAY THE CUB?

Hey, did you read that headline? Yes, play it! I already knew that I loved this game when I played the demo a month ago, but now that I’ve completed the full launch version of The Cub, I can happily report that it is an incredible experience. Everyone should check this out unless they hate platformers or don’t want to be reminded that we’re slowly but surely killing the planet.

TIME PLAYED

I’ve played just over three hours, which was enough time for a complete playthrough of The Cub. I managed to get around three-fourths of the game’s collectibles too, so I spent plenty of time taking in the environments, but there are still some extras to mop up if I feel so inclined.

WHAT’S AWESOME ABOUT THE CUB?

• Stunning art and animation. I feel like I could have captured any given frame of gameplay during my time playing The Cub, and it would look like a screen grab from a beautiful animated movie. Still images don’t really do it justice though, so I implore you to check out the short gameplay video at the top of this article. In motion, The Cub stands out from all but the absolute best-looking games. I was especially impressed by the main character’s smooth movement as he runs, jumps, and tumbles around this world. Just lovely.

• Fantastic world-building with bite. In The Cub, the Earth has already fallen to environmental collapse, with the few humans who could afford it piling into rocket ships and starting a colony on Mars. I played as an unnamed young boy who was left behind on Earth and raised by wolves, and who must contend with the Martians who abandoned the planet when they return.

Much of the story is told through the game’s lush, run-down environments—the shells of decrepit skyscrapers, the hollowed-out tunnels that were once home to subways, the abandoned highways that have become overgrown with vegetation. But on top of that I could discover other tidbits of information through newspaper clippings, magazines, books, and leftover emails, each of which built up the backstory of when, how, and why this world was abandoned. Those lore snippets don’t hold back from very openly and clearly calling out current-day tech bros who are pushing the world to the brink in the name of profit, and I’ve got to admit I loved the shade.

• Immaculate vibes. The Cub’s soundtrack is presented as in-game sound transmitted through an astronaut’s helmet that the main character has picked up. Through this clever setup, a radio DJ on Mars plays a bunch of absolute jams—from psychedelic rock to techno to some unsettlingly catchy tune that the DJ called “toddler pop.” The world of The Cub may be a dark mess, but the way it’s presented makes spending time here awfully fun. And this is the first time I’ve ever felt the pull of purchasing a game’s soundtrack from Steam.

• Always mixing things up. Despite (or maybe because of) its short run time, The Cub doesn’t waste a lot of time repeating itself. One minute I was avoiding nets tossed out by a Martian trying to capture me. In the next, I was going through a Donkey Kong Country-style minecart level. Another sequence had me riding on the back of a jetpack-powered astronaut, navigating through a storm of missiles shot by a drone. The game kept throwing fresh ideas at me right up to the very end.

WHAT SUCKS ABOUT THE CUB?

• It’s short. Like very short. The developer estimate for completing the game was four to five hours, but it took me three, even on my first time...and I’m generally pretty slow-moving with games. I like to take my time. What I’m saying is, I wouldn’t be surprised if the average completion time is closer to two hours. I love short games and certainly prefer this run time to padding The Cub out with repetition, but it’s worth keeping in mind when deciding if it’s worth buying the full version.

• Sometimes frustrating inconsistency with platforming. The Cub’s platforming is not super difficult (and neither is the game in general), but I did hit some moments where it felt annoyingly imprecise. In particular, sometimes the main character wouldn’t grab onto a ledge for no real reason. In other areas, I found I could overcome a gap with a single leap sometimes, but inexplicably the same gap would require a double-jump other times. It’s not a game-breaker, but it did occasionally break up the flow of an otherwise sublime experience.

PLATFORM TESTED

PC via Steam.