Everyone has heard of Cobalt by now. The first game out Oxeye Studio who famously scored a publishing deal with Mojang. So what did Mojang see in Cobalt. Let's find out.
Cobalt is a 2D side scroller that suffers from multiple personality disorder. It wants to be an action platformer but somehow that gets lost along the way drowning under its own weight. The tutorial itself is enough to drive you bonkers. It's so drawn out it becomes a chore but then it completely ignores the game’s safecracking, lockpicking and hacking component and leaves you to figure it out yourself which unfortunately isn't that easy and if you mess them up an alarm goes off and enemies rush you which usually ended up with me dying, again. There is so much going on here it gave me a headache. You're even reading emails and replying to them because your supervisor wants you to keep him in the loop. Considering everything that is involved here you would expect the story to be a drawn out affair but alas it's as simple as finding out what happened to the colonists on a planet.
I like a challenge as much as the next gamer but Cobalt will kick you in the balls repeatedly. I nearly gave up after the first level because I wandering around aimlessly trying to figure out what to do next. It turns out that I didn't miss anything. I just had to do the same task over and over and over again. Why anyone would think that would be a good idea is beyond me. Dying is also a problem in Cobalt because it happens all the Goddamn time. The good news is you respawn almost instantly. The bad news is you can and will die immediately in certain circumstances. I lost count of the times I respawned slap bang in the middle of a group of enemies that had just killed me and then the game just rinses and repeats itself. There is nothing more frustrating than staring at your TV with your joypad in hand knowing your doomed. I lost count of the times this happened to me.
The multiplayer in Cobalt is suppose to be all singing and dancing but I never got the chance to try any of the online modes out because I couldn't find a match, ever. No matter what time of the day g tried I just couldn't find anything. So even at this early stage the online multiplayer seems to be dead.
If you like your games punishing and frustrating Cobalt is the game for you otherwise leave well alone. I hope Oxeye Studio take a step back with their next game and remember that because you think of an idea it doesn't mean you should include it.
Formats Review: Xbox One
Publisher: Microsoft Studios/Mojang
Developer: Oxeye Game Studio
Cobalt is available now for £15.99
Review code supplied by XCN.