Q.U.B.E., the 2012 game about manipulating blocks with high-tech gloves, attracted comparisons to Portal, but while its puzzles were smart it lacked the personality of Valve's classic. In Q.U.B.E. 2, story and personality will be a major focus, as Austin found out when he spent some time with it earlier this year, and that comes across in the latest trailer, above.
The video starts off with what is presumably the first few moments of the game. Your character, archaeologist Amelia Cross, stumbles through a strange world full of swirling red dust, clueless as to how she got there. Eventually she makes contact with an ally over the radio, who will act as a guide for the game.
The trailer also introduces what appears to be the game's antagonist force: an AI that sounds like it has bad intentions. "We know everything, Amelia," it rasps.
The world itself looks very pretty, with environments that are much more adventurous than the clinical white rooms of the first game. Austin noted that Amelia's animations are much sharper, too, which will help the game feel more alive.
Of course, it's the puzzles themselves that will make or break it. Early signs suggest they're interesting, but the challenge for developer Toxic Games is to keep coming up with new ideas throughout the 80-plus puzzles that the game offers.
Q.U.B.E. 2 is out on March 13.