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Void Bastards

Void Bastards Game Cover
86%Game Brain Score
gameplay, graphics
grinding, stability
86% User Score Based on 3,912 reviews
Critic Score 85%Based on 4 reviews

Platforms

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Void Bastards Game Cover

About

Void Bastards is a single player arcade shooter game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Blue Manchu and was released on May 28, 2019. It received positive reviews from both critics and players.

"Inspired by BioShock and System Shock 2, Void Bastards is a revolutionary new strategy-shooter that will test your wits as well as exercise your aim. Can you lead the misfit prisoners of the Void Ark through the derelict spaceships and myriad dangers of the Sargasso Nebula?"

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Void Bastards screenshot
Void Bastards screenshot
Void Bastards screenshot
Void Bastards screenshot
Void Bastards screenshot
Void Bastards screenshot
Void Bastards screenshot
Void Bastards screenshot
Void Bastards screenshot
Void Bastards screenshot
Void Bastards screenshot
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86%
Audience ScoreBased on 3,912 reviews
gameplay447 positive mentions
grinding110 negative mentions
  • Unique and striking comic book art style with cel-shaded visuals that stand out and enhance the atmosphere.
  • Engaging gameplay loop combining roguelike mechanics with strategic decision-making, resource management, and creative combat approaches.
  • Humorous and dark British tone with excellent voice acting and narration that adds charm and character to the experience.
  • Gameplay becomes repetitive due to limited ship and enemy variety and repeated procedural level elements after extended play.
  • Combat and gunplay can feel clunky or unsatisfying, with scarce ammo making firefights sometimes frustrating and stealth mechanics limited.
  • The story and ending are minimal and unsatisfying, lacking depth or meaningful resolution, which may diminish replay value.
  • gameplay
    1,114 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of Void Bastards combines roguelite and first-person shooter elements with a unique comic-book art style, offering a strategic loot-and-shoot loop centered on boarding derelict ships, scavenging resources, and crafting upgrades. While many appreciate its addictive, well-balanced mechanics, satisfying progression, and humor, the core gameplay loop tends to become repetitive and shallow over time due to limited enemy variety, similar ship layouts, and simplistic combat. Nonetheless, the game’s tactical decision-making and resource management provide engaging moments, especially for fans of slower-paced roguelikes, though its brevity and monotony may deter players seeking depth or long-term variety.

    • “The real gold comes from the gameplay loop of this game, with there being many elements, from strategic route planning to resource management to the FPS elements; every single bit is as fun as the next or last.”
    • “It's one of the tightest designed roguelikes out there, where all of the gameplay mechanics just work so exquisitely well together.”
    • “An incredibly solid and satisfying gameplay loop, great writing and uniquely gorgeous art direction has made Void Bastards one of my favourite games of the past few years and I keep coming back to it.”
    • “The gameplay gets a bit repetitive, but it had me hooked in the gameplay loop of "go loot stuff and make your things better." and going back and doing it again is less enticing because I already did most of the upgrades.”
    • “The gameplay loop itself is very boring.”
    • “After this the gameplay loop becomes extremely repetitive and it gets frustrating, grinding to find parts and traverse the map; eventually it became too much of a chore and the fun started to wear off.”
  • graphics
    965 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game’s graphics are widely praised for their unique, vibrant comic book aesthetic, featuring cel-shaded visuals, stylized 2D/3D character models, and creative use of onomatopoeia and panel-style storytelling. This distinctive art style not only sets the tone with dark British humor and a sci-fi atmosphere but also supports gameplay clarity, running smoothly even on low-end PCs. While some find the cel-shaded comic look charming and immersive, others note the limited animation frames and repetitive environmental designs, but overall the graphics are a standout and a major draw for players.

