Void Knight.
Voidwrought is the latest in a long line of Metroidvania tiles from a slew of indie developers just this year alone. From Gestalt: Steam and Cinder, Nine Sols, to Awaken: Astral Blade, it is becoming increasingly harder to have many of these titles to stand out from one another. However, due to its cartoony art style that certainly is inspired by the likes of Hollow Knight, Voidwrought has a slick aesthetic and fluid gameplay design that is not only the best-looking Metroidvania in recent years, but the best feeling one since Metroid Dread.
Voidwrought captured my attention right from the jump. Its art style and game feel are so superb that even being stuck on a boss for nearly three days and some hundred attempts later, I was always ready to dive back in and give it another go. Voidwrought does a fantastic job at rolling out upgrades when you truly need them, as well as new relics and powers that feel perfect for the situation. And, as you explore each and every pixel across the game's substantial world, you'll encounter secrets that almost make you feel like you've skipped the line and discovered something you feel like you shouldn't have yet.
If I had to lodge one major criticism of the game, it is that the story feels insignificant and absent. To be honest, I can't even recall a single moment where I knew what was going on or even remember a single character's name. I know I was tasked to kill a series of false gods across the remains of the first civilization, but the “why” in that scenario is something I literally have no clue about. It's not that the game doesn't look to engage the player in its narrative, it is that it simply doesn't do so in a way where it made me interested to seek it out. You'll have characters and NPCs to interact with, but none of them have a single line of dialogue or interesting character moments that made me stop and take notice. Similar to another Metroidvania in Awaken: Astral Blade, the story simply disappoints.
Nonetheless, developer Powersnake has crafted an extremely enjoyable Metroidvania with Voidwrought as it excels at the best parts of the genre. Combat is fluid and excellent, with slick mobility and superb level design. Traversing the varied biomes comes with abilities that you’ll discover through exploration and combat challenges. From double jumping, and mantling, to an air dash and several more ways to maneuver around, everything motion-wise feels buttery smooth and precise, allowing for the challenge of the game to come in the form of intense combat challenges, and mastering the patterns and moves of the evil forces hell bent on stopping you.
Voidwrought has you playing as a Simulacrum, which according to Google is: an image or representation of someone or something. Basically, you are a morphable mutation that has taken the image of something that is ready for the task at hand. Your task is to vanquish these bosses and collect Ichor, which ends up being the currency you’ll use to purchase items from a merchant, or lean into your combat arsenal. You’ll also use it to expand your base, excavating dark tunnels to unlock mysterious libraries, passageways, and more.
The world here is a mixture of various cultures and themes. From dark foreboding tunnels to Egyptian-like temples and overgrown gardens, many of which hold vast secrets to uncover, the environments are unforgiving with smart enemy placement, spikes, pits, and other obstacles that will either be traversable in time or require a fine-tuned level of skill and timing to gain access to them. Eventually, you’ll unlock fast travel, but as Ichor is in high demand, you may hold off such short-cuts unless you truly need to move across the map in mere seconds.
Each level introduces new threats, as well as combat challenge rooms that either hide new abilities upon unlocking the nearby door or provide relics that can grant you new powers to equip to your toolkit. These new powers can mean the difference between life and death as some take on the form of lasers that you’ll cast out, decimating everything in your path, to increasing your standard damage to kill things significantly faster.
With over two dozen relics, you’ll find a pair of them to equip that will reflect the challenge at hand, whether it be a difficult boss in the Eternal Engine, or the intense battle chase against the Fermented; having the right tools will greatly help. Assisting with your relics are Souls. Souls are passive enhancements such as gaining more health or having your healing take less time to activate. With over two dozen to track down, having the right three equipped will certainly benefit you greatly and allow for somewhat of a micro-build.
Combat itself has a fair bit of depth, but the only variety you get in your weaponry is through the relics. Your standard slash is your constant companion, with a powered-up slash coming later in the game that aids in not only dealing more damage but unlocking new doors that need that extra oomph in power to bypass. You’ll be able to slash in all directions, but the downward slash allows you to bounce on enemies, giving me extreme Shovel Knight vibes. While Hollow Knight is a clear inspiration, the combat bouncing is a huge part of the game as you can also use it to traverse across spikes and ascend to out-of-reach places with a perfectly timed jump on a situational enemy.
The standard fodder present across the game will rarely provide much challenge on their own, but placing certain combinations together, whether in standard areas or the combat challenge rooms, can certainly show how devastating they can be when paired up with their allies. However, it is the bosses that will certainly stand out. These large and imposing does can be downright cruel, forcing you to master your abilities and be put to the test to come out on top.
Voidwrought’s strong visual style and musical score enhance an already stellar game with a great sense of mobility and combat focus. The exploration of its world is constantly rewarding, with countless relics and souls to track down, always ensuring you find something new for your trouble. With a challenging series of bosses to vanquish, a world to explore, Voidwrought is wonderfully designed, even if its story is unfortunately disappointing.
Developer - Powersnake.
Publisher - Kwalee. Released - October 24th, 2024. Available On - Nintendo Switch, PC. Rated - (E 10+) - Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood. Platform Reviewed - Nintendo Switch. Review Access - A review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
Jeff is the original founder of Analog Stick Gaming. His favorite games include The Witcher III, the Mass Effect Trilogy, Hi-Fi Rush, Stellar Blade, Hellbade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and the Legend of Heroes series, especially Trails of Cold Steel III & IV.