''Void Bastards'' is a
science-fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, sp ...
first-person shooter
A first-person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre, video game centered on gun fighting and other weapon-based combat seen from a First person (video games), first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action directly through t ...
and
roguelike
Roguelike (or rogue-like) is a style of role-playing game traditionally characterized by a dungeon crawl through procedurally generated levels, turn-based gameplay, grid-based movement, and permanent death of the player character. Most ro ...
video game
A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
developed by Blue Manchu and published by
Humble Bundle. It was released on May 28, 2019, for
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
and
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...
. Ports of the game for
Nintendo Switch
The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...
and
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...
were released on May 7, 2020. The game revolves around surviving in the dangerous Sargasso Nebula by boarding and salvaging materials from spaceships.
It received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its comic-book art style,
dark humor, and gameplay, but criticized its lackluster story and replay value.
Plot
The main character is one of many rehydrated prisoners aboard a stranded personnel vessel, whose AI must rely on its dangerous cargo to obtain fuel for a final jump to its destination.
Gameplay
The game revolves around a procedurally generated structure, in which the player enters other ships, fights enemies and salvages materials to repair their own ship. If the player dies, they are replaced by another "rehydrated" prisoner.
When a prisoner dies, the player loses all ammunition, fuel and food, but keeps weapon and gadget upgrades as well as objective progress.
The game has been described as an
immersive sim.
Development
Developed by Australian studio Blue Manchu, the game was inspired by ''
System Shock 2'' and ''
BioShock''.
Legacy
A spiritual sequel, ''
Wild Bastards'', was released in September 2024 for
PlayStation 5
The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North ...
,
Steam
Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...
, and
Xbox Series X and S.
Reception
''Void Bastards'' received "generally favorable reviews" according to
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
.
Cosmin Vasile of
Softpedia
Softpedia is a software and tech news website based in Romania. It indexes, reviews and hosts downloadable software and reports news on technology and science topics. It is ranked as among of the top download portals on the internet.
History
So ...
rated the game 8.5/10, calling it an "absolute delight" due to its comic-book aesthetics and "solid", "addictive" gameplay, but also called it "repetitive" with a "weak story".
Alessandro Barbossa of
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
rated the game 8/10, also praising the art style and "ridiculously designed" but "satisfying" weapons.
Samuel Roberts of ''
PC Gamer
''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...
'' rated it 71/100, calling the game "slightly messy" but praising its "gorgeous" art style and "excellent" weapons.
Accolades
The game was nominated for "Xbox Game of the Year" at the
2019 Golden Joystick Awards, and for "Excellence in Visual Art" at the
Independent Games Festival Awards.
References
{{Reflist
2019 video games
Blue Manchu games
First-person shooters
Humble Games games
Immersive sims
Indie games
Nintendo Switch games
PlayStation 4 games
Roguelike video games
Science fiction video games
Single-player video games
Video games developed in Australia
Video games using procedural generation
Windows games
Xbox Cloud Gaming games
Xbox One games