    • “Void Bastards' comic aesthetic carries through every inch of the experience, from the cel-shaded character models to the onomatopoetic words that accompany sound effects.”
    • “The comic book art style of this game is just straight-up gorgeous; the colors are vibrant and informative, everything fits thematically, and it even acts as a way to better understand your environment.”
    • “The art style absolutely fits the setting, with colorful, cel-shaded visuals and a unique blend of 2D and 3D elements that create the feeling of a living comic book.”
    • “The game had 3-4 phases of play; at first it was interesting with the visuals and sound but then it became dull and stretched out. Later, the game turned into a chaotic mess with day-glow bio-sludge visuals that felt broken. The art style was great, but the FPS elements failed, with weapons locked and unable to shoot despite having ammo, leading to frustration.”
    • “The art style is not enough on its own; the gameplay and level design lack variety and scalability, which makes the visuals feel stale after a while. While the comic-book aesthetic is unique, the overall graphic presentation feels simplistic and repetitive, diminishing its appeal.”
    • “The aesthetics are poorly implemented; the comic book effects like smoke and particles are subpar and spoil what could have been a good visual experience. The attempt to emulate a comic book style ended up ruining the visual quality of the game.”
  • story
    687 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story in Void Bastards is generally regarded as light, simple, and mostly serving as a humorous, satirical backdrop rather than a deeply engaging narrative. Many reviewers found it to be repetitive fetch quests with minimal plot development, a brief and sometimes unsatisfying ending, yet delivered with a unique comic book style and witty British dark humor. While the story complements the gameplay loop and atmosphere effectively, it is not the game's main draw, and players seeking a rich or varied narrative may be disappointed.

    • “Each mission revolves around boarding derelict ships to scavenge for supplies, fend off or outwit enemies, manage oxygen levels, and make tough choices about risk versus reward.”
    • “The onboard AI begins waking up inmates as "clients," one at a time from cryosleep, and sending them on missions—to gather various resources for repairing the ship and obtaining the necessary documents for flight to the destination.”
    • “A delightfully snarky AI narrates your descent into a nebula-warped field of wreckage and danger as you chain enough fetch quests together to eventually warp yourself and the other prisoners aboard a floating jail back to civilization.”
    • “The story mission is so bad; all you do is get materials to make an item repeatedly, and before I knew it, I got the end credits.”
    • “There is absolutely no story; the plot is limited to 'we need you to get these random items for no reason to do a thing we won't explain.'”
    • “The story is nearly non-existent, and the ending was bad to the point where they should have just given you a 'good job!'”
  • humor
    606 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's humor is widely praised for its sharp, dry, and distinctly British tone, blending dark, cynical satire with tongue-in-cheek wit reminiscent of Monty Python, Borderlands, and The Stanley Parable. Its comic-book art style and voice acting enhance the humor, delivering clever, often absurd dialogue and character quirks that bring the dystopian setting to life. While some find the humor repetitive or one-note over long play sessions, most agree it adds a highly entertaining layer that complements the gameplay and atmosphere.

    • “Void Bastards has a quintessentially British sense of humor - dark, dry and snarky - and you'll see it all over the walls of the ships or broadcast through automated PA announcements.”
    • “Incredible atmosphere, the nihilistic dry humor of bureaucracy works incredibly well in contrast with the comic-style smash-and-grab gameplay loop.”
    • “Boot it up on the hardest difficulty and jet along, enjoying the excellent comic book art style and sense of humor, the iterative/clicker-game esque progression on the workbench, and the FTL / System Shock like decision making on the star map and when deciding how to engage enemies on board the ships.”
    • “With its hand-drawn textures, half the time spent opening lockers, and unfunny humor, it reminds me of Borderlands.”
    • “The setting is supposed to be funny, but I just find it very depressing.”
  • music
    167 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's music is widely praised for its fitting, dynamic, and atmospheric qualities, effectively complementing the comic book art style and tense gameplay. Many highlight the soundtrack's unique themes, catchy tunes, and integration with sound effects and voice acting, though some note the limited variety and repetitive loops detract from long-term enjoyment. Overall, the music enhances mood and immersion but could benefit from a larger, more diverse tracklist.

    • “Addictive, hardcore, stressful roguelike FPS in space with great graphics and one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard.”
    • “Unique sounds for each enemy, the eerie music that plays when you're traveling through a worryingly empty ship and wondering why you haven't met one of those terrifying screws (even though you would be better off not doing so), and the intense tunes that kick in when you do encounter something, all of it gets you constantly at the edge of your seat, which is definitely what a good action game should do.”
    • “The soundtrack for this game is rather eccentric, and used effectively to keep a nice tempo during combat, and also act as feedback for the player to figure out if they've been found.”
    • “The combat music is extremely repetitive; what's even worse is that it needs to be on so you can tell if there is combat active, as not all of the sound effects are consistent with what can actually be heard.”
    • “The game could use a longer soundtrack as it is sometimes really repetitive.”
    • “It tries to be a System Shock clone, it's fun but needs some more work on level design. Progression is not interesting, music is lame, guns are not very satisfying to shoot; enemies and the art are great though.”
  • replayability
    162 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Replayability in Void Bastards is mixed; while its randomized elements, procedural maps, and challenge modes add variety and depth, many players find it less replayable than typical roguelikes due to limited ship and enemy variety and a short story. The game offers enjoyable and unique runs, but replay value often diminishes after completing the main story, with some reviewers suggesting it shines more for casual, short-term play or with future content and mod support. Overall, its replayability depends largely on player preference for the gameplay loop and willingness to tackle additional challenges.

