So, it's a rogue-lite System Shock. But you already knew that.

I'm honestly more mixed than I was upon initially starting to play. The first 2-4 hours, I was enamored. It was a perfect amalgam of genres. Something dark, aesthetically (relatively) unique, and combat that felt good and had depth. And replayable. But as I went on, I started to see the cracks.

Let me preface this with a statement: The game is good, it's fun and worthwhile. A tad overpriced. That being said, there is an illusion of depth in Void Bastards due to its similarities to System Shock/Bioshock that leaves me wanting more. The combat feels okay. And you can use things in the environment to kill creatively. Trick a secbot into driving over exposed wires to effectively stun it. Throw a motion detector bomb next to a turret and fire a shot from your pistol to lure a larger enemy destroying both at the same time. Use the Riveter to teleport a Screw into a buzz lock and launch it into space. Those are fun and all, problem is, you can use those tactics on any almost any enemy. The game never really forces you to use creative tactics. Aside from low amounts of ammo early on. Additionally, character traits are randomized every death. And aside from the things crafted that persist through each death, there is no inherent progression for one character. Gene twisters and gene therapy ships can be used to alter character traits but those feel a bit like tonics in Bioshock. Not an actual progression. The main reason I bring this up is hacking or “Authorization”... as it's called in Void Bastards. Wherein System Shock you had to spec into hacking to make it easier, get it done faster and in Bioshock where you had to apply tonics or even use plasmids to manipulate things. Void Bastards reduces any hacking attempt into a simple transaction of merits (in-game currency) to “authorize” you to open a container, subvert a turret or reset a kiosk/vending machine. It's a fine mechanic here but as a subsequent effect of its influences and overall style. It detracts from what could have been really great.

The ship variety is not exemplary. Different loot will be in different containers and ships all have variables on top of their “type”. For example Xon ships always have a medical theater for ostensibly free healthcare. Lux ships have suites and dining halls that typically have a ton of loot. In the lower depths, ships with Buzz locks allow you blast enemies into space. — Thing is, the actual ships all have the same bits and bobs. With the exception that some lower depths ships don't have a helm. Every time I entered a ship, my first plan was to (unless the power was out) go to the helm, download loot the locations to my map and maybe “authorize” enemy locations. I largely only found that useful when Screws were the only thing on board. (I'll get back to enemy types later.) Then proceed to loot as much as possible and bring it back to the S.T.E.V. before I either got killed or needlessly waste a ton of ammo. Maybe stop by the engine room if I was low on fuel. The ships are NOT procedurally generated. They are specific ship layouts. However, the loot locations, type of loot (to a degree), enemies, and specific “instances” will change. Instances in this context meaning variables such as having a lot of oil spills, being dark, “infighting” - enemies on board have half health among other variables. It's my understanding the static ship designs were made that way for the purposes of learning the layout and then better strategizing. But, after a while I found it rather banal.

Enemy Types. — Now, there are different types of enemies (called “Citizens”) and tougher versions of them in lower depths. Though, the differences between many of them are largely exaggerated. First off, they are all made of alien space goo and explode when they die. Though, only the tourist explosions cause damage. In lower depths they “become” Glowtrotters which also explode except they also leave some radioactive goo behind. These enemies are largely innocuous because unless you do damage or come too close, they will leave you completely alone. — I mentioned that the game never forces you to kill creatively. Largely because Spooks, Janitors, Scribes, Patients can just be shot. The Zapper stuns everything. Organic and mechanical alike. Comparing to Bioshock (as I'm sure more people in this contemporary age are more familiar with it, to include myself over System Shock) Spooks are sort of the Houdini Splicers, Screws are effectively Big Daddies. You can extrapolate from there.

The purpose of the game, or rather the way to progress is to build specific items by scavenging derelict ships, and then escape the Nebula. Which can be a relatively grind-y affair. Upon doing this once, all there is left are achievements. There are 2 difficulties higher than normal for you to try and restrictions are also unlocked after your first playthrough. Things like indirect weapons only or only devices. There are also “No Death” achievements to boot. Akin to Bioshock.

There are also Pirates and Void Whales to contend with on the grid when selecting which ship to scavenge next. If you don't have a torpedo or find an EMP bomb. It's very likely they'll kill you. They are egregiously hard to kill.

I actually think (aside from it being from the first perspective and some of the mechanics) that I'd liken Void Bastards much closer to Heat Signature or Cryptark rather than the way System Shock or Bioshock are structured.

THE GIST:
A relatively unique game especially in regards to its visuals but I can't shake the feeling that something is missing. It's enjoyable. But, I don't see this becoming one of those rogue-lite/likes that people play for thousands of hours. There just isn't that much variety. And little to no reason to replay through an additional campaign besides challenging yourself. Hopefully there will be an expansion of some variety because I'd hate to see this game fall to the wayside. The core of this game is really good. I just want more out of it.

More here — Station Argus

Post script: I could not stop thinking about Space Ghost: Coast to Coast while playing this.

