Space Adventure Cobra - The Awakening Review – Fun, inventive and occasionally frustrating

I’m going to start off this review by saying something that may cause a number of you to gasp. Well, maybe. Anyway, here goes: I had never heard of Space Adventure Cobra until I came to try this game. Okay, here’s your chance to gasp. All this time, I thought this was “just” a very well-made anime-style action-platformer – well, it turns out it’s actually based on a classic anime series from the 1980s. You know, the fact that every single cutscene is made up of scenes from the actual anime should’ve been a dead giveaway, but I’m dumb, so do forgive me.

Anyway, that tangent aside, this is also a very cool video game with a surprising amount of thought put into it. Space Adventure Cobra - The Awakening is by no means a lazy adaptation, and manages to stand proudly on its own merits even without the backing of the source material – with its wide variety of gameplay mechanics, inventive level design and countless side objectives, it’s hard not to appreciate just how much effort the developers had poured into the project. Even if it did drive me up the wall a few times.

Guns and gadgets

Simply put, the gameplay is pretty solid, albeit there are a few caveats and exceptions I’ll mention later on. The opening scenes pretty much give you a good idea of what to expect: you control Cobra, the fearless space pirate who uses a wide variety of gadgets to get through a number of life-threatening situations. You’ve got a grappling hook, wall-climbing boots, exploding cigars, and of course the Psychogun, Cobra’s signature weapon and the main thing that will decide whether or not you enjoy this game at all. It’s a gun that allows you to fire off manually-guided projectiles that are able to hit multiple targets at the same time, making life that much easier for Cobra during both combat and platforming segments. The Psychogun is one of the most important aspects of the game’s mechanics, and it’s just insanely fun to use; pressing the corresponding button freezes time, allowing you to tag multiple enemies as you guide your little snake of a projectile through the bodies of your enemies – once you’re done, you let go of the button and watch as Cobra takes them all down in style. It just never gets old, if I’m being honest.

I also enjoyed Cobra’s additional gadgets and abilities, and how they’re constantly woven into the second-to-second gameplay of each level. To give you a few examples, certain enemies have shields that can only be broken with melee attacks; others sport unique red barriers that can only be shattered with Cobra’s trusty revolver. There are soldiers with flamethrowers capable of deflecting incoming bullets, sword-toting baddies that instantly kill you at close range, and floating drones that require a well-aimed explosive cigar to demolish. Admittedly, it does occasionally feel like the game is trying to cram as many actions into your available buttons as possible, and it can get a bit overwhelming at first, but as I progressed through the storyline, I ended up really enjoying Cobra’s wide arsenal and the varied gameplay possibilities that were made possible through it.

Levels are pretty expansive, providing at least 8-10 hours of content if you’re just going through the main storyline, and a lot more if you try to complete all the side objectives – of which there are many. Each mission is peppered with optional challenge rooms that reward you with upgrade goodies to make Cobra stronger; these are sometimes even locked behind the use of a specific gadget, meaning you’ll have to revisit older missions if you want to finish every single one. What’s more, the game includes a number of unlockable additional episodes as well that allow you to play standalone missions in the role of various side characters you meet throughout the main story. If you ever need a break from playing as Cobra, they’re more than worth checking out.

Not-so-precise platforming

And now for the things that slightly annoyed me. First off, the controls. Cobra moves and aims his gun with the left analog stick on the gamepad, and you can’t actually stay still and shoot from a stationary position unless you hold down a separate button for it. What’s more, there is no alternate control scheme available that would allow Cobra to be moved with the D-pad instead of the analog stick, which ends up genuinely hurting the overall experience. In a side-scrolling platformer like this, precision is everything, and let’s be honest: analogue sticks aren’t exactly great for this genre. I would occasionally miss jumps, take unnecessary hits and even get killed simply due to how awkward and uncomfortable it is to try and control a 2.5D platformer with a thumbstick, and that’s not even factoring in the various other input combinations available.

For example, Cobra is also able to throw explosive cigars, and you do this by – get this – holding down the Y/Triangle button while also holding down L2/LT to aim… and then you let go when you actually want to throw the thing. And now imagine trying to do this during a heated action scene with a dozen projectiles whizzing past you, and you’ll begin to understand why I almost never used the cigars during my playthroughs. Long story short: a platformer needs tight, responsive and simple controls that make you feel like you’re able to accomplish anything you want with relative ease. Cobra, sadly, fumbles a bit in this regard. Granted, you can absolutely get used to it, and it wasn’t a dealbreaker for me personally, but it's something to keep in mind regardless.

Bossed around

The second thing I wasn’t tremendously fond of concerns the game’s boss fights. They’re… not that good. The actual levels you go through are always great, mind you, but every time a boss comes up, whether it’s an end-of-level big bad or a mid-level miniboss, the game kind of just… stops being fun for a while. I understand the need to create gimmicky fights that force you to use Cobra’s gadgets, but I just don’t think they worked here. They end up being *too* gimmicky to the point of frustration, if that makes sense. (Looking at you, Crystal Bowie.)

The game’s difficulty is also worth a quick mention, as it can be quite challenging at times. However, the difficulty itself is adjustable, so if you feel like you’re dying too often, there’s no shame in toning the setting down. As a side note: while the game gives you plenty of checkpoints during a level, missions need to be finished in one sitting for your progress to be saved – if you quit mid-level, you’ll have to start over from the very beginning. And considering how often the game froze up for me (it doesn’t play nice with Alt-Tabbing, it seems), and that many levels can take up to 20 minutes to complete, this can be a real annoyance at times.

Cobra man, Cobra man, doing what a Cobra can

Despite those issues, though, I had a generally good time with the game. I don’t think it’s going to be everyone’s cup of tea, and I don’t just mean the *extremely* retro 80s presentation. The game’s control scheme is definitely an aspect that requires some getting used to, and it’s not something that really gets better over time – you sort of just put up with its awkwardness and learn to play the game with the handicaps it creates. However, it stands testament to how fun the core gameplay is that even despite my frustrations, I still had a grand old time zipping across rooftops and taking down baddies with my trusty Psychogun and various other gadgets. Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening may be a flawed gem, but it’s a gem nonetheless.