Slay the Spire (deckbuilding, card play, map) meets Into the Breach (graphics, tactics, movement, time-repeat, pilots) with a dash of Galaxy Trucker (theme, encounters, ship parts). What's not to love?
Perhaps a lack of content after a few hours of play, and although the characters and the deck building around them is variable enough, they don't feel that different from each other.
If the creators continue to add content, this has unprecedented potential. If they don't, that's reprehensible, as the gameplay loop here is better built and more engaging than the vast majority of genre-related games. And there have been countless of them in recent years.
Perhaps a lack of content after a few hours of play, and although the characters and the deck building around them is variable enough, they don't feel that different from each other.
If the creators continue to add content, this has unprecedented potential. If they don't, that's reprehensible, as the gameplay loop here is better built and more engaging than the vast majority of genre-related games. And there have been countless of them in recent years.
I've logged a few wins under my belt at this point and feel like it's safe to say that if you liked slay the spire you should play this. It's more complex tactically and uses the (very good) Hades trick of tying story progression to wins in the game.
Great design, cool characters. Just didnt sink its teeth into me like some similar games have
For a run based game with multiple characters, the runs themselves often end up feeling very similar. The drip feed of story is well done and does help differentiate the game. And I do actually enjoy the mix of card gameplay with ship tactics, it just feels a bit thin quicker than I would have hoped.
Adding simple positioning mechanics to a deskbuilder was a stroke of genius, and what can I say, I'm a sucker for adorable furries and goofy dialogue. Would put it up there with Slay The Spire as one of the "canon" deckbuilder games everyone with interest in the genre should play.
Very cute deck builder rogue-like. Reminds me of FTL, Into the Breach and Slay the Spire. Starts to lack variety as time goes on, but it's still a hidden gem.
FTL acid addicted child funnier and smarter
Un roguelite deckbuilder fantástico que incorpora mecánicas propias con las habituales del género y ofrece una experiencia totalmente única y divertidísima.
Quizá le falta un poquito más de variedad en las runs. El bucle jugable es muy muy bueno, pero todas las partidas acaban siendo tan parecidas (más allá de cambios en las builds particulares de cada una) que da sensación de haberlo visto todo antes de realmente haberlo visto. Quizá, si hay alguna expansión o contenido adicional más adelante, lo revisite.
También esconde una historia sorprendentemente profunda y personajes muy simpáticos con interacciones muy divertidas, cosa que no esperaba y me ha sorprendido muy gratamente.
Si sois fans del género, dadle una oportunidad porque merece muchísimo la pena.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A fantastic roguelite deckbuilder that incorporates its own unique mechanics to the usual tropes of the genre and offers a completely unique and very fun experience.
It perhaps lacks a bit of variation in runs. The gameplay loop is very, very good, but all the runs end up being so similar (beyond changes in the particular builds for each one) that it feels like you've seen it all even if you haven't. Perhaps, if they release an expansion or additional content later, I'll revisit it.
It also hides a surprisingly deep story and very charming characters with really fun banter, which I didn't expect and really surprised me in a good way.
If you're fans of the genre, give it a chance, because it's absolutely worth it.
Quizá le falta un poquito más de variedad en las runs. El bucle jugable es muy muy bueno, pero todas las partidas acaban siendo tan parecidas (más allá de cambios en las builds particulares de cada una) que da sensación de haberlo visto todo antes de realmente haberlo visto. Quizá, si hay alguna expansión o contenido adicional más adelante, lo revisite.
También esconde una historia sorprendentemente profunda y personajes muy simpáticos con interacciones muy divertidas, cosa que no esperaba y me ha sorprendido muy gratamente.
Si sois fans del género, dadle una oportunidad porque merece muchísimo la pena.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A fantastic roguelite deckbuilder that incorporates its own unique mechanics to the usual tropes of the genre and offers a completely unique and very fun experience.
It perhaps lacks a bit of variation in runs. The gameplay loop is very, very good, but all the runs end up being so similar (beyond changes in the particular builds for each one) that it feels like you've seen it all even if you haven't. Perhaps, if they release an expansion or additional content later, I'll revisit it.
It also hides a surprisingly deep story and very charming characters with really fun banter, which I didn't expect and really surprised me in a good way.
If you're fans of the genre, give it a chance, because it's absolutely worth it.
This is another deckbuilder I can manage. It's not the most complicated game, but there's a lot here to make fun builds off of. Playing in tandem with Balatro and there's a lot to enjoy in both the titles.
The vibe of Cobalt Core is spot-on. The music is excellent, and all of the remarks of the team you choose are hilarious. The game is fun too, I find that there's a lot to get out of this game if you want it to be super hard, and vice versa. Great!
The vibe of Cobalt Core is spot-on. The music is excellent, and all of the remarks of the team you choose are hilarious. The game is fun too, I find that there's a lot to get out of this game if you want it to be super hard, and vice versa. Great!
