Overview – developed by SOMMIT GAMES and published by Regista, ComsoPlayerZ is a unique dungeon crawling shooter with a cute gimmick. As the heroine Yuniko, take on the rebels that are waging war against the Galactic Republic, while powering up through the unique “battle costume system”. This title is available on consoles exclusively for the Nintendo Switch, a link to the game will be available at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Regista for providing the copy of CosmoPlayerZ that was used for this piece. the provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting off with the story.
Story – the year is 20XX and the Galactic Republic is locked in battle with forces of a rebel star. At this time relief supplies arrive from a brilliant scientist. Upon opening the package, Yuniko discovers something unusual about its contents. This weapon is a Swimsuit? The doctor explains that this is no ordinary piece of clothing, but a special Battle Costume that will help her combat the rebels. So Unico equips the outfit and sets out to end this rebellion.
Gameplay – the gameplay for CosmoPlayerZ is similar to a top down shooter, with enemies to battle, treasure to collect and hazards to avoid. However, there is a unique difference that separates it from all others, the player only controls Yuniko and all battle is automatic. The game is split into different planets that each have their own theme and boss for the player to battle. These planets are designated a theme like water, forest and so on, each with their own unique enemies and hazards to overcome.
The planets are split into areas each made up of a set of stages, as well as en end boss that the player must defeat in order to clear that area. To progress through each of the stages, the player must maneuver through the different obstacles and avoid attacks, while staying still in order to attack. When all enemies are defeated they may move onto the next zone by passing through the gate that opens. Once all areas of a planet are cleared the player can move onto the next chapter.
The enemies that are defeated will drop gold and provide the player with experience which is collected when a stage is cleared. When the experience bar is filled, Yuniko will level up and one of three skills can be selected to strengthen the Battle Costume. The abilities that can be obtained include powering up the weapon that Yuniko has, changing the element of that weapon and giving additional attack capabilities like extra weapons.
When abilities are chosen the costume itself may also be altered, changing appearance based on the type of item that has been chosen. These include mermaid styled designs for the Ice based skills and more. As the game progresses, there are additional skills that will be made available, increasing the options that can be chosen and potential combos. There are even special combo skills that will be activated when a specific set of powers are collected, boosting Yuniko further.
As well as the abilities gained from leveling, at preset points during each of the area, there is a checkpoint stage that provides the player with a free upgrade. These are usually related to the amount of health the player has, or the power of Yuniko’s weaponry, but can also provide defensive skills and more. There is also a robust skill system that provides permanent upgrades away from battle, which are available on the main menu screen.
The skills can be purchased with gold that has been earned during the play, with the early skills being unlockable after a few stages, but the cost increases as strength of each upgrade increases. The skill tree starts in the middle and expands outwards, with three branches to choose from that spread out and merge with the others as the available options expand. The skills that the player can unlock include boosting defensive power, health and effective power of the special skills in the stages.
The last thing to discuss is the ranking system at the end of each cleared area. After defeating the boss of an area, players are given a ranking and star rating (1-3 stars) based on their performance. The ranking uses the traditional letter system, going from E to S. The ranking is affected by the damage taken during an area, the clear time and fashion of the outfit (affected by skill choices). The higher the overall completion rank, the better the star rating and bonuses that are given at the end of an area.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to move onto the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – the controls for this game are the as simple as they can get. All that is used for the majority of the game is the left thumbstick and/or D-Pad to move Yuniko, with the A button being used for selecting skills when available. The inputs for moving are solid for the most part, but they can be a little inconsistent and the wrong direction will sometimes be inputted. This is the only real issue with the control method of this game.
Difficulty – the difficulty curve for this title does build at a relatively steady pace, with new hazards and enemies being introduced as the game progresses. However, the enemy placements, attacks and challenges they introduce do have their flaws to them unfortunately. There are enemies that will attack from off screen, and surround Yuniko rapidly which can often pin her down. The player can also be hit by projectiles out of nowhere, with little to no time to react before being struck down.
Presentation – the visual style of this title has a very cutesy look to it, with the in game models having a chibi look to them and the environments have a grid style layout. The artwork that is featured for scenario segments is beautiful, with the portraits for the characters having an anime charm to it. The sound is solid, with music that has a J-Rock style to it, with some compositions that work very well as the tracks used match the action on screen. There is very limited voice work, but it doesn’t detract from the experience.
Final Thoughts – I had a very good experience with this title, the unique gameplay premise takes a moment to get used to but does make for an entertaining time. There is a lot of fun that can be had and there is a lot of replay value, with the ability to replay the previous areas to get better scores. The only issues I had were the occasional inconsistencies with movement and enemy placement, but with that said, this is a fun game that I can happily recommend this to all.
In the end, I give CosmoPlayerZ a final score of 4/5. This is a fun action title, with a unique premise that allows the game to stand out on its own, having the player only controlling movement and all combat being automatic when staying still. This system works well, along with the battle costume mechanic that adds a lot of depth and flexibility to the play experience. if you want to check this out for yourself, a link to the game will be below.
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
W.Kohaku Media 