''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

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and

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. Ports of the game for

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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

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. Cosmin Vasile of

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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