Void Bastards

After I completed my first run through Void Bastards’ campaign I figured that that would be that, it would be a great first game to write about and I could then get on with working through something else on the backlog. I had clocked 18 hours on the game which is a decent haul for a game I paid 20 quid for. The game was undeniably great, but not that great that I’d sink even more time into it. Well, a few short weeks after I had completed the first draft of this review I’ve found that Void Bastards has come to dominate my lunch breaks and I now have well over 30 hours sunk into this game.

So what is it? It’s basically a bit of a rogue like that takes a lot of influence from the likes of System Shock and 2000AD comics, you are a hapless prisoner who is revived by the ship’s AI to help it restore itself and take you back to processing. Each ship you visit is a Mad Max take on supermarket sweep, you’ve only got so much oxygen and therefore time on these spaceship hulks and If you die, there’s more than enough other prisoners for the AI to revive to take your place. It’s a great little structure and the various systems at play here offer the player a lot of control on how much risk they are willing to take on throughout the game. The deeper you go, the greater the spoils but also also the greater risk.

“Press any key” - I do wish it just played out instead of me needing to press a key to progress this along

What seals the deal is that this is one of the most mechanically satisfying games I’ve played in a long long time, even the very act of activating a door feels so satisfying & tactile in a way it’s honestly hard to describe considering the fact that it is essentially a right click of the mouse. The doors whoosh open or slam shut with a flourish that puts many a game to shame. This game leans into it’s comic book art style hard and even visualises the sounds of the various inhabitants, explosions and sirens in a way that’s not only aesthetically pleasing but assists you in gameplay too. Make no mistake this is a repetitive game, but the core loop of this game is so unbelievably tight that if anything it is a strength of this title, as you start to build up a mental picture of what you are likely to find in each sort of room and the tactics to use against the warped inhabitants.

Later on in the game 1on1 combat (with the exception of the Screws) feels closer to executions and almost risk free which undermines the danger of the deeper later levels somewhat.

But there’s something about the occupants of the ships in this game that left me a bit cold, there’s something about the quirky British-ness on display that missed the mark for me. Fancy a cuppa tea for Quad damage guv’nor? Nah I’m alright mate.

I also find myself wanting something that leans a little bit more into System Shock than perhaps this game actually does, sometimes I want this game to take itself a bit more seriously and be a touch less irrelevant, I wanna spend more time in this universe, but I have the nagging feeling that what I want isn’t really what void bastards us about. And in general this is perhaps where the game has excelled as a lunch time time killer. When you’ve got 30-40 minutes to kill there’s more than enough to keep you entertained. It’s only when you are sat in front of Void Bastards for a few hours (which is easily done, this game is great fun) that it’s lack of… I dunno… deeper meaning can become an issue for a player like me.

Yeah… took my time on my first play through. That said I didn’t try everything!

I do generally find myself snowballing pretty quickly and seeing the initially fairly steep difficulty curve really smooth out despite how deep I got into the Sargasso nebula. That Cow Zapper is pretty much essential gear and I’d honestly say the game is roughly 10% worse if you lose the sticky fingers perk (or didn’t have it to begin with). If anything though, I think I tend to play these games quite conservatively and I hope that the various ‘restriction’ modes available will help coax out more gameplay for me in this game. I can certainly see myself steadily working towards rinsing this games achievement list on steam over the next few months for sure. 

Can I have a FTL that looks like this? Hell more games in general that look like this please

I feel that some aspects of the game are perhaps a bit undercooked - Pirates I only ever encountered face to face once and that was 25 hours in on a subsequent play-through, I’ve always had torpedos. The Pirate dialogue never really seems to go anywhere, feels like a missed opportunity. During my first play through there were several gadgets & weapons I didn’t end up even trying, probably says more about my own personal playing style but perhaps there’s scope for different enemies to force the player out of settling too deeply into a comfort zone like I did.

If I was going to suggest a route to explore for a theoretical sequel is to try and make more of the setting in the environment and level design, the deeper you go have the condition of the ships deteriorate further and further, some zero G in there and space walking. Have the Sargasso Nebula be more important to ship to ship gameplay and link the first person gameplay more closely to the strategic map.

All in all though, I definitely recommend this game to anyone who reckons this might take their fancy, don’t scoff at the price point, this game is a quality product and well worth your money.