This game really couldn’t look more abrasive, but when it’s this fun, who cares?
Move Quick. Think Later
Shooters are usually very deliberate about their HUDs. Designers tirelessly slave over the layout in order to ensure that the game and all of its elements are as clear as possible.
Post Void really couldn’t care less if you know what’s happening at any given time. In fact, it’s banking on you being so hyped up on adrenaline that you just keep moving. Your ammo count is inscrutable and reloads can be the death of you; your health is represented by a glowing head in your left hand which depletes over time and is only refilled with kills, so do you really want to waste time just to check it? Go. GO!
The levels in Post Void are square, almost liminal, cramped spaces with mostly head high ceilings and limited verticality. There is no map, there are 11 levels, and you need to do everything as fast as you can. This is the antithesis of movement shooters and it works perfectly.
What’s Happening? Who Cares? Keep Going!
The story of Post Void is perfect for me in that it’s just simple enough that I can ignore it entirely. You are someone who I’m sure will hereby be known as “Void Dude” or some variation thereof. You are looking to run through the game’s many office-like environments so that you can escape to the wilderness and stop your character’s splitting headache.
The game is either much deeper than I realize or exactly as shallow as I think, but seeing as how this isn’t a video essay, I think the story is great.
Music is another aspect of games that I tend to overlook. This is mostly due to the fact that I typically play with something else on in the background, but Post Void demands so much attention in the most unpretentious way that I was glued to my headphones. The soundtrack is the perfect post-punk counterpart to the hectic feel of everything else, and it’s especially digestible seeing as how it’s comprised of a single song.
Pick Now. Think Later.
With gameplay so hectic you may be asking how that can be sustained for an entire game. Well, in a way, it isn’t. Post Void is only 11 levels long, with each level taking maybe 20 to 30 seconds once you get competent at the game. An entire run will likely only take you around 6 minutes, but they’ll be some terrifying, wonderful minutes.
Whenever you beat a level, you get brought to this momentarily chill screen wherein you have to choose one of three upgrades. Some upgrades, like bigger clips or the compass seem like obvious choices, but some of the upgrades are more situational, so much so that you’ll often be confused as to who would ever want them in the first place. These sorts of upgrades, like ‘faster movement when going backwards’ and ‘+1 second to your lifespan’ seem like subversive jokes on the idea of roguelike upgrades; that is, until you start playing and realize how useful they can be.
Some of the upgrades allow you to change weapon; there are 4: 3 guns and 1 knife. That’s all you get. But at this point it’s probably relevant to bring up the fact that the game is only $6.
Buy It. Play It. Love It.
If you’re worried that this game could give you a headache, then you’re probably right, but you should buy it anyway; you will acclimate, and soon you will find yourself playing it for what feels like 20 minutes only to look out the window and see the sun coming up.
I haven’t been this invested in a roguelike since Vampire Survivors, and, like Vampire Survivors, it costs almost no money, and I will probably be playing it forever.
