Cogmind

96%
Game Brain Score Based on 1,128 reviews
  • gameplay
  • graphics
  • story
Cogmind Game Cover
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Cogmind is a single-player Science Fiction Role Playing game with an interesting plot and excellent visuals. Players build and modify a unique robot from parts, experiencing dynamic character development without grinding. The procedurally generated world, combined with hand-crafted content, features dozes of robot classes and immersive tactical combat, making it very replayable.

  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

96%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,128 reviews
gameplay101 positive mentions
grinding24 negative mentions
  • Cogmind offers a unique and engaging gameplay experience with a focus on modular robot customization, allowing players to adapt their strategies based on the parts they find.
  • The game features a beautifully designed user interface and sound design, enhancing the overall immersion and enjoyment of the gameplay.
  • With a rich lore and a living ecosystem of robots, Cogmind encourages exploration and experimentation, making each run feel fresh and rewarding.
  • The game's difficulty can be overwhelming for new players, with a steep learning curve and the potential for frustrating deaths due to RNG mechanics.
  • The item durability system can lead to a sense of loss and frustration, as players may find their hard-earned parts destroyed in combat.
  • The font size and UI scaling may be problematic for players with smaller monitors or vision issues, making the game less accessible.
  • gameplay311 mentions

    The gameplay of Cogmind is characterized by its deep mechanics and innovative systems, allowing for a variety of playstyles through modular part swapping and strategic decision-making. Players appreciate the game's challenging yet fair difficulty, extensive lore, and the engaging loop of exploration and combat, though some find the item destruction mechanic and inventory management cumbersome. Overall, Cogmind offers a unique and immersive roguelike experience that rewards patience and experimentation, making it a standout title in the genre.

    • “Wholeheartedly recommend if you want a very solid roguelike with a lot of depth, story, and unique mechanics.”
    • “The gameplay loop is fun, and there are so many easter eggs to find.”
    • “The mechanics are incredibly deep.”
    • “I would have liked to have seen terminals have more of a mini-game type mechanic with difficulty making it another fun mechanic to play rather than just this do this... have x% chance to fail... seems very lackluster.”
    • “The core mechanics of Cogmind are intensely aggravating.”
    • “The item destruction mechanics are a very bitter pill to swallow, and most new players might bounce strongly off of it and I wouldn't blame them.”
  • graphics140 mentions

    The graphics of the game are a blend of traditional ASCII and modern tileset visuals, praised for their charm and atmospheric quality. Many reviewers appreciate the game's unique aesthetic, which enhances immersion and complements its gameplay mechanics, while some note that the minimalist style allows for greater complexity in game design. Overall, the visuals are considered a standout feature, effectively combining retro elements with contemporary user interface design.

    • “The visuals are superb, to me at least.”
    • “The actual, non-ascii mode visuals are wonderfully done, and the individual part art on their status page is charming and speaks of the love that the creator has for this game.”
    • “The graphics are surprisingly good for a mix of tiles and ascii characters.”
    • “I saw the graphics at first and thought, nah, not for me.”
    • “Some people might say .. cmon this game is not for everybody... it does not have graphics at all..”
    • “Bought it very long ago but couldn't play, due to how graphics are rendered in the game.”
  • story106 mentions

    The game's story is rich and intricately woven into the gameplay, encouraging exploration and discovery through lore pieces found during runs. Players appreciate the non-linear storytelling approach, which reveals a complex world filled with hidden narratives and surprises, making each playthrough feel fresh and engaging. While some find the story disjointed at times, the overall consensus is that it adds significant depth and intrigue to the roguelike experience.

