Post Void

[h2]Overall: 5/10[/h2] [h3]Story:[/h3] I was never able to beat this game so I'm not entirely sure what the ending is or if there even is one, but from what I played, any form of traditional narrative is practically non-existent. There aren't any named characters, dialogue, or cutscenes that explain what's happening, or even a clear sequence of plot points that you can follow from beginning to end. If you're looking for a story with a beginning, middle, and end, you're not going to find it here. Post Void is filled with really intriguing symbolism, bizarre imagery, and surreal environments that constantly make you feel like there's some deeper meaning behind everything, but almost everything is left up to your own interpretation. I definitely appreciate the atmosphere it creates and it's obvious the developers wanted to avoid distracting you with an unnecessary story, but whether that's satisfying or frustrating for you personally will really depends on what you're looking for. I myself don't have a problem with stories that leave room for interpretation, but it was clear from the very start any kind of "narrative" this game provided wasn't going to be necessary for the gameplay. [h3]Gameplay:[/h3] Speaking of, the gameplay is easily the biggest selling point of this experience, but honestly, it just doesn't resonate with me. In the most basic terms, it's a simple yet very innovative blend of old-school "boomer shooter" mechanics/roguelite design that revolves entirely around accuracy and maintaining fast momentum. The combat, in true arcade-style fashion, is completely unforgiving and throws you straight into the deep end of the pool as soon as you start a run. On top of that, your health is constantly draining, and every shot or hit you take causes it to drain even faster, so you HAVE to keep a constant killing spree going if you want any chance of making it to the end of each level. It's a really unique mechanic that creates an intense sense of urgency, but it's also the biggest reason this game never fully clicked with me. I've tried to get into Post Void multiple times, and while I actually do somewhat enjoy Act 1, everything falls apart for me personally in Act 2. The additional enemy types, combined with the sudden introduction of multi-layered levels, become far more than I can reasonably keep up with. My biggest gripe is probably that, because the gameplay is intentionally overwhelmingly fast paced, you don't ever really get the chance to immediately learn from your mistakes when you inevitably die several times throughout Act 2 or Act 3. Every failed run sends you all the way back to the first level of the first act, so by the time I finally reach the section that originally killed me, it's difficult to remember exactly what happened while also trying to stay conscious of everything else the game is actively throwing at me. The difficulty spike in Act 2 alone only makes that learning process even more steep because there's so much happening at once that it's hard to build any consistency between attempts. However, although it may sound like I'm complaining, I'm honestly not too bitter about it. I'm self-aware enough to acknowledge that it's quite literally a skill issue and my only real solution is to "git gud" but at this point, I've just come to terms with the fact that I'm not the target audience for this game. It provides a unique and intriguing gameplay experience that I genuinely respect for what it is, and I even enjoy watching other people do runs, but I find it exhausting to play myself. For that reason alone, I can't recommend it. [h3]World:[/h3] There's no overarching world to explore here, but the level design itself is honestly pretty solid for what it attempts to be. At its core it's simple and straightforward, yet it features a dynamic, procedural layout that constantly pushes you into a progressively more frantic, high-speed flow state as the interiors change in appearance. This game only consists of 11 short, maze-like levels spread across three increasingly difficult acts, but because the environment, available upgrades, and enemy encounters shift slightly with every run, you're never going to beat it through memorization alone. Every attempt feels different enough that you have to stay alert and learn to adapt on the fly. I really think the level design does a great job complementing the gameplay loop because every area feels like it was built with speed and fluidity as the top priority. So, despite said gameplay loop not clicking with me overall, this is probably the aspect of the game I have the fewest complaints about. In fact, the level design was a big reason I kept giving Post Void another shot after previous failed attempts to get into the game. Even if it ultimately wasn't for me, I'll absolutely give credit where it's due because this is an area that I think was executed very well. [h3]Visuals:[/h3] On the other hand, while I understood what the developers were going for with the gameplay loop and respected it for what it was, I also understood what the developers were going for with the visual aspect, and I absolutely hated it. The polarizing art style was easily one of the biggest selling points of Post Void for me, and it was one of the main reasons I wanted to play it in the first place, but actually experiencing it for myself was a genuinely unpleasant experience that consistently left me with either motion sickness or headaches. Watching gameplay videos on YouTube versus actually playing yourself are two completely different experiences. Videos flatten the intensity of the visuals way more than I first realized and makes them seem way more tolerable than they really are, so every time I play this game and it puts me directly in the middle of the constant flashing colors, distorted environments, and relentless visual effects, it's a very jarring and uncomfortable surprise. The fact that my main monitor is a 5K2K probably didn't help either, and I 100% think and the sheer size it contributed to my motion sickness. I'd even go as far as to say a smaller display is almost necessary to properly play a game like this. On a 5K2K or even a standard 3440x1440p ultrawide, the hyper-stimulating, flashing visuals fill your peripheral vision almost the entire time you're playing, and it really feels like it forced my eyes to work overtime just to keep everything in focus. I can appreciate the artistic vision and understand exactly why so many people love how unique it looks, but for me, the visuals crossed the line from stylish to physically uncomfortable. By the time I inevitably gave up a session, I usually felt more relieved that it was over than hyped by what I had experienced. [h3]Music/Sound Design:[/h3] The music/sound design together are a close second for my least favorite aspect about Post Void. Starting with the music, I hate it. The single looping electric guitar track is not only (obviously) repetitive, but is also incredibly grating to constantly hear. Since it's literally the only song in the entire game, you're forced to hear to the same track repeat over and over throughout every run, and it quickly became something I couldn't stand hearing after maybe 15 minutes. The developers themselves even seem to acknowledge how annoying it is because there's literally a tongue-in-cheek achievement you get for muting the in-game music. The sound design itself is much less egregious, and I do like the retro gaming sound effects it brings because they fit the game's overall style really well, but I still didn't outright love it. A lot of the audio just sounds surprisingly flat, like it's missing the depth and punch that would make the weapons and other effects feel more satisfying. It works well enough for what the game is trying to accomplish, but compared to how chaotic and intense everything else is, the sound design often feels like it's lacking the same level of impact as the visuals and gameplay.