There is a lot to keep track of in Void War, the top-down sci-fi RPG roguelite by indie dev Tundra. It takes you into the bowels of a Warhammer 40k-inspired grimdark sci-fi universe, and then it really leans into the theme. I was making meat slaves out of the corpses I had scavenged within just a few minutes…
When it comes to video game influences, Void War is heavily inspired by an old favourite of mine, FTL: Faster Than Light. Having extensive playtime with Subset’s iconic roguelike has equipped me with nearly all of the tools I needed to pick up this new game and start having fun with it almost immediately, despite the high level of complexity it offers.
If you’ve never played FTL before, then you’re going to have a steep learning curve ahead of you in Void War, because there is a dense UI to learn if you’re going to master the real-time-with-pause gameplay. However, much like FTL, once you’ve got over this early game difficulty bump, a rich and involving sci-fi adventure awaits.
In Void War, you’re the captain of an entire ship. You must command your crew, assign them to systems, deal with emergencies as they arise, and do your best to keep everyone alive during fierce ship-to-ship battles. There are loads of systems to understand, and it’ll take a while to really find your feet if you’re new to this sub-genre.
Once you do, though, you’ll find an engaging gameplay loop. The FTL wrapper does a great job of bringing the gothic sci-fi setting to life. Subset’s system once again proves to be borderline faultless, although Void War does add a few flourishes, including some nice visual tweaks.
Exploration and, I guess, the logic that underpins your interaction with the star map is also quite FTL-like, but it also means that you know where you’re going and what to look out for. There are loads of potential challenges to encounter as you move through the galaxy. Like FTL, the star map is a connected web of locations, and you must move from sector to sector, responding to whatever you encounter.
Void War released last year, in June 2025, and since it first launched into the gaping expanse of Steam’s indie ecosystem, the FTL-like has been repeatedly updated by the team at Tundra. In fact, it has been patched to the tune of 20 updates, including the most recent: Space Defense Force.
The SDF update adds a new ship (the Starfoil Type-99X player ship), as well as a new drone crew type, new in-game events – adding to the 50+ that have been added post-launch – and there are even proc-gen changes that should kick out more diverse faction sectors!
The new trailer, viewable below, also highlights the most recent update, Jewel Worlds, which delivered another significant injection of content to Void War back in June, with expanded planetary assault missions as well as the eponymous Jewel Worlds themselves.
Finally, Void War is out now on PC (Win) via Steam, and if you’re not already on board, there’s a discount running at the time of writing.