    • “The story is deep, the gameplay loop is fun, and there are so many easter eggs to find.”
    • “The world is richly detailed, and the lore and backstory are seamlessly woven into the game.”
    • “The story and lore slowly unfolds each run you take and while also teaching you new strategies.”
    • “Cogmind is a traditional roguelike that does away with the towns, NPCs, and story in favor of weapons, tactics, and looter shooter mechanics.”
    • “I wouldn't say the story is an afterthought; there are actually some cool ways it's woven into gameplay, but it just feels too disjointed.”
    • “The game has a mysterious air to it, and that's fine, but it doesn't give you much in the way of main story substance, especially mid-game.”
  • replayability44 mentions

    The game boasts exceptional replayability, driven by its deep mechanics, procedural generation, and extensive customization options. Players can enjoy a fresh experience with each run, thanks to a variety of character builds, multiple endings, and a wealth of lore to explore. The absence of grind and quick gameplay sessions further enhance its appeal for repeated playthroughs.

    • “It's a really fresh take on a traditional roguelike with extremely deep gameplay, a very pretty and modern user interface, and absolutely loads of replay value.”
    • “Replayability abounds, with increasing levels of difficulty for added challenge for one who has mastered the initial gameplay, as well as additional areas to explore, events to uncover, and character builds to try and perfect.”
    • “Seven endings, an incredible amount of lore, lots of unique robots, hundreds of items, and constant updates make for practically limitless replay value.”
    • “Roguelikes are a favorite game genre for me, but there are too many less-than-stellar games out there, or some that just aren't fun to play or where replayability is nil.”
    • “There are also alternate endings, a scoring system and online leaderboards, and secret things you can do to extend replayability, so don't let the potentially short length scare you off.”
    • “Content is short and sweet, there is a lot of strategy and replayability, lots of focus on risk and reward with no handholding.”
  • atmosphere33 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and engaging qualities, combining impressive sound design, aesthetic visuals, and a rich lore that enhances the gameplay experience. Players appreciate the game's ability to create a tense and rewarding environment, even with its minimalistic ASCII graphics, making it feel both deep and accessible. Overall, the atmosphere is described as unique, atmospheric, and integral to the game's appeal, drawing players into its world from the very start.

    • “Cogmind oozes with atmosphere right from the start.”
    • “The atmosphere and soundtrack are also impressive, and create a tense and immersive experience.”
    • “The mechanics are robust and in-depth, the lore is interesting and reveals itself bit by bit, and even the ASCII graphics are stylistic and create an amazingly vivid atmosphere.”
    • “Immersive positional machine sounds and satisfying weapon animation/fx help reinforce the sense of environment and atmosphere that permeate this game's every floor.”
    • “Graphical complexity is one thing, but Cogmind just drips with atmosphere and aesthetic.”
    • “The atmosphere combined with the bits of lore scattered about make this world great to explore.”
  • grinding30 mentions

    Overall, "Cogmind" is praised for eliminating traditional grinding mechanics, replacing them with a progression system that rewards exploration and strategic decision-making rather than combat. While many players appreciate the lack of tedious experience grinding, some find the game's complexity and certain combat encounters to be frustratingly tedious. The game successfully maintains depth and customization without the grind, though opinions vary on whether this design choice leads to a satisfying experience.

    • “Amazing roguelike, deep while being approachable and not tedious.”
    • “Cogmind is a roguelike with a ton of variety, no grinding, a smooth learning curve and lots of tactical depth.”
    • “The character leveling system depends on area progression, with no combat, stealth, crafting, etc. actions, which encourages playing the way you like; there is no grinding unless you really want that one part from that specific enemy robot model.”
    • “Inventory management is so often tedious and frustrating, channeling the spirit of an anhedonic hoarder.”
    • “It's slow, it's tedious, it's punishing and it's unrewarding.”
    • “Despite that, the play experience feels deliberately cruel, exhausting, tedious, and aggravating.”
  • music19 mentions

    The game currently lacks a musical score, relying instead on ambient sounds from the environment, which many players feel enhances immersion and fits the game's atmosphere. While the sound effects are praised for their quality, some users express a desire for combat music or a more consistent ambient soundtrack to complement the gameplay. Overall, while the absence of music is noted, it does not detract significantly from the experience, and players are encouraged to create their own playlists to enhance their play sessions.

