Till now, Mojang has celebrated remarkable success almost exclusively from the influence of one game - Minecraft. Microsoft's Swedish studio is about to test the waters with its next major game, finally setting up a launch date for the delayed Cobalt.
Cobalt is a side-scrolling action game, developed by three-person studio Oxeye Games and published by Mojang. The game will launch on Steam, Xbox One, and Xbox 360 on February 2 and will come with Steam Workshop support, meaning you'll be able to create your own levels, and play levels created by other users. If you paid to take part in the alpha, you'll be provided with a free Steam code. The game will cost around $19.99 "or equivalent", although the price hasn't been finalized in the UK.
Cobalt was originally set for release around October 2015, but delayed at the last minute because Oxeye said that it was full of bugs and glitches. The delay has allowed the developers to fix those problems, but for the console launch to arrive simultaneously with the PC version. It also means the game dodges the hoard of releases competing for Christmas purchases.
Despite being part of the Minecraft developer, don't expect it to be anything like it. Cobalt offers a mix of run-and-gun combat and fast-paced 2D platforming action with flexible cyborgs, upgradable weapons, and slow-motion gameplay mechanics that lets you deflect enemy fire right back at them. It also features an eight-hour story campaign, and several multiplayer modes including "capture the plug", deathmatch, survival, and the Counter-Strike inspired TeamStrike, where each player can only have one life. It also features semi-adorable and tameable space hamsters.
This game won't be anything like minecraft, however the game was made exclusively for the competitive gamer. It is just over two weeks of wait now, but if your hands are itching to play it, you can buy the alpha version which is almost the same thing. Anyone who will purchase the alpha will get an upgrade to the full Steam version upon official release.
