Cosmos Bit

Cosmos Bit is really short, really easy, and does nothing particularly new or interesting, but it's decent fun for 1 - 1 1/2 hours, particularly if you pick it up on sale for pocket change. The pixel art is simple but appealing, with decent-looking environments and enemies (much of which seems Metroid-inspired). The music track in the last level is quite the banger. The controls work well for the most part, but I noticed that your double-jump does not trigger if you are holding up on the control pad, which was a mild annoyance. What makes this game at least a little different than countless other Metroidvanias is that enemies don't drop anything on defeat, so there is no benefit to defeating them besides clearing your path (there is a counter of how many you've killed, but it is meaningless). Instead, destroying boulders can lead to them dropping blue, yellow or pink gems. You use these gems at save points to save your game or upgrade your player (extending your life bar, increasing maximum bomb capacity and the like). Apart from upgrading your regular firepower and getting a double jump, the powers you acquire are not terribly useful. Your bombs open a couple of passages and are useful for bosses, and I barely used the charge attack at all. There are no secrets or hidden areas, and despite being a Metroidvania it plays out very linearly. Still, as a fan of simple, pixel art Metroidvanias I did enjoy my playthrough of Cosmos Bit, and it was easily worth the pittance I paid for it.

Given the title, I expected a game made up of single-screen levels like [b]Abduction Bit[/b] and [b]Adventure Bit[/b], instead of a small metroidvania, with a look obviously inspired by classic [b]Metroid[/b] but, strangely, a few things lifted from [b]Super Mario[/b] (fire-spewing plants, green pipes). The most welcome gameplay element is a lock-on shot: just by holding the fire button, the character can retreat in a direction and shoot in the other, a life-saver in many situations. Bombs have little use instead, due to their throwing arc that makes them smash into the ceiling more often than not. Enemies are mere annoyances, as they drop nothing and the resources you need are all from rocks, with small quantities even needed to save the game beside crafting a few upgrades. I don't know if the game adjusts the drop rates after a while, but for a good half of my run I struggled with getting enough purple material, no matter how much I farmed from the small rocks that respawn. I'm starting to think SEEP got heavily traumatized by some boss fight growing up, because their bosses keep being the least challenging parts of their games: here in [b]Cosmos Bit[/b] they all float above you, launching some projectiles at regular intervals, nothing else. It plays fine, looks cute, has a fun surprise at the end explaining the title, and doesn't pretend to rival the big games of the genre, lasting just a couple hours. Yet, I expected or hoped for a little more. Average, though not in a bad way.

很不错

[i]Originally posted on [url=https://www.dragon-quill.net/quick-reviews-15/]Dragon Quill.[/url] Comments are enabled there.[/i] This is barely a Metroidvania. There are no secret rooms, and after the second area it basically gives up and just becomes a linear action platformer. About the only notable thing is that the game is very grindy; there are three types of currency and you need large amounts of each to purchase anything, but as far as I can tell it’s completely random which type drops from objects, so it’s very common to simply not have the right currency just due to bad luck. This is made worse by the fact that instead of health and ammo upgrades being found while exploring, they’re all purchased from save stations, and on top of that, you have to [i]pay to save[/i]. The combat is also trivialized by the bombs, which can easily kill every boss except the last one without even exhausting your supply.

"Cosmos Bit" is a nice and short metroidvania by the retro-duo SEEP, where you control the space soldier Stella on her mission to save a scientist team on an alien planet. The whole ordeal is a little run-of-the-mill and can be completed in a bit more than an hour, but has it's charms. The screen transition can be somewhat awkward, because you spawn at a fixed spot and the bosses are a bit samey gameplaywise but other than that is is quite a bite-sized experience. Music is solid and spheric, it does not overstay it's welcome! For under a buck, I had my fun and will probably try out the second game in the series!

🕹 Game-Bewertungsskala Grafik (Wie gut ist das Spiel in seinem Fachbereich?): [ ] 🎨 Meisterwerk – Das Louvre ruft, sie wollen das Spiel ausstellen! [ ] 🖌 Sehr schön und detailreich – eine Netzhautpeitsche, fast perfekt. [X] 🖼 Solide – erfüllt seinen Zweck, ohne Wow-Effekt. (8-Bit Titel halt) [ ] 🤔 Na ja... sieht aus wie ein Kunstexperiment aus dem Keller. [ ] 💾 Erinnerungen an DOS-Games – Nostalgie pur? Story (Wirklich fesselnd oder eher zum Gähnen?): [ ] 📚 Episch und tiefgründig – ich will einen Film dazu! [ ] 🎭 Spannend und unterhaltsam, aber nicht perfekt. [X] 🤷‍♂️ Solide – hat mich jetzt nicht aus dem Sessel gehauen. [ ] 🤔 Verwirrend – ich habe irgendwann aufgegeben. [ ] 😴 Gähn – ich könnte die Story im Schlaf erzählen, nicht. Gameplay/Steuerung: [X] 🕹 Perfekt – spielt sich wie Butter, einfach traumhaft. [ ] 🎮 Geschmeidig, aber hin und wieder Stolpersteine. [ ] 📖 Musste das Tutorial lesen – es geht. [ ] 🤹‍♂️ Ich brauch 'ne dritte Hand – wie soll man das bitte schaffen? [ ] 🐾 Mein Hund hat es durch, Taste A hat gereicht! Musik/Sound: [ ] 🎵 Ohrwurm-Alarm – läuft jetzt in Dauerschleife. [ ] 🎧 Stimmig und atmosphärisch – passt perfekt zum Gameplay. [X] 🎶 Ganz nett, aber nichts Besonderes. [ ] 🤔 Klingt wie jemand, der auf Töpfen herumhaut. [ ] ❌ Habe den Ton ausgeschaltet – besser für meine Nerven. Preis-Leistung: [X] 💸 Ein Schnäppchen – das war jeden Cent wert! (0,69€ Sale) [ ] 💰 Preislich fair für den Inhalt – nicht super günstig, aber okay. [ ] 🤷‍♂️ Könnte besser sein – ich bin unentschlossen. [ ] 🥴 Ziemlich teuer für das, was geboten wurde. [ ] 😭 Raubzug – mein Konto weint bitterlich! Spielzeit: [ ] ⏳ 60+ Stunden: Ein Mammutwerk – ich könnte darin leben! [ ] ⌛ 40–60 Stunden: Längere Unterhaltung – hat mich ordentlich beschäftigt. [ ] 🕒 20–40 Stunden: Angenehm, hat nicht zu lange gedauert. [X] 🕹 Wenige Stunden: Kurz und knackig – wie ein guter Snack. Schlussfazit: [ ]🎉 Hat sich sowas von gelohnt – Bestes Erlebnis seit langem! [X] 😊 War ganz nett – kein Highlight, aber ich bereue nichts. [ ] 🤔 Joah... hätte besser sein können, ehrlich gesagt. [ ] 😒 Eher enttäuschend – nächstes Mal wird’s besser. [ ] 😡 Ich will meine Lebenszeit zurück – jetzt sofort!

6/10

This is a very chill metroidvania.