Void Bastards

games fun but all the "mutated" people just look like what you'd see walking down the street in birmingham so they were kinda lazy with the enemy design

One of my favorite rougelites our there. Collect materials, upgrade weapons, unlock new ones, and an unforgettable world. I'm not gonna lie- I finished this game ages ago and I still constantly think about it. I desperately wish there was more for me to do. Absolutely fantastic gameplay, style, worldbuilding/story, and fun-factor. I highly recommend this game. It's a must-play.

If you pick this one up, search the Steam forums for "Gameplay Mod for Void Bastards" by Palandus. I consider this mod to be an absolute must-have to rebalance the absolute unforgiving grindfest that is the unmodded game. With that mod, Void Bastards is some of the most fun I've ever had with a roguelike, and it has made me seriously crave more games in this intersection of roguelike and immersive sim.

Not a fan. Looked past the art style and the clunky gunplay in the hopes it would get better. Instead, it just get's more unfair. There's little you can do but die in some parts, not because of skill, but because this game doesn't know what it wants to be. It seems to want to encourage stealth (thus it's being on sale for the Stealth Game celebration this week), but stealth is basically impossible. "So, it must be a run and gun!" you say. No. Not quite that either. There are enemies you WILL NOT be able to kill with your kit, that must be avoided. This usually breaks down to "run away very quickly." Except, that's not a good idea either. You'll walk into more monster closets, set off security bots, and be shot down by gun turrets. Add to this some of the more obnoxious and cruelly placed hazards, and once you're nearing the harder parts of the game (I have a feeling I'm fairly close to finishing the main objectives at just 5.5 hours, so also not a great investment for the playtime you'll get out of it), it becomes a sprinting simulator while you are bombarded with explosions, bullets, and psychedelic color shifts from rotten garbage that takes away your ability to aim. If all of that makes it sound like you still MUST have it, grab it while it's on sale. The full price isn't worth it. It's disappointing, as it's clearly made by a team that cares. I just don't think they ever solidified their vision into something I think is worth playing.

It's pretty ok, the gaming loop does feel a bit tedious and unrewarding though... maybe I'll go back to it maybe I won't. For a game in a good bundle though... pretty alright.

It's decent for a single playthrough, but it's not the type of game I could sink a hundred hours into. To summarize the core gameplay loop: you need to craft an object for story progression which requires certain parts, so you go on your map which lets you fly to neighboring ships through a branching map (similar to FTL, though this map goes forever), every ship will have a part needed for crafting something which you can see from the map so go look for the parts you need for story or for upgrades you want to make. Outside of parts the ships will also have materials which if you gather enough you can make the parts you need. Before boarding a ship you will see what enemy types are there, and what random positive/negative modifiers the ship will have (no lights on, lots of fire, enemies drop extra loot, etc.) and based on that you pick your weapon loadout and board the ship. Then go around looting everything quickly while dealing with enemies, some enemies you will want to kill while others you want to incapacitate/avoid. The game is fun while you are still learning what every enemy does and what weapons are best, and learning what ships you want to target and which you want to avoid. But after you've learned it all the game becomes a grind for materials, and I don't feel the actual gameplay of dealing with enemies while looting is very exciting once you've essentially solved it. Fighting enemies is mostly in tight corridors so the action isn't high intensity shoot outs, it's mostly "oh this enemy is small and fast, let me use my shotgun" or "this enemy is tanky, let me stun him" and then you move on. I feel the game is missing something compared to say FTL wherein between the different builds and crews you get you can put in a lot of time testing out a variety of ways of beating a run, or compared to Gunfire Reborn where the fun combat can carry the game. So I'm going to recommend it because I think enjoying 13 hours for a game is a respectable amount, but if you want a roguelike to put countless hours in I don't think this is it. TLDR: game is fun to learn, but becomes tedious once you've finished learning.

As a roguelite FPS, Void Bastards has plenty of solid concepts. It's easy on the eyes with a strong cel-shaded aesthetic. Combat is competent, with a varied toolkit to adapt to the various enemies. Clever cues warn you of impending foes as you traipse through each area, and the option for stealth challenges you to be considerate as you interact with the game's many variables.. There's even an appreciated, crass humor about the story and flavor text. The problem is, Void Bastards just gets so repetitive. In short order the cramped corridors of each ship you dock will feel samey. I found myself significantly overpowered to handle any obstacle, the gameplay loop made dull well before reaching the end. And you've no thrilling finale to anticipate, only an unceremonious move to the last cutscene to cap off an experience that I feel overstays its welcome.

Void Bastards is a roguelite... or an immersive sim-lite, I suppose. It’s undeniably stylish, but ultimately one-note. I’ve tried starting this game multiple times over the years, always feeling like I was missing something. Despite the various enemies and tools, nothing ever screamed "variability" to me. I never understood what was supposed to distinguish one ship from another beyond surface-level hazards. Perhaps there is more to that game, but the developers haven't managed to convey that to me in my time with the game. Without that hook, I didn't feel compelled to keep experimenting. The game is short enough to enjoy on style alone if the loop clicks for you, but for me, it remained a case of style over substance.