    • “A fantastic, beautiful romp through deep space, Void Bastards provides an experience with a rewarding progression system and gives players great replay value due to the sheer amount of things that can go wrong or right.”
    • “The game has a lot of replayability as it is a roguelike and also offers more challenging runs you can do such as unarmed, guns only, indirect weapons only etc.”
    • “Former BioShock devs making not only a new immersive sim FPS but also adding randomly generated levels for infinite replayability... that sounds awesome!”
    • “The game has two subjective flaws: there is not much variety in ships you'd be raiding and there is almost zero replayability after you complete the story once.”
    • “Unfortunately the story is thin and the replay value is quite low.”
    • “The game has next to zero replay value once you complete a run for the first time.”
  • grinding
    116 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Grinding in the game is a divisive aspect: some players find it repetitive, tedious, and a necessary but dull chore, especially as the game progresses and ship layouts become familiar, while others appreciate the constant progression, variety of challenges, and rewarding upgrades that keep the grind engaging. Although the grind can feel monotonous and frustrating at times, particularly on harder difficulties, the game's humor, visuals, and gameplay mechanics help mitigate the repetitiveness for many. Overall, grinding is a core part of the experience that may wear on some players but is appealing to those who enjoy roguelite-style resource gathering and progression.

    • “Unlike many games of the genre, the grind in this game is not tedious or forced. I found that my interest in exploring the more difficult ships and their challenges was greater than gathering materials.”
    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “A bit grindy sometimes.”
    • “The gameplay loop of getting mobbed by potshotters or bullet sponges or both is not entertaining, dying is a bad time, redoing for parts and resources is tedious, all of the ship layouts are the same corridors over and over, you are just hoping you can find sandwiches, fuel, useful junk, and hoping for no random blue mobs.”
    • “After this, the gameplay loop becomes extremely repetitive and it gets frustrating, grinding to find parts and traverse the map; eventually it became too much of a chore and the fun wore off.”
    • “Some levels will turn out amazingly easy (even at the end of the game) while others will be almost physically impossible (even near the beginning of the game) and all of that amounts to a lot of annoying/unfair deaths, restarts, grinding, and repetitive gameplay.”
  • atmosphere
    109 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its unique blend of dark, nihilistic humor and comic-book art style, creating a visually striking and narratively playful experience. Its tense, immersive environments, inspired by classics like System Shock 2 and infused with a quirky, dystopian sci-fi vibe, are enhanced by fitting sound design and soundtrack, making exploration engaging and often creepy yet amusing. While some find the sound design and mechanics occasionally detract, the overall consensus highlights a richly atmospheric world that perfectly complements the game's humor, art, and roguelike gameplay.

    • “Incredible atmosphere, the nihilistic dry humor of bureaucracy works incredibly well in contrast with the comic-style smash-and-grab gameplay loop.”
    • “Every scenario of Void Bastards has a fitting atmosphere and soundtrack to match it that intensifies the whole experience, enhancing the horror feel with the ambience and the rush that comes with the action-packed combat.”
    • “Its gameplay is solid and deep, the combat fun and full of strategy, the atmosphere is fantastically absorbing and the characters and universe it is set in, are interesting, comedic and a treat to experience.”
    • “I think other games have done atmosphere a lot better, and I think this game makes some odd choices with its sound design, but I'd say it nevertheless qualifies as atmospheric.”
    • “Good audio immerses players into the atmosphere of a game, but this game kind of lacks that.”
    • “Was interested by the game footage, seemed fun... it is for a while then just gets boring, same old thing around and around again... would be better with more atmosphere, multiplayer so you can create your own character, kinda needs a bit more work to give it more bang...”
  • optimization
    20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game boasts excellent optimization, delivering stable, smooth performance with minimal load times and virtually no bugs or crashes even on older hardware. Some users note minor issues like required Vsync for AMD GPUs to prevent stuttering, but overall it runs well at high resolutions with impressive technical polish for an indie title.

