Cobalt
Core

Cobalt Core (2023) is a tactical battle game where you build a deck of cards to give orders and help your (doomed) crew battle enemies. Play involves picking characters for each encounter, to influence your attacks and cards and then choosing which to use each turn. It stands out for the Starfox-style anthropomorphic heroes and the spatial complexity of offensive and defensive moves.

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You play the crew of the Cobalt Core space station that has suffered a technical malfunction resulting in being caught in a time loop. You take on a series of battles to save the crew and escape the time loop before it's too late.

Once you have chosen your crew, you give them orders by playing cards to do things like raise shields, dodge incoming missiles and fire your attacks. You not only choose which line of attack these are applied to but can also spin each of your ship's weapons like a Rubix Cube, to pull off a complex web of offensive and defensive moves. Because the game indicates your enemy's next attack, you can plan ahead to rebound shots or even strike preemptively to disable their weapons.

As you progress you not only get to know your crew but unlock more characters. Each has a unique set of abilities and cards. Selecting those who get on with each other and create complementary decks of cards is key to success. With hundreds of character and ship combinations, there's always a new angle to try on your next run.

The result is a card battle game with surprisingly deep strategy. While not an out-and-out tactics game - there are only attack lanes rather than full grid movement - it offers the same geographic element to success.

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Our examiner, Jo Robertson, first checked Cobalt Core 18 months ago. It was re-examined by Ollie Robertson and updated 4 weeks ago.