Where to get it

2019 · Arcade · First-person shooter

Void Bastards

Timed Xbox exclusive

"Inspired by BioShock and System Shock 2, Void Bastards is a revolutionary new strategy-shooter that will test your wits as well as exercise your aim. Can you lead the misfit prisoners of the Void Ark through the derelict spaceships and myriad dangers of the Sargasso Nebula?"

Released: 2019
Platforms: Nintendo Switch PlayStation 4 Windows Xbox One macOS
Genres: Arcade First-person shooter Science Shooter Strategy
Developers: —
Publishers: Humble Games
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: First person
Themes: Action Science fiction
Country: Australia
Age ratings: USK 12 ESRB M PEGI 16 CLASS_IND 14 GRAC 19+ACB M
Languages: Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Russian, Spanish (Mexico), Spanish (Spain)
Time to beat: 8.5hmain story9hwith extras32hcompletionist

About

Void Bastards is a science-fiction first-person shooter and roguelike video game developed by Blue Manchu and published by Humble Bundle. It was released on May 28, 2019, for Microsoft Windows and Xbox One. Ports of the game for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 were released on May 7, 2020. The game revolves around surviving in the dangerous Sargasso Nebula by boarding and salvaging materials from spaceships. It received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its comic-book art style, dark humor, and gameplay, but criticized its lackluster story and replay value.

›Story

Forget everything you know about first-person shooters: Void Bastards asks you to take charge, not just point your gun and fire. Your task is to lead the rag-tag Void Bastards out of the Sargasso Nebula. You make the decisions: where to go, what to do and who to fight. And then you must carry out that strategy in the face of strange and terrible enemies.

On board derelict spaceships you’ll plan your mission, taking note of the ship layout, what hazards and enemies you might encounter and what terminals and other ship systems you can use to your advantage..

Move carefully through the dangerous ships, searching for supplies and manipulating control systems. React to what you find - will you detour to the generator to bring the power back online or will you fight your way into the security module to disable the ship’s defenses? Choose carefully when to fight, when to run and when just to be a bastard.

Use your hard won supplies to improvise tools and weapons, from the distracting robo-kitty to the horribly unstable clusterflak.

Navigate your tiny escape pod through the vast nebula. Flee from void whales and pirates, and politely avoid the hungry hermits. All the while you must keep scavenging for the food, fuel, and other resources that keep you alive.

Void Bastards features a 12-15 hour campaign that you can complete with an endless supply of prisoners, each with their own unique traits. When one dies, another steps forward to carry on the fight. Don’t worry though, as any crafting progress you’ve made is retained from one to another.

Players say

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The game revolves around a procedurally generated structure, in which the player enters other ships, fights enemies and salvages materials to repair their own ship. If the player dies, they are replaced by another "rehydrated" prisoner, losing all ammunition, fuel, and food, but keeping weapon and gadget upgrades as well as objective progress. The game has been described as an immersive sim.

Story

The main character is one of many rehydrated prisoners aboard a stranded personnel vessel, whose AI must rely on its dangerous cargo to obtain fuel for a final jump to its destination.

Development

Developed by Australian studio Blue Manchu, the game was inspired by System Shock 2 and BioShock.

A spiritual sequel, Wild Bastards, was released in September 2024 for PlayStation 5, Steam, and Xbox Series X and S. It received generally positive reviews from critics.

Reception

Void Bastards received "generally favorable reviews" according to Metacritic. Cosmin Vasile of Softpedia rated the game 8.5/10, calling it an "absolute delight" due to its comic-book aesthetics and "solid", "addictive" gameplay, but also noting it was "repetitive" with a "weak story". Alessandro Barbossa of GameSpot rated the game 8/10, also praising the art style and "ridiculously designed" but "satisfying" weapons. Samuel Roberts of PC Gamer rated it 71/100, calling the game "slightly messy" but praising its "gorgeous" art style and "excellent" weapons.

The game was nominated for "Xbox Game of the Year" at the 2019 Golden Joystick Awards, and for "Excellence in Visual Art" at the Independent Games Festival Awards.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

Platform	Released	Regions
Windows	28 May 2019	Worldwide
macOS	28 May 2019	Worldwide
Xbox One	29 May 2019	Worldwide
Nintendo Switch	7 May 2020	Worldwide · Europe 17 September 2020
PlayStation 4	7 May 2020	Worldwide