GamingPickz
Game vs game · side by side

Awesomenauts vs Cortex Command

Awesomenauts is a platformer strategy game from Ronimo Games (2012) while Cortex Command is a platformer sandbox game from Data Realms (2012).

Awesomenauts

2012 · Ronimo Games

7.5GamingPickz Score

$8.99

Steam: Very Positive

Cortex Command

2012 · Data Realms

5.8GamingPickz Score

$19.99

Steam: Mostly Positive

What each one is

Steam files Awesomenauts under Platformer and Strategy. In contrast, it files Cortex Command under Platformer and Sandbox.

Awesomenauts

Use your power, show your might! Play this Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game! AWESOMENAUTS combines 2D platforming with team-based strategy and hero based action. Whether you are a new recruit or an intergalactic legend, play AWESOMENAUTS!

Description from its Steam store page

Cortex Command

Choose between different factions, with their own set of expendable soldiers, mechas, and weapons. Protect your brain, mine gold, and destroy the enemy cortex in his bunker complex!

Description from its Steam store page

At a glance

AwesomenautsCortex Command
GamingPickz Score7.5/105.8/10
Steam ratingVery Positive (85%, 26,853)Mostly Positive (72%, 6,034)
Critic aggregate78/10044/100
Price$8.99$19.99
Install size
Steam Deckplayableunsupported
Released20122012
DeveloperRonimo GamesData Realms

Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.

Awesomenauts vs Cortex Command, point by point

Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.

  1. Genre and premise

    AwesomenautsPlatformer strategy game
    Cortex CommandPlatformer sandbox game

    What each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.

  2. How it plays

    AwesomenautsMOBA, 2D, Platformer
    Cortex CommandStrategy, Indie, Action

    The tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.

  3. Reception

    AwesomenautsScore 7.5 · 85% on Steam · 78 critic
    Cortex CommandScore 5.8 · 72% on Steam · 44 critic

    The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.

  4. Content and scale

    Awesomenauts26,853 reviews · 79 add-ons
    Cortex Command6,034 reviews

    Reach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.

  5. Price

    Awesomenauts$8.99
    Cortex Command$19.99

    Read live from Steam and subject to change.

  6. On a Steam Deck

    AwesomenautsPlayable
    Cortex CommandUnsupported

    Valve's own Deck compatibility rating.

Awesomenauts takes 3 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.

The two on the grid

Compare the whole catalogue

Awesomenauts and Cortex Command on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.

2 games have both

01000100PlayersPopularity

Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.

Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.

  • PC

Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.

See the whole grid

How positions are decided

No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
  • Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
  • Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
  • No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
  • A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
  • Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.

Which to pick, by what you want

  • The higher-rated of the two: Awesomenauts (GamingPickz Score 7.5)
  • The cheaper right now: Awesomenauts ($8.99)
  • Better on a Steam Deck: Awesomenauts (playable)
  • The safer bet by weight of reviews: Awesomenauts (26,853 reviews)

What they have in common

Both are tagged by Steam players with:

Multiplayer2DPlatformerActionIndieLocal Co-OpStrategyLocal Multiplayer

Where they differ

Awesomenauts is also

MOBACo-opGreat SoundtrackFree to PlayControllerOnline Co-Op

Cortex Command is also

PhysicsSandboxPixel GraphicsModdableSingleplayerDifficult

Tags players apply to one game and not the other.

Difficulty and who each is for

By the tags players apply, Awesomenauts is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Cortex Command is demanding, for players who want a challenge.

System requirements, side by side

AwesomenautsCortex Command
Minimum GPU
Minimum CPU1GHz processor
Minimum RAM1 GB
Install size

Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Awesomenauts · Cortex Command.

Accessibility features

Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Awesomenauts and 1 for Cortex Command. A declaration is a floor, not a review.

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Common questions

How different are Awesomenauts and Cortex Command in scope?

Awesomenauts has drawn 26,853 Steam reviews and ships 79 add-ons. Cortex Command has drawn 6,034 Steam reviews.

Is Awesomenauts or Cortex Command better?

By the GamingPickz Score, Awesomenauts rates higher (7.5 to 5.8). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.

Which is cheaper, Awesomenauts or Cortex Command?

Awesomenauts is cheaper right now at $8.99, against $19.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.

Do you rank one above the other for a fee?

No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.

How we compare, and what we will not do

The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.

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