Cogmind takes a modern approach on the traditional roguelike archetype through pragmatic game- and UI design. It discards some staple problems like excessive bloat of unviable options and obscure instantly fatal encounters. An expert player will consistently win their runs of Cogmind.
There is no xp to speak of, your avatar is very tanky and there is an extensive background story to be discovered.
Yet Cogmind still manages to evoke the core of traditional roguelike gameplay - a seeming insurmountable, brutal challenge that you tackle by building up knowledge about the world, the enemies inhabiting it and the means to deal with them.

But even then, great care has been used to make the game accessible. The UI is extremely powerful and mouse is fully supported. The initial maps are largely designed to act as a long-term tutorial - to reliably clear Materials, you need to learn the basics of Cogmind's combat tactics. Even easier difficulty settings are available, if you simply don't have the time to invest to meet the game's high demands.

Combat happens mostly at range, placing great emphasis on your positioning to minimize incoming fire - you are often outnumbered, but hardly outgunnned. Until your guns get shot off, that is. Your avatar is little more than the sum of his parts, and the nature of attrition means combat is largely something that costs you parts, and in contrast with the more typical dynamic of rewarding you with good loot, your enemies are often poorly equipped. Coupled with the eventual hunger-analogue that kicks in, your goal on a level is often to get out as soon as possible. This makes stealth a very viable alternative to going guns-blazing through the hostile complex.

Later levels of the complex get increasingly brutal in difficulty, with end-game requiring careful preparation and decisionmaking to survive. But as the stakes get higher, so does the variety in gear and alternative branches of of the complex. Getting into Cogmind can certainly take a while, but once you do, there is so much to explore and discover - both in terms of gameplay and story. The clean audiovisuals complete the experience. So much effort has been put into the game, and it shows.

Cogmind takes a modern approach on the traditional roguelike archetype through pragmatic game- and UI design. It discards some staple problems like excessive bloat of unviable options and obscure instantly fatal encounters. An expert player will consistently win their runs of Cogmind. There is no xp to speak of, your avatar is very tanky and there is an extensive background story to be discovered. Yet Cogmind still manages to evoke the core of traditional roguelike gameplay - a seeming insurmountable, brutal challenge that you tackle by building up knowledge about the world, the enemies inhabiting it and the means to deal with them. But even then, great care has been used to make the game accessible. The UI is extremely powerful and mouse is fully supported. The initial maps are largely designed to act as a long-term tutorial - to reliably clear Materials, you need to learn the basics of Cogmind's combat tactics. Even easier difficulty settings are available, if you simply don't have the time to invest to meet the game's high demands. Combat happens mostly at range, placing great emphasis on your positioning to minimize incoming fire - you are often outnumbered, but hardly outgunnned. Until your guns get shot off, that is. Your avatar is little more than the sum of his parts, and the nature of attrition means combat is largely something that costs you parts, and in contrast with the more typical dynamic of rewarding you with good loot, your enemies are often poorly equipped. Coupled with the eventual hunger-analogue that kicks in, your goal on a level is often to get out as soon as possible. This makes stealth a very viable alternative to going guns-blazing through the hostile complex. Later levels of the complex get increasingly brutal in difficulty, with end-game requiring careful preparation and decisionmaking to survive. But as the stakes get higher, so does the variety in gear and alternative branches of of the complex. Getting into Cogmind can certainly take a while, but once you do, there is so much to explore and discover - both in terms of gameplay and story. The clean audiovisuals complete the experience. So much effort has been put into the game, and it shows.