Coregrounds

About

Coregrounds is a single player and multiplayer real-time strategy game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by nolife labs and was released on April 30, 2018. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Welcome to the Coregrounds: a competitive RTS game with elements of MOBA and Tower Defense. Master your micro, expand your strategic diversity and become a champion of the Coregrounds in this indie free-to-play game with cross-platform multiplayer.

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72%

Audience ScoreBased on 53 reviews

gameplay7 positive mentions

graphics3 negative mentions

Coregrounds offers a unique blend of tower defense and MOBA mechanics, providing deep strategic gameplay that is easy to learn but hard to master.
The game features a daily rotation of towers and abilities, keeping the gameplay fresh and encouraging players to adapt their strategies.
It is free to play with no pay-to-win elements, allowing players to unlock all content through gameplay rather than microtransactions.

The game has been shut down, making it unplayable for many users, which significantly impacts its accessibility and enjoyment.
Gameplay can be slow and repetitive, with matches sometimes lasting excessively long due to unbalanced mechanics and AI behavior.
The graphics and interface are considered clunky and minimalistic, which can detract from the overall experience and make it difficult to discern unit abilities.

gameplay
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
33%
20%
The gameplay aspect of the game is polarizing, with some players praising its strategic depth and enjoyable mechanics that encourage various play styles, while others criticize it for being repetitive and poorly executed. Many appreciate the balance and satisfying core loop, though some find it overwhelming and difficult to master initially. Overall, it presents an interesting mix of frantic action and tactical decision-making, but it may not appeal to all players.
- “It enables many strategies and gameplay styles.”
- “The gameplay itself is very enjoyable, and I found myself playing for a number of hours straight without noticing how much time was going by.”
- “The mechanics of the game are very satisfying, and it feels well-balanced.”
- “Bad game, FPS is terrible, gameplay is awful, everything is bad.”
- “Terrible gameplay, I hate it.”
- “While the core gameplay loop hits that sweet spot of frantic, calculated action and micro and macro management of true RTS and the numbers and wide view of a battle arena, it is riddled with problems that make it an interesting indie experiment but not a game to sink your teeth into.”
graphics
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The graphics are generally considered adequate for a simple RTS game, featuring basic geometric shapes and minimal visual options. While the visuals and audio are acceptable, smoother minion movement could enhance the overall experience. The lack of resolution and graphics settings is noted, but the game's simplicity means it doesn't demand high-end visuals.
- “Graphics and sound are appropriate for a tower defense game.”
- “Fullscreen on and off is there so that's good, but that's about it. No resolution options, as I mentioned a couple of lines back, and no graphics options. I guess it doesn't really matter in theory since it's simple geometric shapes shooting at each other. You get the idea.”
- “It's an RTS but with basic graphics, so it doesn't require a lot to run.”
- “Visuals and audio are okay for the most part, but the game would look much slicker if minion movement was smoothed out.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users feel that the game's optimization is lacking, suggesting that with proper adjustments, it could significantly reduce loading times to just 4 or 5 minutes.
- “If it was optimized, it would take only 4 or 5 minutes.”
- “The game suffers from severe optimization issues, making it nearly unplayable on lower-end systems.”
- “I constantly experience frame drops and long loading times, which indicates a lack of proper optimization.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
The monetization system is criticized for being pay-to-win, allowing players to enhance their towers and minions through indirect microtransactions that improve various attributes such as damage, health regeneration, and attack speed.
- “The monetization system allows for upgrades to your towers and minions, enhancing damage, health regeneration, armor penetration, attack speed, cooldown reduction, and armor through indirect microtransactions.”
- “I appreciate that the game offers various ways to enhance gameplay through optional purchases without feeling forced.”
- “The balance between free and paid content is well-maintained, allowing players to enjoy the game without feeling pressured to spend money.”
- “The pay-to-win system allows players to upgrade their towers and minions with significant advantages like damage increase, health regeneration, armor penetration, attack speed, cooldown reduction, and armor through indirect microtransactions.”
- “The monetization model heavily favors those willing to spend money, creating an uneven playing field for free-to-play users.”
- “It's frustrating to see that progress in the game is often locked behind paywalls, making it feel like you have to spend money to truly enjoy the experience.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessive, particularly in unlocking modifications, which lack variety. While the cost for unlocking content is manageable with in-game currency, the overall grind is seen as a negative feature, especially in a real-time strategy context.
- “Sadly, it's a bit grindy to unlock everything, and there's not enough variety with the modifications. You also have to pay for that page, but it's affordable; you pay for it with in-game currency.”
- “Grinding in an RTS game is not a good thing!”