There are a bunch of rogues that I’ve had ticking away in the background between other releases, such as Peglin and Slice & Dice; games that I should really write something about if only to share in the good times that they’ve been providing me.
An example of this is Cobalt Core, a roguelite deckbuilder with a delicious gameplay loop and a truly memorable narrative wrapper that keeps the whole thing feeling tight and controlled throughout. It’s a fantastic game that makes good use of its roguish mechanics and careful balancing to ensure that every step in this sci-fi adventure – including the odd misstep – feels like a step forward.
What is Cobalt Core all about, then?
It looks somewhat unassuming and, while the game doesn’t make a poor first impression, it fails to fully impress upon the player just how much time they could potentially lose to its addictive blend of gameplay elements. Developed by Rocket Rat Games and published by Brace Yourself Games (they of Crypt of the NecroDancer fame), Cobalt Core is part deckbuilder and part sci-fi adventure wherein you lead a crew of cute anthropomorphic spacefarers on a mission to break out of a seemingly endless time loop.
Much of the game is spent engaging in tense, tactical space battles. You’ll go up against all manner of enemy ships, and these ships each present their own tactical challenge to overcome. To do this you’re given a growing array of weapons and defensive abilities. Each fresh attempt to break the time loop is a new chance to find interesting synergies in the various items discovered during any given run. Put another way: the combat is engaging and rewarding.
It’s not just space battles; as you advance through each system – linked together in FTL fashion – you’ll encounter an interesting assortment of characters. Some will open fire, but others will repair your ship or upgrade one of the cards in your deck.
Target that explosion and fire
Your deck of cards forms the basis of your overall strategy, but there’s potential to build your ship to suit a number of different strategies. For each battle you have a supply of energy that is used to power your actions, and each card in your hand has a cost that must be met before it can be activated.
I was really impressed by the range of potential tactics that are ripe for exploration. For example, you might pick cards and upgrades that make your shields strong and able to absorb tremendous amounts of damage, or you could instead focus your attention on making your ship so slippery that your enemies struggle to land a single shot.
Of course you will need to deal your own damage, and in this respect you have a bunch of options to consider. You can fire lasers that cut through enemy shields, or aim your shots at the weak sections of your opponent’s ship. Once again the tactical variety is fantastic and as a result, I’ve had a great time working out the game’s nuances.
Let’s do the time loop again
As well as offering surprisingly diverse run variety, Cobalt Core offers replayability. There are multiple characters to unlock, as well as different ship-types once you’ve started beating the game on harder difficulties. Not only that, but the time loop narrative of the game is a fantastic wrapper that informs the recurring alien encounters that you’ll have along the way.
The whole thing is brought to life with lovely cartoon pixel-art and the visual design is suitably playful. In fact, the overall aesthetic jives well with the characterful narrative loop that you’re stuck in. It’s a lovely game to spend time exploring.
Overall, I’ve been having a whole bunch of fun playing Cobalt Core and I’d say that it ranks as one of the best roguelike deckbuilders out there. If you’re happy playing cards and the game I’ve described above sounds like your jam, I think you can pull the trigger on this one with fair degree of confidence.
Cobalt Core is out now on PC and Nintendo Switch, and I played via access provided by publisher Brace Yourself Games – thanks for that!
