Journey Through the Cosmos with 'Cobalt Core': A Stellar Roguelike Deck-Builder Game

After an initial recommendation of a dozen Steam Next Fest demos, only barely touching upon the multitude of game previews offered, I have stumbled upon another gem that players need to try. This time, it’s an interstellar expedition in the form of a roguelike-like, spaceship deck-building dungeon crawler called Cobalt Core. If you're a fan of Slay The Spire and FTL, Cobalt Core definitely deserves your attention. I would even say that it seems to have been inspired by FTL's successor, Into The Breach. But of course, the only way to know for sure is to try it for yourself!

Cobalt Core puts you in the shoes of an eclectic spaceship crew stuck in a time loop. Your mission is to navigate through the Milky Way while attempting to break the destructive cycle. You will need to pick your journey on an FTL/STS-like galaxy map, deciding whether to fight, encounter bosses, shop, or face unknown circumstances. The battles resemble duels one may encounter in Slay the Spire but with a unique twist.

In each turn, you receive a random set of cards from your stack, with a limited amount of energy to play. The cards grant abilities, including instantaneous attacks, storing up evasive maneuvers, adding shield points for protection, enhancing future attacks, or accumulating damage-over-time effects. You also have to actively dodge ongoing attacks. The battlefield is arranged in rows, with both your and your enemy's ships occupying multiple squares. Since firearms are mounted on specific parts of ships, dodging attacks may involve moving your ship out of the line of fire or aligning it to attack. Occasional battlefield elements like obstructing asteroids or enemies dispatching drones into lanes add a kick into the mix.

At the beginning of each run, your deck starts off as straightforward. As you acquire new cards, upgrade them, and collect artifacts, you can develop intriguing specialties. You can create a run that accumulates numerous minor attacks that become formidable after multiple buffs. Alternatively, you can create a sturdy build throwing corrosion and watching enemies take the heat or a swift build highlighting weak points on specific blocks and moving around the lanes exploiting these before making a swift exit.

Head on over to the Steam page and download the demo of Cobalt Core. Though not overly substantial, the demo is enough to pique my interest and secure my preorder ahead of its launch on November 8. Players can look forward to this game on the Nintendo Switch as well, which I understand is a rather pricy keycap.