This Week I Have Been Mostly Playing…
Void Bastards on Xbox One X
I do realise that I bang on about the same things a lot while writing. Indie games. Xbox Game Pass. Titles that no one has heard of that the must play immeidately. Erm... well say hello to Void Bastards from Australian indie developer Blue Manchu! For those with an Xbox this is an excellent reason to give the Game Pass a go, especially as the first month is currently only £1.
Void Bastards is a first person shooter (FPS) roguelike set in space. Think Bioshock meets FTL: Faster Than Light with a hint of Rick and Morty thrown in. The Bioshock link is a good one as the studio is headed by one of the co founders of Irrational games who made that game but is a team full of industry veterans trying to make something different. In that they totally succeeded.
The premise is simple, you play a randomised criminal on a spaceship being instructed by an English robot (who very much feels like a butler) to travel through space to board ships to collect items and loot which then you can use to upgrade your weapons and items. You need to collect food and fuel to be able to stay alive and keep travelling but both can be found on most ships.
Mapwise it's basically FTL, you can choose your route through space with each destination having a random selection of items and enemies. Upon death a new character is created with different stats though thankfully you keep all of your items and upgrades. You do, however, have to start right back at the beginning of space though.
To be honest this is a pain, especially as to begin with things are a challenge. You don’t have much health and the Oxygen tank is perilously low meaning you are in a mad dash on the first few ships. I am cautious by nature in games but this goes out the window straight away here. Luckily on some ships there may be a place to refill your O2 tanks or health.
The ships are randomised which keeps you on your toes but this comes down to many of the same compartments in different configurations. Eventually you will probably get bored of seeing the same power room for the twelfth time. Though as you get stronger you will be able to fly through the first bunch of ships after a death.
The graphics are stunning, brightly coloured and looking straight out of a modern comic book. I love it, one of the most aesthetically pleasing games I have played in a while. I have been very screenshot happy while playing, which is difficult as you see the O2 tank countdown….
As for the FPS elements of the game it feels very much like Bioshock, right down to the button configuration. (Y button for jump?!??) You start off with a pistol which you can upgrade or just create other guns as you gather the right items. Ammo is an issue as it is not strewn around the ships which keeps you on your toes. The few enemies I have met so far are very sci fi as you would expect and it’s a nice touch to put in some insurmountable brutes that are very tough to beat in the early game. (My only kill came by opening an airlock on the fucker).
The levels are short but in a good way, keeps things tense and snappy. The general humour is very happy and I won’t tire of hearing enemies call out for ‘Gary???’. The title gives the game away on that.
As it’s so short and very playable don’t pass up the chance to give this title a go. It’s unlikely you will complete it but it literally took me 2 minutes to totally fall for its charms. It’s also on PC but it cant be long until it graces the rest of the consoles. A brilliant recommendation Prof Schminky!
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