[b]Summary[/b]
Void 21 is a fun game that is very easy to pick up and play, the game is very fast-paced which can be challenging for newcomers, and as you continue to play you begin to 'unlock' new enemies and obstacles which keeps the difficulty up as you get better at the game. Luckily you also unlock new weapons, engines, shields and other useful modules to counter the new threats.
[b]Gameplay: 8 / 10[/b]
The core gameplay is a lot of fun and is very addictive, you get a real sense of speed as you fly down the track and it's a nice rush as you narrowly thread the needle through groups of pillars and other obstacles. There is a lot of variety as you unlock new enemies and obstacles, and the various properties that determine how a level generates cater to different playstyles. The seed picker lets you input a custom level seed to generate a level that is as challenging or easy as you'd like. I haven't encountered any real bugs, there's a few fun moments with the physics where you'll shoot an object and it'll go bouncing along the track ahead of you, which could be considered a 'bug' but it's not exactly a problem and is hilarious to watch.
[b]Controls: 10 / 10[/b]
The game feels great to play, the controls are nice, responsive and are fully customizable, and nothing feels slow or sluggish, there's not much else to say here other than that.
[b]Performance: 10 / 10[/b]
Nothing to say here other than that the game runs great on my crappy work laptop, albeit at a lower resolution and with the graphics settings set to minimum. The game has a huge set of graphics options (probably more than required for a game that isn't exactly graphics intensive anyway, but still very much appreciated) to ensure that the game should run fine on any machine or toaster you put it on.
[b]Graphics: 7 / 10[/b]
The game is not intended to have realistic graphics, the art style is very much focused on a retro tron-like look and looks great. I think it could have a bigger variety of colors on some of the obstacles.
[b]Sound Effects: 8 / 10[/b]
There's not much to say about the sound effects other than they are what you'd expect from a retro-themed game, 'pew-pew' effects for laser guns, whoosh's as you fly past pillars, etc.
[b]Music: 9 / 10[/b]
The music in Void 21 is very catchy, and fits the game perfectly, my only gripe is that there are currently only 5 music tracks, however it's understandable that 5 tracks are fine for the scope of the game.
[b]Replayability: 7 / 10[/b]
By default games like this are always fairly replayable, as they're simple and the gameplay is addictive. Void 21 is no exception. I would like to see changes in the track, maybe slopes and dips, canyons that you can fly through, etc to add a bit more variety, however in the scope of the game it's not a big issue.
[b]UI: 6 / 10[/b]
The menus are nicely layed out, there's a ton of options and it's not hard to navigate through them, however they could do with having mouse support within the menus rather than using the keyboard or a controller. In-game there is no HUD, which I feel is an area for improvement, I think having a progress indicator to show how close you are to the end would be nice, and also a ship energy meter to stop you from running out of juice when you need it would be great.
[b]Overall: 8 / 10[/b]
As the first game from Taranasus Studio, Void 21 is a fun runner/shooter hybrid that knows it's scope and is very easy to pick up and play for short sessions, the gameplay is addictive and gives you a real sense of speed, the upgrades system is nice and there is a large variety of weapons, enemies and obstacles to overcome, and I can imagine we'll be seeing more coming in future updates.
