Where to get it

Steam

2012 · Data Realms · Action · Adventure

Cortex Command

In the world of Cortex Command, many humans have opted to amputate their entire natural bodies in order to prolong their lives and enable interstellar space travel. Their disembodied brains are hardly helpless, however, as they can remotely control all kinds of machines and craft through artificial interfaces.

Released: 28 September 2012
Platforms: Linux Windows macOS
Genres: Action Adventure Indie Shooter Strategy
Developers: Data Realms
Publishers: Data Realms
Modes: Multiplayer Single-player
Perspective: Side view
Themes: Action Science fiction
Languages: English
Time to beat: 1.5hmain story13hcompletionist

About

Cortex Command is a two-dimensional side-scrolling action game developed by Swedish studio Data Realms since 2001.

›Story

Cortex Command is set a few hundred years into the future, where the now cybernetic human race is able to travel between stars and has already met several alien civilizations.

Interstellar trade and prosperity reigns, but there is always an ever-expanding frontier to explore and exploit for precious resources. In this gold rush of galactic proportions, fantastic adventure and brutal competition awaits.

You play as the boss of a small gold mining company that has just arrived at a newly discovered Earth-like planet. The large space ship that brought you here along with many other adventurers is called a TradeStar. It acts as a massive orbital safe haven and marketplace for the fortune seekers who venture down onto the planet's surface. Your purchases of bodies, guns, and equipment are sent from the TradeStar orbiting above and delivered to you by your choice of landing craft.

However, it soon becomes clear that the planet isn't as pristine as initially thought, and you will have to quickly adapt from your humble beginnings in order to survive and ultimately discover the dangerous secrets of this alien world...

Players say

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The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The player takes the role of a stationary or mobile "brain", which can take control of other purchased units in order to accomplish objectives. Missions range from tasks such as retrieving a control chip in a cave filled with zombies to defending the brain from attack. As the brain is weak, the player must manage his resources carefully, protecting the brain, mining gold and fighting off enemies.

The game includes the ability for players to create mods (additions and changes to the game) with the built in Lua programming applet and simple scripting.

Story

Despite the fact that the main story has been scrapped, Cortex Command does have some background lore. Sometime in the mid-to-far future after humanity suffered a war brought on by a religious group, Brain transplant and life support technology was developed to make space travel more feasible. This leads to humans making contact with alien life forms, and founding Free Trade. Free Trade is one of the biggest if not the biggest corporations in the whole Orion Spur.

But humanity doesn't stop there, despite humanity having long abandoned their bodies, they still kept the stubborn will to fight. With contracting being open to the highest bidder, prospectors fight on earth-like planets with rich gold deposits, while being supplied by companies like Alchiral or Free Trade.

Development

The game engine was designed and built by Dan Tabár, using several open-source libraries. The GUI was built by Jason Boettcher, the artwork is by Arne Niklas Jansson, and the macOS port is by Chris Kruger, while the Linux port was developed by Jesus Higueras.

The game was first released as an open beta and was later released for purchase with a time-limited demo version available as well.

Reception

The control system for the unfinished version of the game has been described as "too fiddly to be considered entertaining" in 2007. Others described the game as requiring patience, asking players to "take [their] time and experiment". The game has been compared to other games in the genre, such as GunBound and Worms. Positive reviews praise the detailed physics, as well as the chaotic gameplay.

Cortex Command was the Indie Games Game of the Month for April 2008.