Cosmic Spacehead is illogical and a mess and I still love it Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Cosmic Spacehead is illogical and a mess and I still love it Use icing sugar for what?! Feature by Jennifer Allen Contributor Published on 18 Sep 2020 14 comments Cosmic Spacehead is a weird mess of a game that felt truly a thing of its time. I can't see it ever existing now. Originally released in the early 90s, I stumbled across it in that way that tends to happen when you're only about 9 or 10 and your access to insightful games media is limited. I saw it in a second-hand shop in London and decided I adored the colours of the box and would quite like it for Christmas if possible. I'm not sure how my Mum retraced her steps but a few days later, I inadvertently spotted it in her suitcase and discovered exactly what my main Christmas present was going to be. To be fair to nosy-child me, I never said a word. I acted surprised on Christmas Day, appreciating the importance of the occasion, and dived straight into the weirdness. Because Cosmic Spacehead is very weird. Much of that weirdness is because Cosmic Spacehead makes very little sense. It's a sequel to Linus Spacehead, a platformer for the NES, and it starts out by completely forgetting that you may not have played the first part. I certainly hadn't and I only learned this fact through a sneaky Google search while writing this. Instead, child me was up against Cosmic/Linus clearing needing to complete a series of fetch quests without much logic to the plot. You eventually figure out he's trying to get hold of a camera and a working spaceship but none of it is well explained. The game plays out like the most illogical of point-and-click adventures. Want to freeze a body? You need icing sugar! No, really! Similarly, you need to get past a one-eyed Godzilla-style monster. The only way is to give it a tiny helium balloon so it floats away. Weirdly, you don't float away through holding the balloon. That lack of logic continues throughout the game in a thoroughly abstruse manner, until the action is broken up by platforming sequences. The most frustrating and ridiculous platforming sequences. They're technically only brief but you have to jump perfectly at all times and each enemy can kill you at the slightest touch. Ultimately, they're simply not needed. A throwback to the previous game perhaps? There's a weird car racing mini-game too that again isn't comfortable in the slightest. So, why even remember this game? The visual style beguiled me. Colourful and cartoon-like, it was charmingly like all those Saturday morning cartoons that I adored. And it was funny too. Ok, not every joke hit the spot but it was the kind of humour that was perfect for a kid my age - typically British and comic book-esque. Fearsomely hard, of course, but somehow (I honestly don't know how) I remember one day finally completing it. How?! I have no idea. It's not like I had a walkthrough. Sheer stubbornness and force of will, I guess. It set me down a path of adoring the likes of Broken Sword and Discworld (also abstruse), and that makes Cosmic Spacehead so very important indeed. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More Features Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. 12 Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Feature What games get wrong about horses And what they could do about it. 34 Feature Shout out to all the Overwatch supports - where would we be without you? Merci. 55 Latest Articles Preview Football Manager's new Console edition is the best you'll get without a PC Getting Touch-right. Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 59 Modder dives into Demon's Souls files following PS5 jailbreak, discovers fabled Ring of the Chieftain Who knows what's nexus? 4 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store