    • “Basically bug-free in my playthroughs with stable performance and short load times.”
    • “Most of this came from the fresh visual style and apparently great performance optimization - my PC is more than 5 years old, yet the game runs super smooth in 5120x1440 resolution with quality maxed out.”
    • “Performance-wise, I'm actually impressed that an indie release is this stable right off the bat.”
    • “And the performance is bad, even on a 9700k+3080 at 1440p I barely get above 60fps.”
    • “Vsync is pretty much a requirement to have on for AMD GPUs it seems - otherwise there's tearing/stuttering.”
    • “Overall sense that time invested/performance in each run does not translate to rewards or sense of accomplishment.”
  • stability
    14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Stability reports for the game are mixed, with some users experiencing frequent glitches, freezes, and bugs that sometimes require system restarts, while others report very few issues and smooth, stable gameplay even on low-powered machines. Despite occasional technical problems, many players find the game enjoyable and well-optimized overall.

    • “+Almost no glitches or bugs, very stable gameplay.”
    • “Yeah, give it a punt when it's on sale or something, runs great on Linux too.”
    • “Art style is very clean and runs great even on my low powered laptop.”
    • “Each time I have tried to play the game, after anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours, the game completely freezes up. It's the kind of freeze where you can't even use kill command or bring up task manager, so I had to restart my entire computer each time.”
    • “Also, the game is super buggy.”
    • “Besides that, my only other issue is that after several play sessions, I started having glitches.”
  • monetization
    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Users appreciate the absence of microtransactions, ads, and unnecessary DLCs, valuing a straightforward purchase model without intrusive monetization tactics. However, there is disappointment over some misleading advertising and concerns about gameplay design that seems to limit progression incentives. Overall, players recommend the game for those seeking uninterrupted play without aggressive monetization.

    • “Overall, I recommend it if you like to feel constant progress without the constant drumbeat of microtransactions and DLCs.”
    • “There is x/y axis aiming, but there are no ads.”
    • “No ads in a 2019 FPS.”
    • “It's worth calling out, because this is the same attitude that eventually splits one game into one unfinished game and three DLCs, the same attitude that pushes microtransactions and third-party launchers who sell your data and eventually mess up your ability to boot the game.”
    • “I don't want to support that sort of company and I don't want to have annoying ads added to my games once DLC is released.”
    • “Don't even bother with that cash grab garbage.”
  • emotional
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game evokes a mix of clever satisfaction and mild frustration, with moments of humor rather than deep emotional resonance. While players appreciate its wit and challenge, it generally lacks strong emotional investment or heartwarming moments. The overall experience is enjoyable but not particularly impactful on an emotional level.

    • “Even at its most heartbreaking, when I thought I had a golden opportunity to acquire a much-needed resource only to be obliterated by a security bot, it's impossible to get upset at a game this cool.”
    • “Planning which vessels to board and the optimal way to navigate them made me feel like a genius.”
    • “It made me feel appreciated.”
  • character development
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game features vibrant, stylish, and detailed character designs with a unique comic book-inspired art style and strong animations. However, it lacks significant character development and narrative depth compared to similar titles. The visual appeal partially compensates for the limited storytelling.

    • “The game's comic book-inspired art direction is a breath of fresh air, with vibrant colors and stylish character designs that leap off the screen.”
    • “Character design is very cool and I love the detail.”
    • “Phenomenal cel-shaded art, with top-notch animations and character designs too.”
    • “Whatever hopes I had for a story-rich, atmospheric shooter with significant character development, and a diversity of playstyles was quickly dashed.”
    • “However, there is definitely less narrative and character development in this compared to either of those.”
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85%Critics’ scoreBased on 4 critic reviews
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10h Median play time
20h Average play time
8-15h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 41 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Void Bastards is a arcade shooter game with science fiction theme.

Void Bastards is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Mac OS and others.

On average players spend around 20 hours playing Void Bastards.

Void Bastards was released on May 28, 2019.

Void Bastards was developed by Blue Manchu.

Void Bastards has received positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its grinding.

Void Bastards is a single player game.

Similar games include Wild Bastards, EVERSPACE, Prey, CRYPTARK, Witchfire and others.