The official version of Cobalt, developed by Oxeye Game Studio, is finally about to hit the online shelves, bringing in a 2D platform shooter that everyone can likely get into.
The game is published by Mojang and some would consider it as a follow-up to Minecraft. It highlights co-op and competitive play, but of course, it still has a massive campaign mode.
On that note, can Cobalt expect the same success as Minecraft? Well, yes and no. While it does have potential to garner a large community of competitive gamers, Minecraft is sort of a beast of its own, but that doesn't exactly have a negative impact on the standing of Cobalt in the scene.
Nevertheless, this is a game worth waiting for with bated breath, so without further ado here are the details that make it worth anticipating.
Gameplay
Aside from impeccable marksmanship, Cobalt demands precise timing. PC Gamer got ahold of the game studio's head Daniel Brynolf, who offers a great explanation on how maneuvering plays a vital part. To get a pretty clear idea of it, a walk-through based on his remark would probably work best.
Imagine that the cyborg – yep, players control shooting cyborgs – is gunning it toward a cliff with two enemies right below. As the character rolls in the air, he should time his shot to get the first enemy with his "matter gun." Now, as the shot lands on the target, the other enemy prepares to fire a missile launcher, but when the game detects such danger, it engages bullet time. While waiting for the roll to align with the missile, the player switches to his fist and charges it.
"With the perfect timing, you release your fist and punch the missile so that it goes flying back towards the enemy that fired it, blowing it up as you land safely on the ground," he says, summing things up nicely.
The developers call the effect Extreme Location-Specific Slow-Mo, which is headlined as something that makes the game special.
Game Modes
Campaign - Even though Cobalt is multiplayer-oriented, it has an impressive campaign that Mojang estimates to provide about 8 hours of gameplay. Throughout the adventure, players can upgrade their gears and weapons.
To make things more interesting, it's also packed with plenty of mini-games to enjoy, including dancing and taming pets, to name a few.
Speed And Combat Challenges - Speed and combat challenges provide another competitive dimension in the game, where players around the world will strive to be the fastest-rolling cyborg.
Survival Mode - To explain this mode, think "horde" games, where players are given the task to shoot down wave after wave of enemies that gradually increases in difficulty. This can be played solo, but it's also available in local co-op, making the odds of survival better.
Multiple Local And Online Multiplayer Modes - Cobalt has a ton of multiplayer modes, including Deathmatch, Capture the Plug and many others. Each multiplayer mode is playable online or locally.
More to the point, the game supports Steam Workshop. That means that players can make their own levels and play on levels that others created.
"With over 30 multiplayer maps, three dozen types of weapons, customizable robot avatars and unique gameplay elements such as auto-slow-motion, rolling and ride-able enemies, Cobalt offers endless discovery and entertainment," Xbox Wire said back in 2015.
Release Date And Pricing
Cobalt will land on the Xbox 360, Xbox One and Windows via Steam with a price tag of $19.99. The original release date of October 2015 was pushed back to sometime in February because the current build was "buggier" than the developers were comfortable with, and now it will finally roll out on Feb. 2.
It's worth mentioning that the alpha version can be purchased now if waiting is out of the question. After all, buyers will get a free Steam code for the full version when Cobalt goes official.
Hit up the footage below and see all the tumbling action.
Let's be honest for a second here. Who else is psyched up for the Space Hamsters?
