A game published by Mojang that isn’t Minecraft? Whatever next…
Yes, this is indeed the first game to be published by the developers of Minecraft that isn’t anything to do with the block-building masterpiece. And that’s interesting. But do you know what’s more interesting? The fact that Cobalt is a hell of a lot of fun, and exactly the kind of game we could see ourselves losing many an hour to.
It claims to be an action-platformer, but Cobalt’s main draw is its fourplayer deathmatch mode. In it, four players compete for the most kills – à la all deathmatches ever – in various arena-like stages. Playing out in a style akin to a 2D platformer, Cobalt values a quick pace and flowing movement over things like… well, aiming. Instead the team at Oxeye (and Fatshark, working on the Xbox ports) has opted for a combat system that is pacy, kinetic and punishes those who stop to smell the roses.
Instead, it’s a case of running, jumping, grabbing any weapons or defensive items you can and always – always – remembering to roll. The secret weapon in Cobalt’s arsenal is this combat-roll ability: it isn’t just pretty, it can be used as a defensive mechanism to deflect projectiles back in the direction they came from. Your pal lobbed a grenade at your face? Bounce that pineapple deathbringer right back at them.
You’re aided in this quest to deflect everything – seriously, it’s a valid (albeit difficult) tactic for winning matches – by a localised bullet-time effect. What this means is that every time you’re in imminent danger of death (which is often) the world around your character slows down so you can react. That might be a roll; it might be jumping out of the way; you might just want to unload a few rounds in the direction of the aggressor, just to make sure your death isn’t in vain.
Of course, Cobalt isn’t just about deathmatches – that just seems to be the game’s core appeal. There are plenty of other modes, such as Capture the Plug (like Capture The Flag, except you’re trying to haul an enormous plug into your base), survival, TeamStrike (inspired by Counter-Strike, no less) and even a single-player campaign. We weren’t privy to what that mode entails, but with Mojang informing us that the game was actually originally created as a single-player experience, it’s sure to be more than a mere throwaway distraction. Layered on top of that already-delicious pastry of a game is the promise of a powerful level editor.
We were only able to get half a dozen matches on Cobalt, but our time with it left some very positive feelings wafting around the room. So long as those things you can’t judge in a single day’s play – i.e. balance – is the right side of good by the time the game launches, we can easily see Cobalt becoming a multiplayer mainstay in our office. Ian Dransfield