It seems that nowadays, placing the solo developer tag on a video game has a placebo effect of making it seem more impressive. Without a dedicated team, solo developers will, of course, meet hurdles much harder to jump across by themselves. Granted, there has been a small number of single developer projects that have shone on the marketplace in past years, but sadly, VOIN cannot take a place on that level of praise.
Dodge and Weave
We play as a faceless knight, an arguably cool-looking dude wielding a sword that can be swung with the strength of a gorilla, all the while jumping around the game world like a grasshopper. Plunged into a cavern full of ghouls that want to tear us a new one, we are introduced to the combat of VOIN. What does any regular hack-and-slash require us to do? Let the sword taste first blood by severing the limbs from our brain-dead foes, dodging split-second attacks to counter each blow missed upon our protagonist. Limbs and legs can go flying with satisfying blood splatter filling the air and a final blow producing a slow motion, theatrical finish. It’s nothing short of remarkable and is only improved by the game’s skill mechanics, allowing the player to approach various situations in different ways to gain the best outcome. Turning the sword into a spinning blade of death can take out crowds of enemies at once, effective at also chipping away large health bars of the game’s boss fights. The combat is fast-paced and brutal, allowing short bursts of adrenaline to seep into the player’s veins, yearning for more.
But what more can you gain when you fight some of the same enemies over and over again? The majority of VOIN‘s evil-doers adapt to the same method of combat: run at the player in a frenzy with no survival instinct, only to get mowed down with ease. Killed enough regular zombies? How about a zombie with spiky arms? Gave the latter enough of a taste of their own medicine? Here’s a zombie that spits yellow goo! Tired of fighting those dribbling maniacs? Here’s a stronger zombie that shoulder charges you! VOIN’s enemies are consistent in basic attacks that are easy to avoid, perhaps untrue when fighting larger crowds, but nonetheless, attack patterns feel very malnourished of unique movesets. Enemies viewed from further afield have the tendency to move in a stop-motion-like aspect, which doesn’t really add much to the experience except appearing to move in 5 frames per second. This option can be turned off in the settings to allow distant enemy animations to look smoother.
Light That Shines on the Blood
One thing I have to admire about VOIN is the scenery. On the horizon, the world looks absolutely stunning and accurately portrays a decrepit world that is as horrifying as it is beautiful. Its dark fantasy setting is complemented by giant, medieval-looking castles that tower above the sky. Beautiful sunsets can be viewed resting above clifftops, granting some sort of tranquility within the harsh environments that surround the player. Many places can be reached with the use of a super dash that makes traversal an absolute breeze. Even in sticky situations where death is imminent, players could sheathe their weapons and physically pounce away from combat encounters for a desperate escape. Players can only be attacked so many times before death, so mastering the dodge mechanic and killing enemies quickly is imperative for success.
Back and Back Again
VOIN’s hack-and-slash gameplay also comes with some rogue-lite elements. Players can gain Ichor, the game’s currency, by slaying enemies, and it is used to level up and become stronger with each run. Equipment can be upgraded to do more damage or allow passive effects to last longer, like poison or fire damage. Players will enter each world and find weapons and items that are in a corrupted state that can be lost upon death. These can be looted from dead enemies or found within the world inside hidden chests or small crypt-like areas with tombs that can be opened, revealing the goodies inside. Players must decide on whether to press on and push their luck or return back to the hub world to cleanse their equipment of corruption, granting them permanent access.
An Open-Ish World
It can sometimes be confusing on how free the player really is in VOIN. The game advertises itself as one where we are untethered, alike the wind and able to soar above the hardest to reach places. However, the world’s boundaries are practically invisible, and many places where we think we can go to are actually unreachable. Our protagonist will literally be leashed back into the fray like a dog trying to escape its owner. Thus, these open-ended sections aren’t nearly as big as perceived, and the player can only do so much exploration. Granted, the game’s early access stage might be the obvious cause of this, but only time will tell when the full release arrives and players can jump back into the world.
Final Review
There are so many impressive looking games out there that it’s difficult to be wowed anymore by beautiful castles, rock formations and chunky combat. VOIN definitely hits the mark in places where a solo developer can be applauded, and I’m curious to see where the game goes in the future. Alas, there’s nothing truly unique about VOIN that reels me back into a repeat playthrough at this stage, but I wish the best of luck to the developer and hope that any upcoming progress truly brings a welcome reception to a project that has obviously had a lot of time spent upon it.
Developer: Nikita Sozidar
Publisher: tinyBuild
Platform: PC
Release Date: 10th December 2024
Gaming Respawn’s copy of VOIN was provided by the publisher.
