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Watch trailer on Steam ↗Cogmind
Grid Sage Games · Published by Grid Sage Games · Official site ↗
Overwhelmingly Positive — 96% positive (2,013 reviews) · 479 achievements
Last updated 27 Sept 2026
Cogmind is a sci-fi roguelike epic in which you play a robot building yourself from components found or salvaged from other robots. Explore a living, breathing world through turn-based tactical combat, or sneak, hack, and fly your way to victory.
£20.99
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Price history
Adventure, Indie, RPG, Strategy, Early Access · 2017 · More £15 - £30 games
Embark on a turn-based adventure where your choices shape a robot's development. Navigate Cogmind’s dynamic universe through strategic combat or stealth, all crafted by Grid Sage Games.
About this game
Experience sci-fi tactical combat and exploration in a procedural world that combines traditional roguelikes with an immersive modern interface like no other. Build yourself from components found or salvaged from other robots. Attach power sources, propulsion units, utilities, and weapons to become a slow tank bristling with weapons, or a fast-moving flier zipping past enemies before they even have time to react, or a stealthy sword-wielding assassin/hacker, or whatever else you can come up with from the salvage you find. The situation can quickly change as you lose components and rebuild yourself from enemy remains. You are the Cogmind. Discover what that means as you explore a living, breathing world ruled by robots.
KEY FEATURES
Build and modify a unique robot from parts found, or enemies defeated
Dynamic character development without XP/grinding
Dozens of robot classes, each with unique behavior within the ecosystem
Procedurally generated world combined with hand-crafted content
Ten different animated endings to uncover
ASCII evolved: Most advanced terminal interface ever
Thousands of particle effects and SFX
Fully destructible environment
PROGRESS
Although currently in Early Access, Cogmind is a complete game. There are over two-dozen map types, over a thousand items, thousands of sound and particle effects, multiple plot lines, hundreds of hand-made locations and encounters, thousands of lines of dialogue, and ten different animated endings to discover. That said, there are many plans to continue expanding the world with features and content, so for now we'll just call it EA :D
(Cogmind has been in full-time development for over ten years.)
ROGUELIKE?
Cogmind is a turn-based roguelike, very traditional in many ways (permadeath procedural dungeon crawler built with ASCII in mind...), but at the same time innovates on the genre in terms of both design and accessibility features.
Within you have full mouse control--and full keyboard control! Use only one or the other, or both, and all common roguelike movement methods (mouse, numpad, vi, arrows) are enabled out of the box, no configuration required. Mouse users get drag-and-drop inventory management, and the keyboard is even faster with its multiple command schemes and built-in automation features.
Stealth play is just as viable as straightforward combat, using hacking and information warfare to outsmart the Complex. The lack of an XP system means you only have to use whatever means you can to reach new areas and find new gear to advance.
The world is alive with many types of robots, most of which are actually not hostile to you and have their own duties to carry out.
Map objects are labeled as they come into view, making for less tedious play and allowing you to instead focus on tactics and survival. A large number of other options and useful features are available to customize the UI.
While the most skilled players can reliably win the default mode, easier difficulty settings are available for those with less experience, or less time on their hands :) (advanced players can also attempt to take on the extended end-game!)
Accumulate knowledge across multiple plays, collecting info about previously used items in the ASCII art gallery (over 900 pieces of art!), and collecting lore about the world as you discover its inhabitants and guess at their potential motives, and true capabilities. While there's a rich story to uncover over many runs, know that it doesn't get in the way if you prefer to just strategize and min-max through your roguelikes.
Take on built-in Challenge Modes for a different kind of experience, or to prove just how good you really are.
WARNINGS
Not every game is for everyone, so there are a few things to point out that may affect your interest in Cogmind.
No Hand-holding: Although very accessible and there's both context help and a quick tutorial to teach all the fundamentals, Cogmind invites you to explore a completely unfamiliar world. Observant players will come to internalize many of that world's rules naturally, and as you reach new areas you'll also discover in-theme explanations for everything, seamlessly integrated with the lore. As part of that process you'll often be faced with the post-death challenge of figuring out where things went wrong and why, until you eventually reach a point where you can see danger before it even materializes.
Rampant Item Destruction: Every item in Cogmind can be destroyed, and many of your items will be destroyed. At first this may be discouraging, but once you figure out the basics you'll generally be replacing old and broken parts with much better loot even before you lose it anyway. Building and, more importantly, rebuilding, is a vital part of the experience and what keeps the game dynamic and interesting throughout. Adaptability is key, and amazing comebacks are commonplace.
