The director of System Shock 2 turns his hand to a considerably less serious deep space adventure in this compelling strategy shooter.
Ubisoft leak hints at Xbox Game Pass and EA Access style subscription service
Considering neither game was much of a financial success it is astounding how much influence the two System Shock titles have had on gaming, directly inspiring everything from BioShock to the Prey reboot and writing the book on what are today called immersive sims. We wish they werent called that though, because its a stupid name (whats a non-immersive sim?). Unlike Void Bastards, which is an amazing name. And not at all the sort of thing wed expect from the director of System Shock 2.
Void Bastards does have some small similarities with System Shock, in that its a first person shooter set in space, but while theres certainly an important strategic element to the gameplay its not an action role-player. Theres also very little story and the shooting is surprisingly simplistic, some would say archaic. Its also a roguelike, except one thats surprisingly generous about the punishments for failure. And then theres the graphics, which feature 2D sprites for enemies and the best use of cel-shaded graphics since Zelda: The Wind Waker.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Its a heady mix, thats certainly not going to appeal to everyone, but the whole experience reminded us of something from the Amiga era, with a clumsy but ambitious combination of ideas and a very British sense of humour (even though the developers are mostly Aussies). 2000 AD is also a clear influence in terms of the tone and artwork, as you battle your way through a gas nebula full of Scottish space pirates and Scouse juvenile delinquents.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXY3IrBcoRI?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent&w=640&h=360]What little backstory the game has is also very 2000 AD, with a smattering of Brazil style bureaucracy and callousness. You play as a desiccated captive aboard a prison ship stranded in a dangerous nebula and are rehydrated under the strict understanding that you will venture out to retrieve the various parts needed to fix the ship. It turns out the nebulas pirate problem has left it with dozens of other stranded vessels, and so you must move from one to the next looking for the necessary parts and other equipment to make your journey easier.
Preventing this from turning into an impromptu shopping trip is the fact that each ship is filled with citizens who all seem to be imbued with some variant of energy projecting superpower. Since the game isnt a role-player you dont gain anything from killing them, except the occasional loot drop, but there are limited stealth mechanics, or simply a swift jog, that can help avoid them. Which is helpful not least because ammo can be in very short supply.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Most of the time though it all comes down to a gun battle and youre able to employ a variety of fairly standard first person weapons, as well as more unusual gadgets such as an exploding toy cat, poison darts, and a mind control gun. The combat is very straightforward though and theres no aiming down sights of any kind (the left shoulder button is run), as you simply aim and shoot. Which sounds unnecessarily simplistic, but we still found very satisfying thanks to the excellent gun feedback.
The items you need for the prison ship are very rare but most ships also have at least one common item which can be used to make new weapons, gadgets, and special equipment like an extra life. You can also pick up random items like severed fingers or ballpoint pens that can be broken down into one of five resources and used to create items that you cant find in the normal manner. All of which creates a very tight gameplay loop, as you board a new ship, search for items, and decide how much you can get away with in terms of looting the rest of the ship. Health cant be regained while on a ship and so many away missions end up with you frantically legging it to the airlock with your ill-gotten gains, pursued by numerous angry enemies.
Because this is a roguelike each ships layout is randomised, as is what enemies are on it and things like whether the power is off when you arrive or if theres lots of environmental hazards like exposed electrical wiring. The game gives you a good idea of what youre going to run into before you dock though, so theres some important tactical decisions to be made not just in terms of which ship you pick but what weapons and equipment you take with you. You also have to weigh up how much fuel and food you have left and which route you take through the maze-like nebula, to avoid moving obstacles such as pirates and space whales.
Advertisement
If, or rather when, you die you go right back to the beginning of the nebula and its layout is randomised. This is only a relatively minor setback though, as you get to keep all your equipment and resources and a new prisoner is rehydrated to take the old ones place, replete with a randomised buff and/or debuff, such as a smaller appetite or the tendency to drop ammo when reloading.
Visually, even though its just a random collection of sci-fi corridors, the game looks fantastic, with a bold use of cel-shading that makes it look like a 2000 AD strip come to life. Its far more distinctive and appealing than Borderlands and even though were not 100% convinced that the 2D sprites were a good idea the look of the game realRead More – Source
