- Improved FTL-like gameplay with more accessibility.
- Extensive options for crew customization.
- Strong grimdark, Warhammer 40K immersive atmosphere.
- Scalable difficulty provides high replayability.
- Lacks story and combat clarity.
- Limited exploration and overall variety.
Verdict
Mostly positive
Summary
Positive 98% · Negative 2%. Score: 2 / 100
Positives:
- The game is frequently compared to FTL, with many reviewers considering it an improvement or worthy successor. It's also noted to be more accessible to newcomers than FTL, thanks to streamlined mechanics.
- A key feature is the extensive crew customization, with diverse races, classes, and equipment options. This allows for deep strategic planning and varied playstyles, enhancing the core FTL-like gameplay.
- The game strongly embraces its grimdark Warhammer 40,000 setting, with stellar design, music, and atmosphere. This appeals to fans of the WH40K universe and similar grimdark themes.
- The game offers a wide range of difficulty levels, with scaling challenges and modifiers. This caters to both casual and hardcore players, providing replayability and opportunities to evolve play styles.
- Boarding enemy ships is a viable and fun strategy, with options for creating specialized boarding parties and using psychic powers. Improved boarding mechanics make this a more engaging and rewarding aspect of the game.
Negatives:
- The game prioritizes combat over narrative depth, streamlining the experience by reducing storytelling, moral choices, and background information. Some reviewers felt this made the game more barebones, especially for veterans of similar genres. Additionally, combat readability suffers from unclear weapon effects and indistinguishable weapon designs.
- Several reviewers found the game's base difficulty to be too low, even on the first run. This lack of challenge might not appeal to experienced players of the FTL genre. However, some attack types lack station-based counters, leading to arbitrary difficulty spikes.
- The game's exploration and event variety feel limited. Reviewers noted a lack of meaningful changes or options based on choices, and the inability to explore derelict stations or wrecks beyond text-based interactions.
- The game lacks unit upgrades and crew skills. This makes lower-tier units useless later and reduces strategic depth.
- The game has a high-stakes element where the captain's death results in a game over. One reviewer experienced a frustrating death when failing to retrieve the captain from an enemy ship by a very small margin.
Gameplay:
- Commanders and ships are unlockable and offer unique skills and possibilities, adding strategic depth and variety to gameplay. This encourages experimentation and provides long-term goals for players.
- The game incorporates diverse combat options, including weapons like lasers and missiles, ship subsystems, and special powers like those of Psykers. These elements add tactical layers to ship combat.
- Magic can be used to summon corpses to fight for you. This adds a unique and thematic element to the gameplay, aligning with the dark and gothic setting.
- Some content is locked behind higher difficulty levels. This encourages players to improve their skills and provides a sense of progression.
Performance:
- The game exhibits excellent performance and optimization on the Steam Deck, with reports of smooth gameplay and minimal graphics card usage. This suggests that the game is well-suited for portable gaming and can run efficiently on lower-powered hardware.
Recommendations:
- Void War is heavily inspired by FTL, with many reviewers recommending it to fans of the latter. Some reviewers suggest it may even surpass FTL in quality. The game expands upon the FTL formula with new mechanics and greater complexity.
- The game is recommended for fans of Warhammer 40k and Broadsword 30K, suggesting an appeal to those interested in the grimdark setting and lore. The game's themes and aesthetics resonate with fans of these franchises.
- Many reviewers express general enjoyment of the game and recommend it to others. They consider it a worthwhile purchase and anticipate playing it extensively. However, these points lack specific details about why the game is enjoyable.
- One reviewer suggests that improvements to the UI and initial room assignment would significantly improve the game. This provides a specific area for potential improvement.
- The availability of a demo is mentioned, allowing potential players to try the game before purchasing. This is a helpful feature for players who are unsure if they will enjoy the game.
Miscellaneous:
- The game is currently only available in English. One reviewer appreciated this, noting that the game uses uncommon words, which is good for language practice.
- One reviewer mentioned receiving a free Steam version due to a previous purchase of the Alpha version on Itch.io. This is a one-off comment about their specific purchase experience.
