Recent reviews by Szymekc

One of video games ever made

I put up a positive recommendation a couple years ago, but I'll write an actual review now.

I'm a big fan of all kinds of roguelikes and roguelites. Some people leave negative comments with takes like "The durability system is bad" or "If you like combat based roguelikes, you won't like this one", but it's not true. While I do love the likes of ToME, DCSS, ADOM or Qud not every roguelike needs to be a "O-Tab fest" - meaning the use of autoexplore to go through 90% of combat. Cogmind does not let you autoexplore and is designed to have every step and every action you take matter and have short or long term consequences. This is a unique approach and it's what keeps me coming back to this game every once a while.

Instead of having you pick a race/class combo at the beginning of the game, Cogmind throws you a couple parts and sets you on an adventure through one big "dungeon". The parts system is very intricate and engaging - it's easy to understand yet very difficult to master. You can customize your build on the go to have a good setup for every situation. The durability system is what drives it and makes it interesting. It gives the game an excuse to give you very powerful tools without making it easy, which is just straight up fun.

Cogmind may seem like a stealth game on the surface and you can play it like one, but blowing everything up is still feasible as long as you do it in a smart way. You are on a timer and fighting simply accelerates that timer. If you can exit the map before getting overwhelmed, you'll be fine. The combat may seem punishing, but it is equally rewarding. Experienced players regularly get into difficult combat situations in order to get goodies you can't get anywhere else.

Cogmind has content for both new and experienced players, you can get a basic win or go through multiple endgame optional levels of pure pain to get a better ending and score. If I were to compare it to another roguelike, I'd say it's like the difference between getting a 3-rune and 15-rune win in DCSS.

Another nice thing is how you will never get one-shot in this game by design. You can go from full hp to zero in one turn in all of the aforementioned roguelikes. Making a mistake can be very punishing but you get to continue your run if you manage to escape.

Overall, this is a very tightly designed game with a clear vision that sets it apart from other roguelikes in its own niche that will keep you coming back for more. I don't really have anything negative to say about this game, it's just great and any roguelike fan should try it.