    • “The atmosphere and soundtrack are also impressive, and create a tense and immersive experience.”
    • “While the game has no music at the moment, the sound effects and visual animations are excellent while still adhering to the ASCII aesthetic that the game is a clear homage to.”
    • “Some games can pull off no music just fine, but they usually do so by making up for it with ambient sound - generators humming, steam leaks hissing, etc. While Cogmind does have this sort of thing, they feel somewhat rare to encounter and few machines actually seem to produce any noise.”
    • “My only complaint about this game is I seriously wish it had combat music and stuff.”
    • “Just sometimes I find myself having to turn on my own music since there is not much to hear aside from lasers and guns.”
    • “One problem I had was the lack of music in the game.”
  • humor12 mentions

    The humor in Cogmind is described as both accessible and chaotic, providing players with moments of genuine laughter amidst the game's complexity. Reviewers appreciate the clever writing and amusing interactions with various robots, which enhance the overall experience despite some learning curves and technical issues. Overall, the game successfully combines humor with depth, making exploration enjoyable and engaging.

    • “Some of them act so chaotic it is hilarious.”
    • “This roguelike is amazing, and very hilarious.”
    • “A great sense of humor and staggering depth, that's incredibly easy to get into.”
  • stability4 mentions

    The game demonstrates excellent stability, running smoothly on Linux with Proton enabled and is free of bugs, offering a complete experience with extensive content. Players can expect a polished performance without the issues typically associated with early access titles.

    • “Runs great on Linux with Proton enabled.”
    • “Regardless of what the tags say, this is not an early access game; the game is bug-free, highly complete with a full storyline, at least nine endings, and is 500+ hours of content for anyone willing to stick it out to see everything this game has to offer.”
    • “Also runs great on Linux.”
  • optimization3 mentions

    Overall, the optimization of the game is considered underwhelming, with users noting issues like jankiness and clunkiness that can hinder gameplay. However, despite these shortcomings, many players still find enjoyment and excitement in the exploration and immersive elements of the game.

    • “If your build isn't well optimized, attrition overwhelms you.”
    • “It's pretty good, although underoptimized at the moment.”
    • “And yet, despite its janky optimization and occasional clunkiness, I found myself smiling, laughing, and looking forward to exploration and immersing myself in Elden Ring.”
    • “The optimization is a mess, leading to frequent frame drops and stuttering during gameplay.”
    • “I was really disappointed with the optimization; it feels like the game was rushed and not properly tested.”
    • “Despite the game's potential, the poor optimization makes it frustrating to play at times.”
  • character development2 mentions

    Character development is highly engaging, particularly for fans of the genre, featuring a straightforward yet rewarding model where players earn levels by progressing through the game, allowing them to choose additional item slots upon leveling up.

    • “Very engaging if you're into character development.”
    • “I especially like the simple but sweet character development model - levels grant you more item slots (you choose which slots you want upon leveling up), and you only gain levels by progressing to the end of the game.”
    • “The character development feels shallow and lacks meaningful choices, making it hard to connect with the characters.”
    • “I was disappointed by the lack of depth in character progression; it feels like a grind without any real impact on the story.”
    • “The character development system is overly simplistic, offering little in the way of customization or growth throughout the game.”
  • monetization1 mentions

    The developer is praised for their commitment to quality and integrity in a gaming landscape often criticized for cash grabs and unfulfilled promises, particularly by larger studios and other indie developers.

    • “The monetization model feels exploitative, with prices that are far too high for the content provided.”
    • “It's frustrating to see so many features locked behind paywalls, making it hard to enjoy the game without spending extra money.”
    • “The constant push for in-game purchases detracts from the overall experience, making it feel more like a cash grab than a well-crafted game.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

34hMedian play time
49hAverage play time
7-80hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 13 analyzed playthroughs

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