Many expect a roguelite adventure just like the last one they played. This is often the case. But every once in a while we receive a bit of a gem. It differs enough from the others that it stands out. With psychedelic colors and an array of skills, we are graced with Voidigo, developed by semiwork.
The game is in Early Access and can be found on Steam.
Voidigo Gameplay
Out of the gate, I was pretty amazed by the general gameplay of Voidigo. Controls were almost exactly what they were for Outpost Delta. Even after learning the controls, I wasn’t sure how long I’d last. This is one thing I can appreciate about the tutorial. Before ever going out into ‘the universe’ players have to defeat a ‘tutorial boss.’
Most games give a brief tutorial right before throwing someone into the game. With the intro level to Voidigo, I felt like I had a real chance against enemies in other locations. And it helped a great deal. When I encountered my first few enemies, I remembered what I had learned. Some enemies in this roguelite could block my bullets. The only solution to this enemy was to bounce off their head. After knocking them unconscious, it is the one opportunity to ensure they stay down.
The bosses in Voidigo were comparatively difficult. While the minions were easy to handle, each boss battle was unique. My first ‘boss’ opponent, The Matriarch, possessed the ability to burrow. Like the other bosses, when The Matriarch attacked, a line in a specific shape would flash between white, yellow, and red just beforehand. I began to hate the burrowing ability of the enemy. Yeah, it’s cool, but it sucks the fun out when you readying up for an attack.
Boss battles were made much easier after acquiring power-ups. Arachnid’s Haste, as one was called, increased the main protagonist’s speed. It also gave the character two gnarly spider legs. There was also a Coffee power-up, which laid hot puddles of coffee for enemies to step on. And, if you’re lucky, you can get an upgrade for ‘fire buttons.’ This summoned rings of fire that would burn any enemies within.
Voidigo’s Arsenal of Weapons
There are enough weapons in Voidigo to keep players entertained. From different iterations of a revolver to laser beams, there’s a weapon for everyone. Some projectile weapons include the Pork Machinegun, the Cremator, and the Maelstrom. The machinegun, with a muzzle shaped like a pig’s nose, had an amazing fire rate. The Cremator was a rifle that repeatedly shot fireballs. In addition, it would also affect enemies with the ‘burn’ status effect. I’m more glad the burn didn’t also affect me when I made physical contact. But out of the three, I’d prefer the Maelstrom. After the bubbles shoot out, they will then pop when they hit the enemy. In this state, water drips down and damages the enemies sitting under it.
Melee is also thrown into the mix to give players an extra challenge. Depending on the weapon, one might just be able to hit an enemy’s projectile with a swing. Better melee sets have a shield and melee weapon. While they were strong, I didn’t feel comfortable having to get close to enemies to hit them. The problem with melee weapons is they will deteriorate. Repair them to keep them from disintegrating. What refills ammo for ranged weapons will ‘repair’ whatever close combat item you choose. I just couldn’t seem to do well with the weapons. I honestly think it would do better without such sluggish physical weapons. Who wants to be hit twice before making a single sword swing?
Along with all of this, Voidigo gives you the option to recycle their weapons. In this roguelite, that could go one of two ways. One of the times I recycled, I successfully replaced a starter weapon with a laser beam. Further on, during the second playthrough, I was lucky if the recycler ever spat out a weapon. The machine will recycle whichever weapon you currently have equipped. So take care not to have your favorite gun out when you press x.
Replayability
I’ve played other roguelites before. And while they were fun, they lost my interest after about an hour. Whenever you complete a round in this roguelite, you go to ‘the Camp’, an interdimensional pit stop. You can then choose a difficulty before jumping into the wormhole. Before deciding, you can even see how many times you’ve completed certain modes which was a nice touch. These are indicated as ‘wins.’ You can also see your deaths and number of runs when loading the game.
The map was great too. It wasn’t hard to understand, and I didn’t feel the need to search the web for additional instructions. Admittedly,
Additionally, there are a couple of difficulty settings. For anyone just wanting to enjoy things, there is a calm mode. It allows people to enjoy the exploration aspect. Moderate is for anyone new to the genre who wants a slight challenge. Balance is the one I went with since I’m familiar with the genre but far from an expert player. I’m easily prone to frustration, and if you share that trait with me, avoid anything but Balanced or the difficulties under.
If you’re a glutton for punishment there are harder difficulties. Adding to replayability, players can access the Brutal difficulty after completing Voidigo once on intense mode. It’s cool, but I’m not one for increasing the difficulty I want to enjoy.
Summary
All things considered, I had a genuinely pleasant experience with this roguelite. There’s a fair amount of difficulty, whether someone wants the game easier or much harder. I loved the splash of color the game came with. It helped with keeping me interested. What I loved most of all, though, was how unpredictable weapons drops were. With no guarantee of better weapons, each time a player ventures out may not end the same.
The game is still in Early Access stages. And it was apparent that the game was over much too quickly. For that reason, you might want to keep that $17.99 in your wallet for now.
