Originally developed and released on PC by developer YCJY Games, Super Rare Originals has now teamed up with the developer to bring this hypnotic masterpiece to consoles and here we are with our review of the PS4 version of POST VOID. Roguelike shooters come in all shapes and sizes however none of them are as crazy as POST VOID because it is an absolute nightmare for players who are unable to process flashy effects on the screen. Thanks to its psychedelic colors and flashy special effects, POST VOID has caused brain melts all around the world. This is our review of POST VOID in which we blow up some heads and try not to throw up at the same time.
The gameplay of POST VOID is pretty straightforward as you move around with the left joystick and aim with the right joystick. Apart from this, you have a jump with X, a handy slide with the L2 trigger and you shoot with R2. These are all of the buttons that you need in the game to speed through the levels. The overall game length is not too high as well and you can quickly finish the game depending on your shooting and sliding skills. The combination of shooting and sliding does give you some stylish and satisfying moments however you cannot always waste time goofing around because POST VOID is not too kind if you love taking time completing levels. Here, speed is king and if you are not fast enough, you will be seeing the first screen of the first level a lot because every time you die, you begin from the start.
Each of the runs in POST VOID is different from the previous one because the levels are procedurally generated and every time the enemies will be in different locations as well. This increases the challenge because you cannot just memorize the location of the enemies, the halls, or the rooms because every time, they will be randomized. Each level brings new enemies to the mix however you can never be certain where a particular enemy might appear in the game. The overall presentation of the levels remains the same and the enemies are unique to each level so you will at least have a basic idea of what sort of enemies you can expect in each of the levels. The level lengths sometimes vary as well however in certain runs, I do remember particular levels to be a little shorter or longer than my previous attempts. I am not sure if this is really the case or if I was just too good in some runs that I just blew past everything that came into my view.
While each level might be procedurally generated, the overall concept of the game remains the same every time. You have to run through a level, killing enemies, ensuring that the idol remains topped with liquid and you do not look back. One little mistake is enough in POST VOID to ruin your otherwise perfect run and that thing really keeps you on your toes. The visual design of the levels in POST VOID is so unique that you are sometimes tempted to take it a little slow and look around the see the weird patterns and paintings hanging on the walls but sadly the game punishes you severely for being a weakling and slowing down on your run. The enemies are not too hard to kill and but you will still need to be landing as many headshots as possible in the game to get rid of them quickly and moving on. At the end of each level, you are given a selection of one upgrade out of three.
These upgrades vary in nature as some will give you health bonuses, some will give you new weapons or some will affect how certain things work in the game like giving you bullets that bounce off the wall or slow down incoming enemy bullets. These upgrades are good for only your current run and if you die in the run, you not only start from the first scene of Act 1 but all of your previously unlocked upgrades are gone as well. It is like you start a new game every time you die so you keep nothing with yourself apart from your highscore from your previous runs with you. While there is not much story to really include in this review, POST VOID is a crazy highscore chasing game. To be honest, your brain will be fried after a few runs to even care about the story but on the plus side, POST VOID does not hinder your gameplay with cutscenes and story elements as well. After the first cutscene, you are in your zone to complete the levels.
This brings me to the key star of the game and that is the art style and visuals. If you have been reading the whole review up to this point, you would have definitely gotten some sort of idea that there is something going on about the visuals of this game. POST VOID features flashy and psychedelic visuals that might melt your brain if you are not used to such bright and flashy visuals. While it might be one of the best aspects of the game, this might be one of the factors that might affect you if you are not good with on-screen flashes. The levels are not too big and the overall design of them looks pretty much the same, you can easily complete most of the levels in under 30 seconds if you are really good at taking headshots and avoiding incoming bullets.
Speed is everything in POST VOID and headshots are equally important as well however if you are landing too many headshots, you can still lose the game if you are not speedy enough. In one of my runs, I managed to reach the second level and at its end, I died with 22 headshots out of 25 kills, but I still lost the game. The art style and visual effects are certainly unique and something that a lot of players might not be able to enjoy for a long time but even for short gameplay sessions, the game offers a lot of fun and solid shooting mechanics. There are no complex gameplay mechanics in POST VOID so you will only need a little bit of practice and pretty soon you will be nailing down your highscores in the leaderboard. There is no difficulty option in the game. However, the game does offer you the option to tone down the visual effects a bit if the game is making you too dizzy however for its best experience, you have to play the game with all of the effects in place. You can also adjust the grain and Vsync on the PS4 version of the game however they do little to alter the overall visual experience of the title.
Final Verdict:
While POST VOID will make plenty of people vomit their brains out, those who manage to keep their dinner inside are surely in for a treat. The gameplay is intense, the visuals are bright, and the headshots are plenty. The fact that you are holding an idol in your left hand that is continuously leaking your health brings a new level of challenge to the mix. I understand that few people will actually enjoy playing POST VOID but that does not mean that this is not a great shooter. It is surely one of the most unique shooter roguelikes that I have played and I absolutely love the game. It is great for short playing sessions and even for bigger ones if your brain can handle it. If you love playing challenging shooters that are fast-paced and make you want to gorge your eyes out after 30 minutes of gameplay, I will suggest that you definitely try out POST VOID because it is a must-play for you.
Final Score: 9.0/10
