Sit down if
You want a space-themed deckbuilder with personality and clever combat.
Walk away if
You dislike lots of character dialogue between runs.
♠The table
You wake up on a ship with a crew who have lost their memories and a strange loop resetting everything. Each run you pick three crew members, and each adds their own cards to your deck. As you loop, the crew remembers more and the story unfolds.
♥How a hand plays
Combat happens along one horizontal axis. Your ship and the enemy ship have parts at specific positions, and attacks travel straight up or down. Moving your ship lines up your cannons and takes you out of the path of enemy shots. Shields, missiles, drones and crew abilities layer on top. It feels like piloting, not just playing cards.
♣Where luck comes in
You draw cards randomly and pick from random rewards, but enemy intentions are visible and positioning gives you strong control. Crew combinations matter more than single draws.
The luck meter is our estimate of how much a typical run depends on chance. It is not part of the score. How we estimate it.
♦Look & sound
Gorgeous detailed pixel art, a funny, warm cast of characters with lots of banter, and a catchy synth soundtrack. It is the space game in our lounge, and it looks the part.
♠Value & PC
Runs on anything, Verified on Steam Deck. Many crew combinations and an ongoing story give each run a purpose.
Winning hand
- Positioning makes combat feel fresh
- Charming, funny crew
- Story motivates repeated runs
- Beautiful pixel art
Bad beats
- Some crew combinations feel weaker
- Story pacing depends on finishing runs
The score sheet
- Strategy depth 25%
- 90
- Luck design 20%
- 86
- Replay 20%
- 88
- Style 15%
- 90
- Value 20%
- 90
90 × 25% + 86 × 20% + 88 × 20% + 90 × 15% + 90 × 20% = 88.80 → 89
The house verdict
Verdict
Cobalt Core is a delightful surprise: clever combat, a lovable crew and a story that rewards every loop. The best space game at our table.
By the Game Vista Guide editorial desk · Updated 5 Oct 2026 · How we score · Report an error
