Void Bastards

About

Void Bastards is a strategic first person shooter that swaps reflexes for planning. You control a rotating cast of prisoners navigating abandoned spaceships in the Sargasso Nebula. Each run requires mapping paths, assessing hazards, and deciding whether to fight, sabotage, or flee. Use scavenged components to build gadgets like turrets or decoy cats. Ship layouts shift between runs, forcing you to adapt to new threats and systems. The focus is on resource management and tactical improvisation, with gunplay serving as one tool among many. The game’s standout is its prisoner system. Each character brings distinct traits and skills, but all die permanently if taken down. Crafting upgrades and ship schematics carry over, creating a balance between risk and progress. The 12-15 hour campaign blends action with survival as you dodge void whales, pirates, and internal decay. Players on Steam average 83% positive reviews, praising the tension of balancing strategy with chaos. The escape pod navigation sequences and permadeath mechanics add layers of unpredictability, making every run feel like a high-stakes gamble.

Storyline

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.