Instead, you face certain death onboard the ships on which you’re gathering supplies. You manage food, fuel, and wandering spaceborne threats like pirates to avoid certain death in the void. The relatively simple task is complicated by inane jobs set by the ship, like the need to laminate an ID card to authorize shipboard control, so it’s off to explore the wrecks of nearby ships (and their mutated crews) to find the requisite supplies.īorrowing elements from the roguelite genre, each prisoner rockets off with the same crafted weapons, armor, and tools left behind by your last unfortunate expired protagonist. When a hazardous nebula turns a transport’s crew feral, a mindless computer rehydrates you to get the ship out of danger. Mirroring the darkest corners of Douglas Adams’ sci-fi vision of outer space overwhelmed by bureaucracy, you play a smattering of mostly minor criminals who have been “dehydrated” into snack-sized bags of powder.

The result is a relatively pure flow of discovery and mastery for many hours, diminished only by an eventual sense of rote. How do I confront and control a space through the use of unusual tools, stealth, and outright assault, and come out the other end better for the exchange? Void Bastards explores that core dynamic with a procedural loop, focusing on opportunities for strategy and improvement, and eschewing characters and story with an almost nihilistic abandon. Strip away the thematic concepts and storytelling, and a game like BioShock focuses on creative problem-solving.

Void bastards trophy guide