Void Bastards Review
The Info
Released: 29/05/2019 | Price: £24.99
Platform: Xbox One S (via Xbox Game Pass)
Play Time: Played on the Xbox One S via the Xbox Game Pass completed in just over 24hrs.
Purchase: https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/p/void-bastards/9n584lpfg1gm
Developer: Blue Manchu Pty Ltd | Official Site: https://voidbastards.com
Forget everything you know about first-person shooters: Void Bastards asks you to take charge, not just point your gun and fire. Your task is to lead the rag-tag Void Bastards out of the Sargasso Nebula. You make the decisions: where to go, what to do and who to fight. And then you must carry out that strategy in the face of strange and terrible enemies.
The Good
Unique combination of FPS and Roguelike genres.
Addictive looter shooter, building and upgrading mechanics.
Well voice acted and cool comic visual presentation and animation
Nice sound effects and audio position
Great strategic enemy variations and tools / weapons
RNG is mostly balanced nicely and brings some needed variation to the many vessels you tackle
Lots of depth in terms of strategy, challenge, tactics, upgrades and risk / reward
Quick pick-up and play despite it's depth
Perfect length and value for money (Game Pass and lower-tiered pricing)
The Bad
Some map layouts / elements will start to be familiar and repeat after a good amount of hours of play, especially while at the same depth / level.
Doesn't really have the narrative level of its game inspirations such as system shock 2 and bioshock despite it's greatness.
Not much replaybility outside of achievement hunting if you've already built and tried all combination of tools, not major but a small note really
The Ugly
Sometimes the RNG doesn't come together in an suspected unintentional fair manner (Power off plus loads of enemies means getting stormed at the beginning of the entrance / start).
The Score
9 out of 10 Fantastically addictive FPS loot & shoot rogue-like with style, personality and the perfect length & pricing to match!