One of my go to steam deck games. Although not as deep as some deck builders I’ve played, everything in this game was seemingly made with care, especially the meta progression post run.
Where it Shines:
Music - 8.5/10
Just Vibing - 9/10
Simple Story - 7/10
The Good:
Cobalt Core really surprised me. In an ocean of overly complicated roguelike deckbuilders, most of which don't hold a candle to StS, Cobalt Core managed to easily stand out as being a good #2 for best of all time.
The characters are charming, the music and art are top notch, the gameplay delivers for the most part, and there even is a cute story if you like having that sort of thing - but unlike games like griftlands or gorian quest that have EXCESSIVE dialogue as "story", Cobalt Core tells it simply, with brevity. I really appreciate the thought behind that choice.
The Bad:
The game errs on being a bit too easy - this can be mitigated by upping the difficulty, which I appreciate, but most of those setting feel unfair and not really "more challenging" as much "more annoying". The problem with this game really lies in it's core mechanic of having a mixed deck of 3 different archetypes - you choose three characters, all with different styles. But the issue is that some of the later characters are just flat out too obnoxious to figure out or not worth it, and the early characters just provide too many staple cards that the others don't, like basic evasion, shielding, and medium attacks. If you go for too frilly of a deck with the special characters, you will just find that you have nothing to attack with, nothing to evade with, or nothing to shield with, all of which are run enders.
I do appreciate the idea behind this idea, but the characters really needed to be more balanced.
So what winds up happening is the game feels too easy if you stack your characters, and too annoying if you throw in a "fun" character.
I would go as far as to say some of the characters are just flat out unplayable garbo.
Summary:
Although it does have it's flaws, it is overall a better game than a bad one, and it stuck my interest better than other similar titles like Monster Train. I highly recommend this game, it feels like StS meets FTL in all the right ways, and is a perfect chill game to play for 20 mins at a time.
Note on my ratings:
Treat my stars like Michelin Stars - just having one means the game is worth playing in some way.
1/2 ⭐: hot trash garbage, since you can't do zero stars here
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite
Music - 8.5/10
Just Vibing - 9/10
Simple Story - 7/10
The Good:
Cobalt Core really surprised me. In an ocean of overly complicated roguelike deckbuilders, most of which don't hold a candle to StS, Cobalt Core managed to easily stand out as being a good #2 for best of all time.
The characters are charming, the music and art are top notch, the gameplay delivers for the most part, and there even is a cute story if you like having that sort of thing - but unlike games like griftlands or gorian quest that have EXCESSIVE dialogue as "story", Cobalt Core tells it simply, with brevity. I really appreciate the thought behind that choice.
The Bad:
The game errs on being a bit too easy - this can be mitigated by upping the difficulty, which I appreciate, but most of those setting feel unfair and not really "more challenging" as much "more annoying". The problem with this game really lies in it's core mechanic of having a mixed deck of 3 different archetypes - you choose three characters, all with different styles. But the issue is that some of the later characters are just flat out too obnoxious to figure out or not worth it, and the early characters just provide too many staple cards that the others don't, like basic evasion, shielding, and medium attacks. If you go for too frilly of a deck with the special characters, you will just find that you have nothing to attack with, nothing to evade with, or nothing to shield with, all of which are run enders.
I do appreciate the idea behind this idea, but the characters really needed to be more balanced.
So what winds up happening is the game feels too easy if you stack your characters, and too annoying if you throw in a "fun" character.
I would go as far as to say some of the characters are just flat out unplayable garbo.
Summary:
Although it does have it's flaws, it is overall a better game than a bad one, and it stuck my interest better than other similar titles like Monster Train. I highly recommend this game, it feels like StS meets FTL in all the right ways, and is a perfect chill game to play for 20 mins at a time.
Note on my ratings:
Treat my stars like Michelin Stars - just having one means the game is worth playing in some way.
1/2 ⭐: hot trash garbage, since you can't do zero stars here
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite
I adore how tight the design on this feels and yet how much variety there is in mechanical approaches. With these tools you have aggressive builds, defensive builds, movement builds, DOT builds, card draw builds, risk-reward builds, it's all here!
I thought at first that the story and characters were a bit too cutesy for my tastes, but they only grew on me the more I played. A lot of people understandably compare this to Slay the Spire and FTL, but in its structure I think this clearly draws from Hades, with a clear narrative conclusion. I think more roguelikes should do this! It's good to have a nice, tidy sending off, the culmination of the experience, as opposed to just dropping out of boredom.
I thought at first that the story and characters were a bit too cutesy for my tastes, but they only grew on me the more I played. A lot of people understandably compare this to Slay the Spire and FTL, but in its structure I think this clearly draws from Hades, with a clear narrative conclusion. I think more roguelikes should do this! It's good to have a nice, tidy sending off, the culmination of the experience, as opposed to just dropping out of boredom.
Cross between Hades/FTL, really good chilled vibes