Cobalt Core

Cobalt Core is a real innovation and iteration on the roguelite deckbuilder genre. I’ll do a lot of comparison between this game and Slay the Spire (StS), which I think most people interested in this game will have played. Starting with difficulty, Cobalt Core is a lot more scalable than StS. The easiest run difficulty is Normal, on which I think genre newcomers will be able to consistently win while still being challenged. The game then progresses through Hard, Harder, and Hardest, which incrementally push you to learn and master all of its mechanics. I like this scalable difficulty because Cobalt Core has an actual story locked behind winning runs, so newcomers won’t be locked out of the story, and because the lower difficulties encourage experimentation, with discovering all the cards and artifacts as an incentive. Gameplay-wise, Cobalt Core has a few more dimensions than StS. Rather than choosing one of four characters to take on a run, you instead choose three of eight characters to man one of five ships. This combo determines your starting cards and card choices, with each character and ship specializing in distinct mechanics such as shielding, movement, or drones. Runs progress through three sectors, with each sector comprised of branching stages that converge on a boss fight, just as in StS. Most of these stages involve combat, which is ship-to-ship. Your ship is made of components, such as cannons and missile or drone bays, that perform the functions of your cards. Enemy ships are also made of such components and telegraph their intent from them; in some cases you can target specific components to cancel their intent. Between you and your enemy lies the midrow, where drones hover and fire, missiles fly across, and asteroids block shots. Finally, the stage itself can affect combat, with conditions like binary stars or solar flares modifying mechanics like energy or heat gain. I especially like the additional options for mitigating damage that Cobalt Core gives you. In StS you mainly stack a use-it-or-lose-it shield per turn; meanwhile, in Cobalt Core, you can also spend Evade to dodge telegraphed missiles and cannon fire, or spend Droneshift to block those things with midrow objects. It’s really engaging trying to judge and predict the relative value of shield versus Evade versus Droneshift, affected by interactions with cards, artifacts, enemy attack patterns, and stage conditions. Those three defensive resources also last between turns, which gives Cobalt Core more room to fine-tune the ebb and flow of offense and defense between you and your enemy. Enemies cycle through patterns of firing cannons, launching midrow objects, and applying statuses: learning those patterns is key to knowing how to allocate your limited energy per turn between stacking defenses, clearing statuses, pressing the attack, and ultimately winning the run. As for story, Cobalt Core is simple but competently written. Throughout the run your crew comments on things like dealing or taking lots of damage, calling out weak spots and favored strategies, etc. There’s a lot of humor and characterization in these little conversations and it helps to keep the tone light, which alleviates the frustration of some of those inevitable lost runs. The main story is revealed through cutscenes, with one cutscene unlocked per victorious run. Characters butt heads over what to do with the eponymous Cobalt Core, and their actions lend to each of their distinct and consistent personalities, motivations, and audience appeal. There’s even a bit of real pathos with [spoiler]Riggs, who hides her guilt for inciting the premise of the entire game under her bubbly demeanor[/spoiler]. It’s enough to keep you motivated while running through all of the game’s content, and the climax of the story upon beating the final boss leaves you with a real sense of satisfaction. So that’s Cobalt Core: an advancement in pretty much every aspect of the roguelite deckbuilder pioneered by StS, and a game deserving its own place in the genre’s hall of fame. I haven’t even mentioned the music, which is a vibe throughout and totally hype during the boss fights--you’ll have to experience that for yourself. If you’re a fan of the genre, then Cobalt Core is a novel entry, made with love and care, that deserves your playthrough.

Cute characters, fun mechanics, great music and a decent challenge. Played on Linux with minor issues (flickering cursor and sometimes problems with focus when alt-tabbing).

I can't quite put my finger on it, but after playing Cobalt Core for 5 hours I simply don't feel interested in playing again. On paper, it has everything that I like: - StS-like gameplay (deckbuilding, pathing, impactful choices, relatively long path to victory on each run) - vast variety, lots of ways to build the deck - varying enemies and bosses that require some mental effort (button mashing won't get you far) Yet, I would much rather play Slay the Spire than Cobalt Core, even after playing Cobalt Core so little. And I think it's because this game is missing the most important element that my favorite roguelikes have: making the most out of a bad situation. Because Cobalt Core is a "mini" version of StS, as other reviewers correctly pointed out, its card and relic pool are much smaller too. But because you are still choosing one of 3 cards in each reward (and in this game you can choose mid-act relic rewards too!), it is much easier to get exactly what you need and become OP. You never have to think "damn I got bad relic, now I need to adjust my path or I won't beat the boss". Because you almost never get a bad relic. And with card upgrades, you can choose between two upgrade paths. So in the end you get so many good choices that the bad choices almost don't feel impactful at all. And this leads to the absence of my favorite feeling when playing StS: "Damn I won against all odds, I must be a genius". TL;DR if you are more casual roguelike deckbuilders enjoyer, the game's interesting. Otherwise just play StS

I occasionally pick this back up and play a few runs. I am a bit burnt out by the deckbuilder genre, so I am not inclined to play run after run after run. That said, Cobalt Core is great, honestly one of the best in its space. Pun intended. Mechanically it's exactly what you'd expect, but it's flavored really nicely and has a lot of character. The UI and sound design make the game feel really snappy and satisfying. Also, the writing is genuinely good, and the characters are really cute and likable. The music is not for me though, I have it on mute. Cobalt Core is a very smooth and good looking game. If you are at all into the roguelike deckbuilder genre, you should not miss out on this one.

Awesome game, great for the $8 I paid. FTL meets StS.

非常好。 卡牌游戏局外的结构类似杀戮尖塔，局内的设计有些创意（不止有生命值，而是分为飞船的几个部件，同时加上位置以致可以提前闪避）。 卡图没有，UI非常简单，像素风。但是个人感觉比杀戮尖塔看起来还更精致些。 剧情是有精心构思的，但是不会过度抢占注意力，可以安心玩牌，这就很好（与之相比，Griftlands就不太好）。

很不错的小品卡牌游戏，虽然不是很平衡但是很有趣

I am having a lot of fun with the silliness of the game's story and characters but how much the combat requires that "chess thinking" of understanding multiple moves ahead but it's mixed with the chaos of "Robo Rally". I will say, one aspect that has been vexing for me is the lack of ability to "pick your battles" in a meaningful way because of how different the various enemies can be. Certain enemy types will just STOMP certain builds because you are always deciding where you're vulnerable as much as where you're strong. Building a constant "all arounder" is near impossible and also means you won't get any quick victories. I know the map shows where the Elite encounters are on the map, but I've been mud-stomped in non-Elite fights because of build and obliterated Elites in 1 turn when I was the exact counter to their build. If you could just see what enemy is in the NEXT node you're going to would be handy. Maybe it only gives you their playstyle if you've encountered them before. Or artifacts that can provide the option (which may be in the game, I haven't completed EVERYTHING), but the main issue with artifact solution is that they're so rare and random. 2nd minor thought is some kind of marker to let players know when they have or have not picked an option at certain encounters before. Some of us don't have that kind of memory to remember these hundreds of different things.

the little talking animals add a ton of personality

Truly excellent deckbuilder, with fantastic controls for streaming to your phone and using the touch-screen controller.