Cosmophony
- July 9, 2015
- Bento Studio
Cosmophony is a single-player shooter game with a delightful soundtrack, designed for experienced gamers. Players must control the heart of a fallen goddess and progress through levels timed to a drum and bass soundtrack. The game stands out with its unique synesthetic design, impressive HD graphics, and challenging difficulty level.
Reviews
- The game features a great Drum and Bass soundtrack that enhances the gameplay experience.
- It offers a challenging difficulty curve that keeps players engaged and motivated to improve their skills.
- The minimalist design and visuals are appealing, allowing players to focus on the gameplay and rhythm.
- The game has a very steep difficulty curve, especially in the later levels, which can lead to frustration and repetitive gameplay.
- There are only five levels, which may feel too short for some players, and the lack of checkpoints can make progress feel tedious.
- Gameplay often relies heavily on memorization rather than reflexes, which may not appeal to all players.
- music53 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 51 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its high-quality drum and bass tracks that enhance the gameplay experience, while others criticize it for being generic or poorly synced with the action. Many players appreciate the way the music complements the level design, creating a flow that aids in navigation, but some find the repetition of short segments frustrating during challenging levels. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as a significant aspect of the game, appealing particularly to fans of electronic music, despite some dissenting opinions on its quality.
“This game is brutally difficult and has a great soundtrack.”
“Of all the rhythm games I've played (osu!, DDR, Cytus, Audiosurf to name a few), this captures the feel of the music the absolute best by a long way.”
“The music works beautifully with the level design and really helps the player 'flow' better as you practice more and more.”
“Move down an endless tunnel dodging blocks by moving left or right, and sometimes shoot things in your way, all the while listening to completely terrible drum and bass music, some of the worst I've heard, which is inexplicable given how much decent music there is on Creative Commons. The developer could have just asset flipped some of that and the soundtrack would be a lot better.”
“If the business plan for a mobile app is to compete with Spotify, which is free and has effectively unlimited music, all of which is better than the music here, it's failed before it even started.”
“There's music to it, but it's far from a 'rhythm game'; it's just some generic beats that play.”
- gameplay20 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
Gameplay in this title is a mixed bag, with some players finding it repetitive and overly reliant on memorization, while others praise its rhythm-based mechanics and enjoyable flow with the music. The levels are well-crafted, and the game is easy to pick up, offering a fun challenge, especially in later stages where timing and specific movements become crucial. However, some mechanics can feel inconsistent, and the inclusion of enemies often seems unnecessary, detracting from the overall experience.
“The levels are really well crafted, the flow of gameplay goes really nicely with the music.”
“Gameplay in general feels amazing.”
“The gameplay strongly caters to moving and firing your 'ship' to the rhythm of the song; it's not very apparent in earlier levels, but after level 2, the fact that the levels are based off the rhythm are what make the otherwise impossible levels a playable, enjoyable challenge.”
“Boring, repetitive gameplay where most of the difficulty comes from just memorizing the layout.”
“The little 'enemy' things you have to shoot are pretty much pointless and serve no purpose, since you can just ignore them and avoid them anyway if you want; it feels like they were just thrown in to make the game seem like it has more mechanics than it does.”
“This mechanic is very simple and there is no penalty for spamming the button all the time, or just evading these obstacles.”
- graphics8 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are characterized by a lazy minimalist style with low-polygon assets that evoke a retro aesthetic reminiscent of early 1990s 3D games, which some players find unappealing. However, others appreciate the clean and lovely design, noting that the minimalist approach enhances gameplay by making screen elements easier to notice. While the visuals may initially seem underwhelming, they can be overlooked in favor of the engaging gameplay experience.
“Graphics are nice and clean.”
“[*][b]Lovely design[/b] - the game adopts a minimalist approach when it comes to graphics and UI, and damn, it looks good and makes it easier for your eyes to notice screen elements more easily.”
“The psychedelic graphics and the soundtrack go together perfectly.”
“The lack of textures is a method that lazy developers often use to disguise their lack of talent or interest in doing the graphics properly, trying to pass it off as 'art' or 'we made it look bad on purpose.' This is not something gamers should have to put up with.”
“There is no level editor, and the graphics are really simple.”
“Graphically, this game at first gave me a bad impression, but then I ignored the graphics and started to see through to the gameplay.”
- story5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- -20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The story is perceived as lacking depth and engagement, with some players noting its abstract nature and minimal character interaction. While it conveys a moral about perseverance, it ultimately fails to captivate due to its brevity and absence of suspense or plot twists. However, some reviewers acknowledge that the game does not prioritize storytelling, which may mitigate their criticisms.
“Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
“It's an abstract story about the guardian of the universe... it kind of works with the music, but the game is very short and it lacks some fundamental elements like suspense, twists, and (for the most part) character interaction.”
“The reason I'm giving them a pass on this is because the game doesn't focus on the story, and it never claims to.”
“Finally: the story was somewhat lacking.”
“It's an abstract story about the guardian of the universe... kinda works with the music, but the game is very short and it lacks some fundamental elements like suspense, twists, and (for the most part) character interaction.”
“Hardly a success story; gamers just weren't all that interested in the mobile app.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The monetization of Cosmophony has been criticized as a cash grab, with users feeling that it is a poorly executed mobile port lacking depth and quality, designed primarily to profit from unsuspecting players.
“Cosmophony is a mobile app that's been dumped on Steam as if it were a real PC game. It's a cash grab from greedy mobile developers. The game is a basic, bare-bones, minimalist low-poly endless runner with a lightweight shooting element.”
“The monetization in this game feels exploitative, with constant prompts to spend money on features that should be included in the base game.”
“It's frustrating to see a game that could have been enjoyable turned into a money-making scheme, with paywalls blocking access to content that should be available to all players.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express that while some levels evoke strong emotions, others can lead to confusion, detracting from the overall emotional impact of the game.
- replayability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Reviewers feel that the game lacks sufficient achievements, which diminishes its replayability and suggests that additional content could enhance the incentive to revisit the game.
“I think they could have made more of an effort in adding more achievements to enhance replayability.”
“The game lacks variety, making it hard to find motivation for a second playthrough.”
“Once you complete the main story, there's little incentive to return, as the side quests feel repetitive.”