Apr 12

Apr 12 Review | Post Void - Pain, Suffering, And Fun

Post Void is a weird game. It's one of those titles that feels like the complete antithesis of what we expect from video games as a medium. Instead of feeling like time is flying by while you play, Post Void feels like a game where you sit down and after only 15 minutes it feels like you’ve been sat, staring at the screen for well over two hours.

That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Any piece of art that is so engaging that it warps your perception of time should be commended for being so transfixing. It is more interesting than anything else because I think that's the game’s intention. Post Void is truly an assault on the senses. From the moment you click start you’re thrown straight into the action. Lovecraftian-style creatures draped in some dapper-looking attire greet you around every blind corner with their loaded revolvers. As you progress through each stage the enemies will get even more aggressive and plentiful. The art style isn’t too dissimilar to previous Y/CJ/Y projects such as Sea Salt, a horror strategy game, which adopts some of the Lovecraftian art styles and character design you’ll see in this game. Post Void’s world feels like it was hand-drawn in the devil's etch-a-sketch with a touch of rotoscope animation. The frame-by-frame animations of the game’s sprites make moving through the game feel like an original Doom mod pushed to its limits and infected with some otherworldly malware.

I had to tackle playing Post Void in chunks because honestly, the game can be draining at times. This is the point I wanted to mostly focus on though because usually I associate the levels of discomfort and stress Post Void causes me with bad gaming experiences. This is a very personal feeling, but when I’m playing a game it's usually because I’m looking to sit back and enjoy a gameplay loop rather than feel like I’m sprinting through a minefield. However, in Post Void’s case, I loved the intensity.

It demands you play it on its own terms, encapsulated by the fact that you’ll die unless you murder the next monstrosity quickly enough. I would regularly sit down for a run and ten minutes later I’d need to take off the headset for a while and stand up or drink some water before diving back into Post Void’s world of chaos. It’s overwhelming at first, to say the least, and for many, and I can imagine not everyone will be able to make the readjustment Post Void demands. However, if it clicks with you, it’ll have you attempting multiple runs for hours on end.

The game’s intensity isn’t a product of Post Void’s gameplay alone. Its soundtrack accompanies the fast-paced mayhem with an almost entrancing, if discordant, musical loop. As someone who loves a good video game soundtrack, I found that Post Void is an odd case study, as I could never imagine myself listening to its anxiety-inducing synth on its own. Instead, the gameplay and music of Post Void have formed some sort of unholy symbiosis that requires both of them to be experienced in unison to enjoy them fully. Post Void’s gameplay demands a uniquely intense soundtrack to accompany it and it certainly doesn’t disappoint. It simultaneously evokes the fun aesthetic of the 80s arcade game while also overwhelming the player with its intensity to really drive home Post Void’s core gameplay.

I was really intrigued by the premise of Post Void coming to consoles, whenever I saw trailers for it, I couldn’t imagine it as anything other than a mouse and keyboard, twitch shooter. The quick bursts of action coupled with the extreme need to aim precisely just felt like it wouldn’t translate well over to a controller properly. However, I was completely blown away by how seamless the move from PC to console felt.

Post Void is great. It strikes a wonderful balance of gripping gameplay while also limiting you to short bursts of fun. It's a game I will keep installed for ages, I may not play every day, but it will always be there to act as a tonic to whatever grand RPG or epic story I have on the go.

If you enjoyed this review and are eager to hear more about Post Void why not check out Skeleton’s review of the PC version of the game? It's phenomenal!