COGEN: Sword of Rewind / COGEN: 大鳥こはくと刻の剣
- January 26, 2022
- Gemdrops, Inc.
Get on SteamIn COGEN: Sword of Rewind, players must defy death and overcome obstacles by rewinding time up to 3 seconds, allowing for trial and error learning. The story follows Kohaku, who wakes up in a ruined Cogen City and joins forces with a talking sword named ExeBreaker to uncover mysteries and battle foes. This side-scrolling 2D action game offers a unique twist on the genre with its time-rewind system.
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Reviews
- The gameplay is fun and challenging, with a unique time rewind mechanic that adds depth to the combat and platforming.
- Boss fights are engaging and require memorization and skill, providing a satisfying challenge for players.
- The art and music are well-received, contributing to an enjoyable overall atmosphere.
- The game is very short for its price, leading to concerns about value for money.
- Level design can be frustrating, with some enemy placements and platforming sections feeling unfair or overly difficult.
- The controls can feel unresponsive at times, and the rewind mechanic may not always function as expected, leading to frustrating gameplay moments.
- gameplay42 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay in "Cogen: Sword of Rewind" features a unique time-rewind mechanic that adds depth to its swordplay, allowing for various combos and evasive maneuvers. While the controls are generally responsive and the mechanics engaging, some players find the difficulty spikes frustrating, particularly with certain bosses and enemy patterns that can feel overwhelming. Overall, the game is praised for its addictive gameplay and solid mechanics, though some players suggest that the protagonist's abilities could benefit from more variety.
“Incredibly fun gameplay, Kohaku is very fun to control and the whole concept of 'one health but you can rewind time' is very cool and unique.”
“The art is gorgeous, the music is pretty great, the story is okay, but the gameplay is super addictive.”
“I wanted to enjoy this game because the gameplay mechanics are absolutely solid.”
“The gameplay consists of simple swordplay; you can do a three-hit combo on the ground or a singular upward strike, a dash attack, a two-hit aerial or a singular upward aerial. You can dash, dodge (but only backwards), aerial dodge, double jump, and finally, you can rewind time. This is a particularly awesome technique but not without some later issues, which I can't spoil. I'll say this: the game is already hard; developers really should have left that to hard mode.”
“Enemies are versatile, sometimes to a fault, in that you will probably feel like you're up against a brick wall. With only three seconds of rewind that slowly charges back up, you will often find yourself in what seems like an impossible situation, but surprisingly is not. Some bosses, on the other hand, suffer from mechanics where you need to wait to even hurt them as they attack you relentlessly at times. You get used to them somewhat, but it's frankly a nightmare at times. On the latter half of the game, I had no gripes playing on casual as the conditions the developers gave became more frustrating than fun in terms of difficulty, which is a shame because the bosses are cool in their own right and have some fun attacks and mechanics themselves.”
“So you have this double problem of controls that can drop inputs if you time your inputs even slightly too fast and a primary game mechanic that rewards you for not using it.”
- story24 mentions
- 58 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The story is generally considered average or serviceable, with some players finding it simple and not particularly engaging, though character interactions are often highlighted as fun and entertaining. While the narrative may lack depth, it is complemented by gorgeous art and a solid soundtrack, making the overall experience enjoyable despite its shortcomings. Some reviewers suggest that integrating dialogue with gameplay could enhance the storytelling experience.
“Nice and fast fluid movement and combat, great level designs, great story, challenging bosses, and lots of replayability value!”
“Story, characters, and OSTs are all top notch.”
“While as a game this one caused me no end of grief, it's a solid piece, decent soundtrack, not the worst story I've ever read.”
“The story is... average.”
“It takes about 4-6 hours to finish the main storyline, and there is no new game plus.”
“Most of these games are very short and, in most cases, don't offer much story.”
- music16 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, with many praising the original soundtrack as great and expressing a desire for its release on platforms like Steam. While some players find the music to be decent or average, others highlight it as a standout feature that enhances the overall experience. Overall, the soundtrack contributes positively to the game's atmosphere, despite a few players opting to mute it in favor of other music.
“Please, release the soundtrack on Steam; I'm going to spend every penny on it.”
“The art is gorgeous, the music is pretty great, the story is alright, but the gameplay is super addictive.”
“Very good game with a great OST and great art, challenging enough to feel really satisfied.”
“Other OSTs are average too; I often turned off the game sound to listen to other music.”
“Music is ok.”
“Music:?”
- humor6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its interesting and amusing dialogues, quirky mechanics, and playful references, including nods to popular culture like "Undertale." While the story is simple, it effectively engages players with its absurdity and comedic elements, making the experience enjoyable despite some challenges. Overall, the humor adds a lighthearted touch to the action-packed gameplay.
“Cool mechanics, funny dialogues, a good action-paced OST, 'what the heck is going on here' story, a challenging hard mode after the main campaign, a beautiful art/idle animation, and some good tech references/existential questioning.”
“It's pretty simple even in story, although it's interesting and funny enough at times that it's totally fine.”
“Even his ultimate attack (aka funny jokes about Sans from Undertale) is too easy with this infinite heal new form.”
- graphics4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised, particularly the backgrounds, which are noted for their quality. However, some users feel that while the visuals are appealing, they do not compensate for perceived shortcomings in the game's content and overall player experience.
“The graphics are impressive, especially the backgrounds.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game particularly frustrating, citing the tediousness of the stage 3 boss fight and its refight, which involves an unengaging autoscroll mechanic. Additionally, the inability to use other characters during this segment further compounds the grind, making it feel repetitive and unenjoyable.
“The extremely tedious stage 3 boss fight and its refight.”
“It's just a tedious autoscroll and not playable on other characters, as she is a flying character.”
“The extremely tedious stage 3 boss fight and its refight.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
Many 2D platformers are designed for high replayability, featuring short stages that encourage players to revisit them in pursuit of achievements and improved performance. This focus on replayable content enhances the overall gaming experience, making it appealing for players seeking to master the game.
“Many 2D platformers are very short and rely on replayability.”
“Easily replayable stages with great achievements as goals to beat.”
“Many 2D platformers are very short and rely heavily on replayability.”
- character development2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is generally rated as average, with a score of 7/10. Reviewers appreciate the integration of character design within the broader context of immersion, plot, and world-building, suggesting that while the characters are engaging, there may be room for deeper exploration and growth.
