"Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening combines the best of the 2D run-and-gun and Metroidvania genres to create what is possibly one of the best niche titles of 2025."
From the moment I hit play, Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening felt like an infusion of 1980s nostalgia, and as a child of the 1980s, it filled me with nostalgia for the type of cartoons I used to love watching on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
Back in the day, we didn’t have cable or satellite, and of course, streaming was not yet even thought of, and being able to watch (and record on VHS) several hours of cartoons in a solid block was one of the best moments of each week.
While I never saw the original TV show when it aired, and had not even heard of it until not long ago, every aspect of Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening feels authentic to the “family-friendly” Japanese animations from the era.
While the cigar-smoking womaniser Cobra might not be the most family-friendly protagonist, and every female character seems to suffer from a permanent wedgie (and more than a few of them show a fair bit of cleavage), the style of animation is very much indicative of the era, with shows such as C.O.P.S. (Central Order of Police Specialists) and The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers both having a similar aesthetic and episode pacing.
Both of which are shows that I watched a great deal of as a child, especially during summer holidays, when ITV (one of just four TV channels we had access to back then) would air such shows during the holidays to “keep the kids entertained.” As a child, being able to watch an extra few hours of cartoons and a movie each morning was one of the highlights of my summer, especially for someone who was raised in a time when not everyone had a lot of money to spend on extra activities during the school break.
Ultimately, I could not be happier with the way Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening looks as a child of the 1980s.
However, as someone who appreciates how far we have come, I do wish that female characters were portrayed in a less sexually objectified manner, with most outfits (and female robots) designed in such a way as to emphasise their anatomy.
While visuals and nostalgia can carry you so far, alone they do not make a good game. Thankfully, gameplay is where Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening shines. As someone who plays a huge amount of games each year for both work and pleasure, it’s a surprisingly rare thing when I find a game right off the bat that “just feels right,” and yet that is exactly how I feel when playing Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening.
Every aspect of gameplay, from combat to exploration, is incredibly well done thanks to how responsive the controls are and how well-designed each and every combat and traversal ability is.
While I did have a few issues with aiming at first, once I grew accustomed to it, I quickly became a force to be reckoned with, like the cigar-munching Cobra himself.
While I am personally very happy with Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening’s 7.5-hour runtime, as my backlog is massive, if I had paid full price for it, I would have wanted a few more hours of gameplay, which is my only real issue with Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening, beyond its outdated portrayal of female characters.
Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening is an action game developed by Magic Pockets and published by Microids, it released on 26 August 2025, and is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, Playstation 4, Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening supports the following peripherals:
Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening is rated PEGI 12+ and contains:
Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening is one of the most enjoyable action-metroidvanias I have ever played and serves as a fantastic introduction to the genre for those who have yet to experience it.
While it is a little short at just over seven hours of average completion time, and its portrayal of female characters could be better, for fans of the show or 1980s Saturday morning cartoons in general, you could not find a better game, and for that reason, I fully recommend it.
We found Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening to be a good game, meaning it is likely to be enjoyable for most players, despite having a few areas that could be improved upon.
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