No Classes, Skills, Etc.: Unlike many other roguelikes and CRPGs in which you may form a sort of attachment to your character class and the levels, stats, skills, and equipment they've acquired over time, Cogmind is defined almost purely by items. And as mentioned those items will be destroyed, so there's not much chance to form that kind of attachment. However, this also leaves room for great flexibility during a single playthrough, flexibility you might want or need to rely on to maximize your chances for survival depending on what locations you visit.
A Different Kind of Game: As a whole Cogmind is quite different from pretty much everything out there, a fact that turns some people off, but others rather enjoy it for that same reason. It can also take a little while to get into, but once past learning the basics and how to reliably overcome early-game areas, the world and its opportunities really open up.
System Requirements
Will my PC run this? →Minimum
- OS *: Windows 7+
- Processor: 1.8Ghz or faster
- Memory: 1 GB RAM
- Graphics: Anything
- Storage: 80 MB available space
Supported Languages
Latest news
AnnouncementsOfficial
Beta 17.1 "X0-1V1.1"
{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30765339/d45a01ff43e5ebcdb11fe3bc214d85f781567512.png Bigger, better, more X0-1V1! That's the general theme here for Beta 17.1, a pit stop of enhancements and expanded content on the way to a much bigger Beta 18. We've seen lots of crazy X0-1V1 runs since since the "god-not-god of chaos" became a reality in the previous release, not too surprising since they're not only the latest hot new thing, but also accessible right from the start and fully compatible with all other factions and routes. As a surprise release there were quite a few patches in its first weeks (seven in all!), including fixes, QoL, and balance changes. Once that settled down I then had more time to put together some new features to round out the experience, and here they are :D More Chaos is Inevitable Even though Beta 17 already included over a hundred unique effects and even more subvariations, there is such a broad range of possibilities when it comes to X0-1V1 that there's always room for more unexpected/interesting/dangerous/funny/crazy/ scenarios. More of these would require breaking saves, so I couldn't just patch them in and decided we should have a minor version release so I could add these along with other timely developments (because it would otherwise be a longer wait for Beta 18 and its decidedly different content track). As usual I won't be spoiling new content here, just note that there are new X0-1V1 acts (both good and bad), new entertaining situations they might take notice of, and also an in-lore way to learn more of the mechanics behind their behavior (encountered in a cave at some point). I also fleshed out one of the special map-specific interactions, even adding two achievements associated with it (there was already a hint in game about what it might be, and the interaction is easier to trigger in Beta 17.1, even accidentally, so that should aid in discovery if you haven't already seen other players doing This Thing). More Delay is Inevitable No, not devel...Read full article on Community Announcements (Kyzrati)AnnouncementsOfficial
Beta 17 "X0-1V1"
{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30765339/b95fcf82413210f2d60f0fb640efc2ef5f70eb11.png Have you played DCSS? (Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup) If not, then you should definitely consider trying it, a major roguelike in constant development for even longer than Cogmind, and a great game among those which sent me on my own quest to explore the roguelike genre in 2009 and shortly thereafter start creating some of my own. DCSS is similar to Cogmind in that it's a balanced tactical experience, so the two games have always had some player overlap either as we send our players in that direction, or welcome them over from that community (including even a number of DCSS developers throughout the years). Now what does that have to do with Beta 17... Well, DCSS is a traditional fantasy RL, and within it are gods you can worship to spice things up, usually for the better. Considering the player overlap, naturally many are familiar with a lot of DCSS content, and one god in particular, Xom, the god of chaos, is often referenced in our community (not least of all embraced by myself) as overseeing the distribution of random craziness that can occur across a run. In that sense, one could consider Xom the god of RNG. Emergent fun! Xom has also been referenced by or appears in other roguelikes, and is such a common symbol in the Cogmind community, that I really felt like they deserved a proper home in the world. With the Unchained we have an opportunity to do just that--not a true god, but perhaps close enough that it doesn't matter ;) There are actually areas of the lore which are perfect for just such a character, and I've been working up to it over the years. It's 2026. The wait is over, X0-1V1 is here. X0-1V1 So do you have to cause enough mischief to get this "Unchained" dispatched on you? No! I considered including that possibility at a very low weighting, but decided to hold off on that since this X0-1V1 character is far too disruptive, almost certainly changing your entire run through and through...Read full article on Community Announcements (Kyzrati)AnnouncementsOfficial
