They say imitation is the highest form of flattery. After the release of Void War by new studio Tundra earlier this month on PC, Matthew Davis’ and Jay Ma’s egos, the creative heads behind 2012 indie hit Faster Than Light (aka FTL), must be through the roof. At its core, Void War is the fusion of two widely successful concepts: FTL set inside a (hopefully) non-copyright-infringing version of the Warhammer 40.000 universe.
Dark and gritty roguelite in deep space
Players who enjoyed FTL will feel right at home. The game mechanics and the interface, down to the hangar menu, are copy-pasted straight out of FTL. For everyone else, Void War is a roguelite game where the player manages a spaceship and its crew as it progresses through various systems until a final boss-like confrontation that marks the end of the run.
Each new run begins in the hangar, where the player can select a ship type, their commander, and set the difficulty. At the start, there isn’t much choice. Additional options become available after completing runs and spending Resonance, a currency used to unlock new spaceships and commanders.
The game features a variety of factions in a universe torn by war. After the fall of mankind’s God-King, civil war and unchecked demonic cults are rampaging through the core worlds. From heavily armoured Imperial Enforcers to Witches using powerful psychic abilities, without forgetting bio-mechanical tech-cults, the grim tone of Void War will sound very familiar to Warhammer 40.000 fans.
Once the ship and its crew have launched into space, the player will have to progress through several systems before the Vault of Souls, the final objective, is reached. Each system can be crossed after a series of warp jumps in a traditional roguelite manner by picking between 1 to 3 different path options.
After every jump, a random event occurs, ranging from experiencing the nothingness of space to fighting vicious corsairs or demonic possessed spaceships. Some of the system’s nodes are identified from the start, indicating valuable safe havens and merchants for the players to rest and upgrade.
In the grim darkness of space, there is only war
Most of the playtime is spent fighting space battles against various factions spread across the solar systems. This is where the game expands on the concepts of the source material, as combat mechanics are much more fleshed out in Void War. Just like in FTL, power management of the ship’s offensive and defensive systems will be crucial during battles. Weapons and missiles can be pointed at specific parts of the enemy ship, but crew combat is taken to the next level.
Each crew member can be customised through available equipment slots. Depending on the unit type, weapons, armour, psychic powers, or tools can be equipped, unlocking some pretty cool synergies. Psykers are particularly powerful. Through their abilities, they can, for example, summon demons on the enemy ship and prevent repairs in a room.
Other powers can cause direct damage to the hull, ignoring shields, teleport friendly crew, or even mind control enemies for a few precious seconds. If they get engaged in melee combat, however, they will be dispatched quickly by combatant units, so a healthy mix of units is advised.
The commander, picked at the beginning of the run, also holds a special role, not only because he is a stronger unit leading your forces, but because if he dies, it’s immediately game over. I had a few failed runs in which I accidentally destroyed the enemy ship while my commander was still fighting on board.
After each victory, the spoils of war are, of course, yours to keep. Scraps is the currency used to upgrade your systems, buy equipment and modules or recruit new crew members. In some cases, you can get a special reward by having members of a particular faction on board and clicking through the right dialogue choices. Tougher battles and unique enemies can also drop ancient, powerful artefacts that can be equipped, sometimes not without consequences.
A missed opportunity
Overall, the tactical options offered in Void War are quite deep, and while the game is easy at starting difficulty (much more than FTL), successful runs will require a good strategy and a smart mix of units at higher torment tiers.
FTL veterans will revel in more of the same, and newcomers will get to enjoy a fun and well-designed roguelite. But I can’t shake the feeling that there was a missed opportunity here for Void War to become a game of its own, rather than just a Warhammer-40k-mod for FTL.
Void War deliberately ditches FTL’s exploration and fuel management to focus on combat, and it does that quite well. It also introduces a lore that is extremely detailed and rich, at least in the Games Workshop version, yet on that front, everything is kept extremely superficial in the game.
Faction names are kept generic (Heretics, Blood Cult, Death Cult, …), and your choices have almost no effects on relations. For example, shrines that can be found in some solar systems allow your commander to pledge allegiance to specific factions. If you choose to do so, hidden scenario options become available during random events.
However, you can still be attacked by ships of that faction during combat events, making little sense if you behaved honourably or provided help earlier. The faction system could have been so much more than just a collection of random (and soon repetitive) dialogue options!
For a game that chose to focus on crew combat, I was also disappointed by the absence of a progression system for your units or ability trees for commanders. Thankfully, the devs seem eager to pursue the development of the game.
The recently released roadmap for 2025 includes some new concepts to the genre, such as dungeons and planetary assaults. Even without all that, Void War remains an excellent roguelite game, mixing the best of two worlds and offering great replayability at an under 20€ price tag.
