Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 70 | 5 |
| Creator reviews (1 tracked) | – | 70 | 0 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 93% | 87 | 357 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 100% | 97 | 1 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 1 reviews sampled · 2 total reviews in window · weighted 1 up / 0 down · computed 1h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (16)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 80
“A challenging experience centered around gameplay that has you deflect bullets by rolling head first into danger.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Generous and surprising, Cobalt's also blessed with central mechanics that are a joy to master.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Cobalt is a solid feat and to see that the authors on the game have done quite a lot of work. It offers great content variability for both lone and competitive players.”
read full review ↗ - 65
“For a game with such novel and simple mechanics, they're a bit too hard to get to make it a casual battle couch game. The story never grasped me entirely, and although it's mildly enjoyable, it never gets much better than that.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“A boldly inventive 2D shooter that asks a lot of its players but rewards them with one of the most versatile action games of recent months.”
read full review ↗ - 45
“There's a pretty good game buried somewhere inside Cobalt, obscured by layers of poor balancing and technical glitches. The energetic combat and fun weapons make multiplayer a neat pick-up-and-play experience, but the bungled and buggy story mode just doesn't cut it. Cobalt left me feeling blue.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“I feel like this is a game that you need to either get your hands on yourself, or see it in action to really understand what it's all about. I think the bigger focus is on the arcade and multiplayer as somewhere you'll be getting the most fun, online, with friends, or with bots. If that's where your heart lies with this I do think you'll get enough bang for your buck at full price.”
read full review ↗ - 40
“The multiplayer is fine if you can find people to play with, but it doesn't save the experience. If this shipped without a campaign, it might have benefited from it, but as it is now, even the good part will probably be forgotten soon enough.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“Where Cobalt differs from other platform games, is in the multi player aspect. Here we have a horde mode style game, a capture the flag mode, and a death match free for all that reminds me of Playstation's All Star Battle Royale! Fast and fun, that is when the frame rate doesn't suffer due to some lag or if the server doesn't boot you out. This marks what is otherwise a fun online mode, but the single player game makes up for the shortcomings in the multiplayer mode. I disagree with some reviews elsewhere that say it looks as if the multiplayer was bolted on in a kind of what the hell, we may as well do it mood. It's fun and amusing and makes a change from all of the CoD clones out there.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Cobalt is like realizing an old favorite isn't quite what you remembered”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Cobalt could definitely use a bit more documentation or a more fleshed-out tutorial to explain the many systems it throws at you from the outset, and the gameplay never feels as tight as, say, Super Meat Boy, but it's full of its own weird, clunky charm and certainly has a high skill ceiling for those interested in mastering it. Imagine R2-D2 in Mark of the Ninja, that's Cobalt.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“What we have here is a charming little action game with a lot of detail, not every detail matters, but there's solid effort put into making the machine work.”
read full review ↗
The Escapist
Eurogamer
SECTOR.sk
GameGrin
Metro GameCentral
IGN
The Vertical Slice
Destructoid
Games Xtreme
Polygon
gameranx
CGMagazine…and 4 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- COBALT - MODS, CUSTOM MAPS ONLINE, ENEMIES & WEAPONS UPDATE!Feb 13, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- COBALT - MODS, CUSTOM MAPS ONLINE, ENEMIES & WEAPONS UPDATE!Feb 13, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- [Update] v136b Mostly bug fixes!Mar 14, 2016
- [Update] v136b Mostly bug fixes!Mar 14, 2016
- [Update] v136 summons save, settings, bug fixes!Mar 13, 2016
- [Update] v136 summons save, settings, bug fixes!Mar 13, 2016
- [Update] v133, hot-fixes! 133b too!Mar 9, 2016
- [Update] v133, hot-fixes! 133b too!Mar 9, 2016
- [Update] v132. Restart Chapters, Survival Online, Tutorial, Rejoin!Mar 8, 2016significant · resets scoring window
- [Change-Log] v132 Game-play changes.Mar 8, 2016significant · resets scoring window
- [Change-Log] v132 Bugs Fixed.Mar 8, 2016significant · resets scoring window
- [Change-Log] v132 Bugs Fixed.Mar 8, 2016significant · resets scoring window
- [Beta] v132 jet again... Text-chat setting, re-join, predator, missiles.Mar 7, 2016significant · resets scoring window
- [Beta] v132 jet again... Text-chat setting, re-join, predator, missiles.Mar 7, 2016significant · resets scoring window
- [Beta] Controls... Jet Usage! Tutorial fixes.Mar 2, 2016significant · resets scoring window
- [Beta] Brain, bugs, movement, tutorialMar 1, 2016significant · resets scoring window
- [Beta] Brain, bugs, movement, tutorialMar 1, 2016significant · resets scoring window
- [Beta] explosions swimming and bugs!Feb 23, 2016
- [Beta] explosions swimming and bugs!Feb 23, 2016
- [Beta] Restart story, kaboom balance, alpha survival onlineFeb 22, 2016significant · resets scoring window
- [Beta] Restart story, kaboom balance, alpha survival onlineFeb 22, 2016significant · resets scoring window
- [Update] v131 clarity, accuracy, bugs.Feb 22, 2016
- [Update] v131 clarity, accuracy, bugs.Feb 22, 2016
- [Update] v130 bug fixes and more lootFeb 19, 2016
- [Update] v130 bug fixes and more lootFeb 19, 2016
- [Update] V129: Story improvements!Feb 18, 2016significant · resets scoring window
- [Update] V129: Story improvements!Feb 18, 2016
- [Update] V128: ÅÄÖ, Mouse buttons, tips, balance, continueFeb 17, 2016significant · resets scoring window
- [Update] V128: ÅÄÖ, Mouse buttons, tips, balance, continueFeb 17, 2016significant · resets scoring window
- [Update] Languages, cloak balance, Zero volts!Feb 9, 2016significant · resets scoring window
…and 4 earlier patch announcements.