Beta 16.1 "Unchained More"
{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30765339/386a5b922e2116edd69baf8fe7f7e5d2b09afb03.png Ironically for a release dubbed "Unchained More," and one that includes an even wider variety of Unchained personalities and tech, folks are generally going to be seeing them "less" overall xD. This is due to the inevitable arrival of CY-PHR, who we'll get to further below... First though, wow it's been years since we saw a minor version number! Beta 16.1 adds a fair bit of content, but is built primarily to expand upon and improve the beginnings of the new expansion started with Beta 16, which ideally would have been released with this stuff included, but I put it out early to avoid keeping you all waiting too long (plus of course the large number of new achievements alone would provide plenty of diversions!). This release therefore focuses on rounding out the overall Unchained experience before we head into adding their HQ and also, yes, yet more of them ;) Sci-fi Fans While I won't be spoiling all the new Unchained, I will say that on meeting them you will likely notice that members of this batch are very clearly avid fans of science fiction (okay there is one oddball in there, but to begin with I did not mean for this group to almost all belong to this particular subcategory of Unchained :P). Each comes with their own wild new tech which you can theoretically acquire, but at the very least must first face off against prior to said acquisition--new challenges! But like I said earlier, they were already relatively uncommon (except for a handful of players consistently being very naughty over the long run, or going out of their way to "summon" them), and there will now be far fewer "unexpected" encounters. One of the side effects of Beta 16 temporarily having a smaller pool of Unchained to work with, and only fledgling systems to drive their encounters, was that there was not as much leeway for matching dispatched types to appropriate situations. This lack of nuance meant that for example "doi...Read full article on Community Announcements (Kyzrati)AnnouncementsOfficial
Annual Review: Year 12 of the Cogmind
{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30765339/e3e2da3a188b6c7343dc783d84a0cd9f58bc18f2.jpg Cogmind's 12th annual review is available over on the dev blog, summarizing a year featuring two major releases that finished off one expansion while kick-starting another. 2025 added a significant new map, over 100 new items, and Cogmind's 10th unique ending concluding the UFD plot line. A new batch of achievements also caught us up with seven years of new content. And the first members of the Unchained have arrived! (lots more coming on that front) Read more about all that and check out player art and more in the full post. Beta 16.1 is around the corner, focused on, yep, more content and improved Unchained systems to go along with them as they evolve towards better integration into the world :DRead full article on Community Announcements (Kyzrati)AnnouncementsOfficial
Beta 16 "The Unchained"
{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30765339/8649baca3675fc505b17dabac936676a0be86e98.png A new expansion begins! Our Beta 16 eponymous opponents are upon us... With them comes upgraded Scanalyzer functionality for all, and a batch of over 200 more achievements to catch us up with the last seven years of ever-expanding content. Hard to believe I've been working on Cogmind full time for 12 years now, with still several major releases planned out, but given the trajectory of recent versions as we arrive at and continue to explore increasingly extreme possibilities, I'm really looking forward to what's coming :) Today let's get started with the changelog, then dive into demos and some of the more interesting topics within... Changelog Cogmind Beta 16 "The Unchained" (251021) changelog (excerpt): -----( HIGHLIGHTS )----- NEW: 228 more achievements covering new content since 2018, spanning plot, style, challenges, and more NEW: 5 Unchained NEW: 21 new items NEW: 17 turrets and drones NEW: 3 new robot variants NEW: Use Scanalyzers to study common non-prototype 0b10 parts for an additional permanent modifier to using any such part -----( CONTENT )----- NEW: Separate Heavy ARC variant specific to assaults and other non-patrol uses NEW: 11 new sound effects (total = 1350) MOD: Luggers generally smarter about selecting goals and dealing with more complex scenarios MOD: Moved Cep. Phasing Heat Sink into the lab area MOD: Special prototype robot variants added in Beta 15 now explicit about RIF immunity MOD: Achievement "Wheee!" description now more specific MOD: Achievement "Armchair Analyst" more specifically limited to Terminal sources MOD: Splice Drones no longer indirectly award "Error 47" achievement MOD: Removed achievement "What Is This Thing?" MOD: Removed challenge mode win achievements -----( QOL / UI )----- NEW: Item search window results include any Unknown parts and unidentified prototypes NEW: If part data visualization in info mode, item search also shows info summary instead of ...Read full article on Community Announcements (Kyzrati)