[i]So, it's a rogue-lite System Shock. But you already knew that.[/i] I'm honestly more mixed than I was upon initially starting to play. The first 2-4 hours, I was enamored. It was a perfect amalgam of genres. Something dark, aesthetically (relatively) unique, and combat that felt good and had depth. And replayable. But as I went on, I started to see the cracks. Let me preface this with a statement: [b]The game is good, it's fun and worthwhile. A tad overpriced. That being said, there is an illusion of depth in Void Bastards due to its similarities to System Shock/Bioshock that leaves me wanting more.[/b] The combat feels okay. And you can use things in the environment to kill creatively. Trick a secbot into driving over exposed wires to effectively stun it. Throw a motion detector bomb next to a turret and fire a shot from your pistol to lure a larger enemy destroying both at the same time. Use the Riveter to teleport a Screw into a buzz lock and launch it into space. Those are fun and all, problem is, you can use those tactics on any almost any enemy. The game never really forces you to use creative tactics. Aside from low amounts of ammo early on. Additionally, [b]character traits[/b] are randomized every death. And aside from the things crafted that persist through each death, there is no inherent progression for one character. Gene twisters and gene therapy ships can be used to alter character traits but those feel a bit like tonics in Bioshock. Not an actual progression. The main reason I bring this up is hacking or “Authorization”... as it's called in Void Bastards. Wherein System Shock you had to spec into hacking to make it easier, get it done faster and in Bioshock where you had to apply tonics or even use plasmids to manipulate things. Void Bastards reduces any hacking attempt into a simple transaction of merits (in-game currency) to “authorize” you to open a container, subvert a turret or reset a kiosk/vending machine. It's a fine mechanic here but as a subsequent effect of its influences and overall style. It detracts from what could have been really great. The [b]ship variety[/b] is not exemplary. Different loot will be in different containers and ships all have variables on top of their “type”. For example Xon ships always have a medical theater for ostensibly free healthcare. Lux ships have suites and dining halls that typically have a ton of loot. In the lower depths, ships with Buzz locks allow you blast enemies into space. — Thing is, the actual ships all have the same bits and bobs. With the exception that some lower depths ships don't have a helm. Every time I entered a ship, my first plan was to (unless the power was out) go to the helm, download loot the locations to my map and maybe “authorize” enemy locations. I largely only found that useful when Screws were the only thing on board. (I'll get back to enemy types later.) Then proceed to loot as much as possible and bring it back to the S.T.E.V. before I either got killed or needlessly waste a ton of ammo. Maybe stop by the engine room if I was low on fuel. The ships are [b]NOT[/b] procedurally generated. They are specific ship layouts. However, the loot locations, type of loot (to a degree), enemies, and specific “instances” will change. Instances in this context meaning variables such as having a lot of oil spills, being dark, “infighting” - enemies on board have half health among other variables. It's my understanding the static ship designs were made that way for the purposes of learning the layout and then better strategizing. But, after a while I found it rather banal. [b]Enemy Types.[/b] — Now, there are different types of enemies (called “Citizens”) and tougher versions of them in lower depths. Though, the differences between many of them are largely exaggerated. First off, they are all made of alien space goo and explode when they die. Though, only the tourist explosions cause damage. In lower depths they “become” Glowtrotters which also explode except they also leave some radioactive goo behind. These enemies are largely innocuous because unless you do damage or come too close, they will leave you completely alone. — I mentioned that the game never forces you to kill creatively. Largely because Spooks, Janitors, Scribes, Patients can just be shot. The Zapper stuns everything. Organic and mechanical alike. Comparing to Bioshock (as I'm sure more people in this contemporary age are more familiar with it, to include myself over System Shock) Spooks are sort of the Houdini Splicers, Screws are effectively Big Daddies. You can extrapolate from there. The purpose of the game, or rather the way to progress is to build specific items by scavenging derelict ships, and then escape the Nebula. Which can be a relatively grind-y affair. Upon doing this once, all there is left are achievements. There are 2 difficulties higher than normal for you to try and restrictions are also unlocked after your first playthrough. Things like indirect weapons only or only devices. There are also “No Death” achievements to boot. Akin to Bioshock. There are also Pirates and Void Whales to contend with on the grid when selecting which ship to scavenge next. If you don't have a torpedo or find an EMP bomb. It's very likely they'll kill you. They are egregiously hard to kill. I actually think (aside from it being from the first perspective and some of the mechanics) that I'd liken Void Bastards much closer to Heat Signature or Cryptark rather than the way System Shock or Bioshock are structured. [b][i]THE GIST: A relatively unique game especially in regards to its visuals but I can't shake the feeling that something is missing. It's enjoyable. But, I don't see this becoming one of those rogue-lite/likes that people play for thousands of hours. There just isn't that much variety. And little to no reason to replay through an additional campaign besides challenging yourself. Hopefully there will be an expansion of some variety because I'd hate to see this game fall to the wayside. The core of this game is really good. I just want more out of it.[/i][/b] [quote]More here — [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/28295405/]Station Argus[/url][/quote] Post script: I could not stop thinking about [b][i]Space Ghost: Coast to Coast[/i][/b] while playing this.