After Saros and Luna Abyss, VOID/BREAKER completes a bullet-hell shooter trifecta. Borrowing the former’s rogue-lite approach and obscene projectile usage – to the point of detriment, but we’ll get to that – and the latter’s first-person perspective and focus on traversal skills, it’s theoretically a neat intersection. In practice, imagine the three-headed dragon with two goofies instead of one, even if this looks sleeker than Luna Abyss.
Story-wise, there isn’t too much to unpack. You’re a test subject, 1473, inside of a simulation run by a hostile AI named Idris. But you’re not the first, just the latest on the chopping block for iterations. To what end is initially unknown, but another iteration who survived travels with you in each run, looking for vulnerabilities in the system to engineer some kind of escape.
Of course, that’s only the first half of the story and the roguelite structure. After crossing that threshold (via an intriguing twist), you’re on a quest to confront Idris and defeat it, once and for all.
“Each weapon has a different grid to slot modules into, whether it’s different ammo types or straight-up damage increases. Some modules significantly change the behavior of certain weapons, often boosting weapon damage and fire rate while reducing bullet velocity.”
While the plot isn’t the most original, whether from a “dangers of AI” or robot apocalypse perspective, the voice acting is solid. I also didn’t mind the lore, as it delved into the weird-looking structures cropping up throughout the world, the machines’ origins, and ordinary people’s accounts. I wish there were more over subsequent runs, because these emails start repeating before long.
Stop me if this gameplay loop sounds familiar: Enter a location with enemies, clear them out, obtain an upgrade, and proceed, sometimes choosing a path with differing rewards. If that sounds like every rogue-lite ever made, well, that won’t change anytime soon. What matters is what a game does with it, and VOID/BREAKER isn’t too shabby.
After selecting a weapon (others unlock by collecting Decoders), you learn to do more than just dash, slide, grind rails and eventually, grapple and wall run. A tether allows for grabbing and throwing objects, whether it’s explosives, a car door or an office chair. Bonk an enemy enough, and they’ll become staggered – kill them in this state, and they’ll drop ammo and health.
This initially lends a more methodical feel to combat, especially when you need to recover, but that’s not all. Buildings and other structures can be destroyed, which can fall on enemies and stagger them. It also affects your footing and overall protection – a building teeming with objects to throw at any pursuers is quickly shredded, exposing you to oncoming projectiles.
Then there’s the Inventory system. Each weapon has a different grid to slot modules into, whether it’s different ammo types or straight-up damage increases. Some modules significantly change the behavior of certain weapons, often boosting weapon damage and fire rate while reducing bullet velocity. Others will make projectiles rain from the sky, or debris from destroyed structures deal more damage, or thrown objects inflict electricity and other status effects. But what makes it intriguing is that several of the slots are locked and require separate items to open.
“Elites start appearing more, though you’ll face other enemy types with more stamina. Where you tactfully launched an explosive before, it’s now about spamming grenades and objects to break them before they gang up on you.”
You also have Repeaters, which effectively stack a module, unlocking new effects, though some require disabling two slots in the process. Coupled with Corrupted and Legendary modules that offer even more options, not to mention gun-exclusive modules, it’s some pretty impressive customisation with enough freedom to tailor every aspect. Of course, the shooting itself feels nice, and as long as you’re on relatively even surfaces, the movement feels responsive enough. For a time, this combination of staggering enemies and slaying them to refill special ammo, whether it’s ice bullets or rockets in a spread, lends to a pretty enjoyable gameplay loop.
Unfortunately, the problems begin in Act 4 onwards, starting with stability and optimisation. Factoring in all the projectiles, destruction, enemies, explosions, and more, VOID/BREAKER starts to chug before crashing. In places where it doesn’t, my GPU went into overdrive, almost begging to be adopted by a data centre, and this is after lowering several settings. The first half of the game was fairly smooth sailing with DLAA, 120 FPS, High settings, and more, but alas, the second half needs more work.
Then there’s the environmental design. Area 4 favors far more verticality and fast-paced traversal, and even if it takes some practice, it’s not difficult to wall-run or grapple while holding an explosive canister and unleashing it on a random enemy. Unless it doesn’t explode and simply bounces off their head, but that’s a different issue. My question is: Why does wall-running immediately break glass? That negates a majority of the possible parkour routes and makes me want to stick to the ground with the odd grapple rather than be adventurous.
Area 5 is annoying because of the narrower environments and structural design, which makes it easy to get caught. Enemies that freeze and EMP at the drop of a hat don’t help either. If you’ve ever played Destiny 2 post-Beyond Light and hated how Stasis required mashing the “break free” button, then welcome home. Area 6 is better than both, returning to cleaner structures, though the destructibility makes things feel too haphazard – a problem that becomes more pronounced when sorting through rubble to kill tougher targets after they’ve been staggered.
And this is where the gameplay gets shaky. Elites start appearing more, though you’ll face other enemy types with more stamina. Where you tactfully launched an explosive before, it’s now about spamming grenades and objects to break them before they gang up on you. Except the Rangers, who are somehow prescient and can sometimes shoot in locations you will be.
“VOID/BREAKER isn’t a complete write-off – there’s certainly enough to like – but it needs serious attention to reach its full potential.”
It’s a shame because as much as I like creating an SMG that fires explosive projectiles with orbiting auras that deal damage while also igniting, electrocuting and freezing, the performance takes a dive, and it feels like the only real way to deal with these clumps of enemies. At least the bosses are more palatable, though the final fight can occasionally frustrate as it really exposes how limited a first-person perspective can be in a bullet-hell game. Don’t even get me started on the bugs, including one that softlocks you after you take a shortcut in Area 4, preventing you from progressing and requiring a forfeit. Or self-destruction, provided you can reload enough times to get laser traps that will kill you.
VOID/BREAKER as a whole feels like a well-oiled machine at some points, and a questionable assemblage of components that threaten to (and often do) break at others. There is a lot to appreciate, whether it’s those random rooms with different scenarios (including one that Doctor Who fans will instantly recognise) or watching an entire building collapse on top of enemies.
Even the endgame isn’t too shabby, though it only exposes the many problems of its gameplay and optimisation. I also wasn’t too impressed with the first “Exotic” weapon you can purchase – the Revolver – and the prospect of unlocking the Flamethrower feels further and further away, given how the modifiers are balanced. Whatever you do, don’t enable increased Elite spawns and Hard mode. You’ll have a horrific time, especially if the module RNG isn’t in your favor.
At this point, if you want a top-tier rogue-lite, especially in first-person, on PC, you might want to wait for more patches and improvements (and maybe some more room variety) before taking the plunge. VOID/BREAKER isn’t a complete write-off – there’s certainly enough to like – but it needs serious attention to reach its full potential.
This game was reviewed on PC.
