Q.U.B.E., the first person puzzler from Toxic Games, might not be a title that many gamers have heard of, but that should change very soon. According to a blog post by the Indie Fund, an organization that helps finance independent projects like Q.U.B.E., the title was able to rack up nearly $90,000 in its first four days of release on Steam. That tally was more than enough to pay back the game’s initial investment from the Fund.

While, previously, Indie Fund had been bankrolling projects a little bit at a time, Q.U.B.E. was one of the first to receive half of its payment up front, and the other half when that initial allowance began to run out. It might have been a bigger risk for the organization, but based on the gamer response that risk certainly paid off.

In a decade when the market is dominated by big budget titles like Call of Duty and Gears of War — games with huge marketing and development budgets — it’s hard to see the little guy, games with little to no support out of the gate, ever standing a chance. But thankfully there are organizations like the Humble Indie Bundle and Indie Fund that help smaller developers like Toxic Games get their work out to the masses.

Q.U.B.E., for those who might not know, features a unique mechanic based around the idea of moving blocks in a pre-determined manner in order to advance through what look suspiciously similar to Portal’s test chambers. Don’t misunderstand, the puzzling in Q.U.B.E. is completely different from what is seen in Portal or its sequel, but the milieu and the tone of the title are very much inspired by Valve’s work.

Much like other high profile indies like Limbo or Bastion, Q.U.B.E. relies on one key mechanic and a unique art style, and tries to carry that throughout the entire experience. And like those other successful indies, it's well worth the money ($14.99).

Have you had a chance to check out Q.U.B.E.? Would you like to see more independently funded projects break into the mainstream?

Source: Indie Fund