I do love a well-constructed indie game, and I don’t at all mind it when visual flair is put to one side in favour of creating well-polished mechanics and nuanced gameplay ideas. Void Sols, which is being developed by Finite Reflection Studios and now published by Modern Wolf, is a game that walks this minimalist path.
Despite it sitting a little outside of my wheelhouse (this is the first souls-like I’ve covered on the site), I was immediately drawn to it. I’ve always loved Geometry Wars and I recently played a spin-off called Geometry Survivor, and Void Sol’s simple triangular avatar didn’t put me off one little bit. Quite the opposite, in fact.
What is Void Sols all about?
Despite the fact that you’re just a triangle, there’s plenty of personality in Void Sols. For example, the demo starts off strong, and through some simple storytelling we’re grounded in our current location – a grimy jail full of things that are out to kill you. Right off the bat, you feel in peril thanks to some simple yet effective storytelling.
Our escape begins by a fire, which acts as our anchor in this world; a well worn feature that every souls-like aficionado will instantly recognise and understand. We can rest and heal at this fire (and at others found around the place) but doing so resets the level, and any previously vanquished enemies return to their patrols.
The aim of the game is to escape, but also to level up and equip your angular avatar with better gear. You must explore as you grow more powerful and as you hone your skills, becoming proficient in combat. As you would expect from a game in this niche, said combat is nails.
Void Sols gives you a selection of rudimentary weapons to play with. I pretty much stuck with the sword as my main, and then the throwing daggers in the secondary slot. I tried the shield but couldn’t get the timing right. Instead, I used the geography of the map, charged attacks, and lots of dashing to defeat my enemies.
These enemies included a big scary boss, the Warden, who had two cleavers that he used to chop me down to size. It was during these battles that my only gripe with the game was somewhat magnified; at times incoming attacks seem to ignore walls, and I would take damage when I thought I was safe from harm. I got over it, though.
A souls-like for everyone?
I must admit, I’m not an avid souls-like player, and my experience with the genre isn’t extensive. I’ve not played too many beyond a selection of FromSoftware RPGs (shameless name drop time: I did once have the pleasure of discussing roguelike game design with Hidetaka Miyazaki during the promo tour for Bloodborne). However, in this instance it really didn’t matter because Void Sols goes to considerable effort to make itself accessible to everyone.
My first attempts didn’t end brilliantly. However, once directed to the game’s robust selection of difficulty modifiers, I was able to tweak the experience and give myself a challenge that better suited to my tastes (and slowing reaction times).
There a presets that make the game more forgiving, or you can use sliders to adjust damage given and received. That’s the top line, but there are many more subtle features that you can tweak to make the game more accessible, including screen shake, button toggles, and even your triangle’s stamina.
An indie souls-like to fill the void
At the end of the day, I have been pleasantly surprised by Void Sols and the new playable demo is well worth checking out, I don’t mind saying. Not only is it free to download, but it’s brimming with content and customisation options.
There are a bunch of items to pick up and play around with, and I got the impression that there are loads of secrets tucked away in this gloomy prison. I found several hidden areas and shortcuts, so it pays to keep a close eye on your surroundings. There’s also a surprising amount of nuance to the combat, and I really enjoyed the first time I was able to swipe an incoming projectile out of the air.
The demo includes the first chapter of the game, but there’s also a remixed Supermax Prison for you to escape. For this second map, the whole game has been shuffled around, and we’re also introduced to the game’s hot and cold mechanics. There’s also a remix of the boss battle; your second encounter with the Warden is a much more intimate affair, although I’ll not say another word for fear of spoilers.
There are also several challenge modes, which overall makes for a generous and well-rounded introduction to a game that I think has tremendous potential. Void Sols manages to create tension and atmosphere despite keeping so many things simple, and I think a lot of people are going to find themselves in the same position as me: pleasantly surprised and looking forward to more.
Check out new Steam page for Void Sols to download the demo and do the whole wishlisting thing!
