The Void

I read a review of The Void on Eurogamer. The conclusion was basically that The Void is a brilliant game... it's just practically impossible to make any headway.

I get what they mean.

So basically, The Void is set in a world between life and death. You have died but are *just* clinging onto enough life to have another shot. I say life, I mean Colour - the currency of The Void.

You need colour for pretty much everything - movement, combat, creating more colour- even survival in certain places.

I'm not really explaining this very well...

Okay. So The Void has a massive hub thing - this is the titular void. You can travel around this and visit certain locations where you will find plot bits, friendly colours, enemy sanctuaries and gardens filled with dead trees you can infuse with Colour in order to create an awesome garden thing which will then give you more Colour down the line.

There's a lot more to it than that but that's the basis of it.

The Void is deeply, deeply unfair. You need to spend a lot of Colour to get anything done and even surviving past the first chapter is a massive challenge.

For once, I think this is actually a good thing. The whole atmosphere is based around the idea of one tiny glimmer of hope in the midst of despair and nothingness. A few crucial mistakes will cripple you and you'll find yourself unable to recover. If such a place as The Void exists, this is pretty much exactly what it'll be like.

The graphics are fucking beautiful - especially the contrast between the greys and browns of The Void against the stunning pastells of Colour. The Voice acting is serene and, whilst occasionally dodgy, generally pretty solid. The gameplay is.... interesting. Mostly pretty good, if very unfair, but there are moments of extreme dodginess.

There's nothing else in the world like The Void. It's... in many ways a horrible game that will punish you for making the smallest mistake, but this is part of the charm. It all builds to an oppressive and horrible atmosphere where even the smallest moment of solace and respite is to be treasured. It's basically Goth: The Videogame.

I find it hard to recommend The Void, even though it's unique, artistically briliant and generally pretty damned innovative. It's just so fucking hard... I haven't come anywhere near to completing it and I've just given up in the hope of finding something more fun to play. If you can commit to your games and fancy trying something new I'd really recommend trying it, just be prepared for frustration...