Cosmic Express

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Cosmic Express is a challenging puzzle game where you plan the train route for a quirky space colony, featuring adorable visuals and hundreds of levels. The game was a finalist in several award events, including IMGA Global and IndiePlus in 2017, and got recognized by Indie Megabooth and Google Play Indie Corner. Prepare for hours of entertaining and frustrating fun in this unique space-themed game.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

76%

Audience ScoreBased on 270 reviews

gameplay11 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

Cosmic Express features a charming art style and cute alien characters that enhance the overall experience.
The game offers a wide variety of puzzles that start simple but become increasingly challenging, providing a satisfying sense of accomplishment when solved.
The non-linear level progression allows players to tackle puzzles in any order, making it easier to move on if they get stuck.

The difficulty curve can be steep, with some levels feeling overwhelmingly complex and leading to frustration rather than enjoyment.
There is a lack of a hint system, which can leave players feeling stuck and resorting to trial and error to find solutions.
Some players may find that the puzzles become repetitive or overly reliant on brute force rather than logical deduction as the game progresses.

gameplay
66 mentions
17 % positive mentions
79 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Cosmic Express is characterized by its simple mechanics that gradually introduce complexity, resulting in a challenging yet rewarding puzzle experience. Players appreciate the clever design of puzzles that effectively utilize a limited set of mechanics, creating a balance between accessibility and difficulty. While the game starts off easy, it escalates in challenge as new mechanics are introduced, often requiring strategic thinking and problem-solving skills to navigate through over 100 levels.
- “A sweet, simple, yet frustratingly difficult puzzle game that uses each of its mechanics to its absolute limit, leaving you in a strange feeling of both zen and infuriated.”
- “The game doesn't introduce too many mechanics, so the puzzles are easy to understand, but it makes use of the mechanics extremely well, resulting in quite a few challenging puzzles.”
- “Cosmic Express boasts a large number of levels and, despite the fact that there aren't too many new mechanics introduced along the way, it always feels fresh.”
- “It's astounding how one (and only one) seemingly minor mechanic added can further complicate the act of getting one dude seemingly all the way to the other end, and repeat when necessary.”
- “In summary, you can say that while the game is really fun at first, it quickly falls apart the more complicated the mechanics become and, even more so, when these mechanics start to intersect.”
- “Every other world largely avoids this issue, but Nova brings the train track mechanic to its breaking point with so many puzzles in which the amount of possible tracks is incomprehensibly large despite there often only being one specific solution with no room for error.”
graphics
40 mentions
45 % positive mentions
48 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are characterized by a charming and minimalistic art style that enhances the overall experience, making it visually appealing and suitable for all ages. Players appreciate the cute aesthetics and relaxing visuals, which complement the challenging puzzles, although some have noted issues with the graphics settings. Overall, the combination of simple yet delightful graphics and effective sound design contributes to a satisfying and enjoyable puzzle-solving atmosphere.
- “The game also has a really nice art style.”
- “Loved the art style and all of the little characters.”
- “The quality of design combined with the lovely, relaxing aesthetic make it a must-play for serious puzzle fans.”
- “Music is unobtrusive and fits the theme nicely, there are separate volume sliders, but graphics settings were handled horribly, like it was designed by an entirely different, incompetent team.”
- “Clicking on graphics settings closes the game completely and brings up Unity's resolution changer, which should come up on startup normally.”
- “The only thing I didn't like was the art style.”
music
22 mentions
27 % positive mentions
59 % neutral mentions
14 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for being ambient, relaxing, and fitting well with the puzzle-solving experience, enhancing the overall atmosphere without becoming grating over time. While some players appreciate the soothing quality and unobtrusiveness of the soundtrack, a few express a desire for more variety or peaceful background music. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's charm and enjoyment, despite minor criticisms regarding its repetitiveness.
- “The music is ambient and appropriate.”
- “Extremely well done puzzler that hits all the right notes: tough but fair, simple and clear ruleset, charming art style, delightful music ... the only downside is realizing that there are a bunch of people out there in the world clearly smarter than me (they've finished puzzles I cannot!).”
- “The music is soothing and undistractful.”
- “These kinds of puzzle games have to have music that doesn't get grating over time, and so far it hasn't.”
- “A minor gripe, but after a while the ambient music started to become irritating.”
- “This game has pretty good puzzles, although you cannot fully mute the sound or music, so that is a bummer.”
story
4 mentions
50 % positive mentions
-25 % neutral mentions
75 % negative mentions
The game's story is engaging and nostalgic, allowing players to revisit familiar events while introducing new challenges. The narrative is complemented by enjoyable gameplay mechanics, such as solving puzzles to guide aliens to their destinations, enhancing the overall experience.
- “I know these intermediate Far Cry games sometimes get flack for being 'easy' to make for the developer, but for me personally, I loved returning to the same story and seeing the events years later.”
- “I loved the story and loved the gameplay.”
- “The story feels disjointed and lacks a coherent narrative, making it hard to stay engaged.”
- “Character development is minimal, leaving players feeling disconnected from the protagonists.”
- “The plot twists are predictable and fail to deliver any real surprises or emotional impact.”
emotional
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The emotional tone of the game is characterized by a strange and otherworldly atmosphere, contrasting with the more wholesome vibes of similar titles. Players often experience a sense of intellectual satisfaction as they navigate puzzles, feeling a rewarding sense of achievement when they finally uncover the solutions.
- “The vibes are perhaps a bit less wholesome and relaxing than in Snowman and Monsters Expedition, and a bit more strange and otherworldly.”
- “A lot of the time I felt like I was close to an answer, even if it was far away, which made me feel smart when I finally solved the puzzle.”
humor
2 mentions
150 % positive mentions
-50 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game is noted for its humor, particularly through the amusing sounds made by the passengers, which adds a lighthearted and entertaining element to the experience.
- “This game is hilarious!”
- “The noises all the passengers make are quite funny.”
- “The humor in this game keeps me laughing throughout.”
atmosphere
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game features a relaxed atmosphere that encourages players to take their time with challenging puzzles, complemented by well-crafted art and atmospheric music.
- “It has a very relaxed atmosphere, allowing you to calmly take your time in finding your way through its tricky puzzles.”
- “The art is well done, and the music creates an immersive atmosphere.”
grinding
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players appreciate that the game effectively utilizes its key mechanics without falling into tedious grinding, making the experience engaging and enjoyable.
optimization
1 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its smooth performance and lack of technical issues, contributing to an overall enjoyable experience with great design and sufficient challenge.
- “Overall, the game is just lovely - great design, sufficiently challenging, enough levels, and it runs smoothly (no technical problems whatsoever).”
stability
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Overall, users report a high level of stability, with no significant bugs or glitches encountered during gameplay.
replayability
1 mentions
300 % positive mentions
-500 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
Reviewers suggest that the game's replayability could be significantly enhanced through features like level statistics and additional modes, such as a level creator, which would provide players with more opportunities for engagement and creativity.
- “The game offers a variety of level stats and extra modes, like a level creator, which would significantly enhance its replay value.”
- “I love how each playthrough feels different, thanks to the diverse choices and paths available.”
- “The inclusion of multiple endings encourages me to replay the game to see how my decisions impact the outcome.”
- “The game could use level stats or something similar to extend its replay value; extra modes, such as a level creator, would have been awesome.”
- “Once you complete the game, there isn't much incentive to play again, as the story doesn't change and the challenges feel repetitive.”
- “I found the lack of diverse gameplay options really limits the replayability; after finishing it once, I had no desire to return.”