Putrefaction 2: Void Walker Demo

Just because we now have access to incredibly realistic shooters with gorgeous graphics doesn’t mean that everyone wants to take the genre seriously at all times. Every now and again it’s a lot more fun to blast your way through thick enemy waves using overpowered weapons and silly physics engines, just like back in the Serious Sam era. On the other hand, it’s by no means easy to develop such a game, because the fast-paced mechanics require a lot of tinkering in order to be both accessible and challenging at the same time.

Putrefaction 2: Void Walker is a sequel that aims to improve on the original and add new features for you to enjoy while eviscerating and disintegrating a wide array of nasty monsters. It’s worth noting right off the bat that the developers did a great job when it comes to gameplay mechanics, because everything is smooth as butter in regards to movement, hit detection and interface, even if the game is currently in early access.

In case you are not familiar with the series, the story is not an essential part of the experience, so it obviously doesn’t make too much of an effort to explain things. Thus, the sequel has the main character travel to another galaxy after his success in the first game, which is where he becomes a Void Walker - a warrior whose job is to travel from world to world in search of the meanest monsters in order to eliminate them.

As mentioned before, the gameplay mechanics are both refined and accessible, making it easy to start playing right away and put your skills to the test. There are multiple difficulty levels to choose from, depending on how tough you want the monsters to be. Point & shoot is the main strategy throughout the game, but it’s a lot tougher in practice, given the fact that you are constantly being assaulted by multiple enemies at once, many of which have powerful ranged attacks as well.

Speaking of which, you have some interesting weapons at your disposal too, and most of them can be upgraded with new abilities along the way. Whether you are a fan of shotguns, rifles or you just like to toss dynamite sticks and let fire cleanse the way forward, the game provides you with everything you need in order to have fun throughout the adventure.

As mentioned before, these weapons can also be upgraded every now and again, and they acquire special abilities that deal even more damage. New animations make these abilities feel like they have an actual impact on the gameplay, so it’s not just extra damage. The enemies come in all sorts of varieties too, so it’s difficult to get bored too quickly.

Lastly, the graphics are worthy of a mention as well, because the game world looks fantastic, albeit rather repetitive sometimes. The textures and the post-processing effects are great, on the other hand, and the environments are never the same between levels either. It’s true that the monster animations could use a bit of polishing, but then again you do not get to see them all that much anyway before you blow them to pieces.

Despite being a modest indie production with a small budget, Putrefaction 2: Void Walker is very impressive in many regards. The gameplay is polished even in this early development version, the graphics are great, the controls responsive and accurate, and on top of it all there’s more than enough content to go around.

Hence, it’s the perfect way to put your reflexes and patience to the test once again, just like back when Painkiller and Serious Sam were kings over the genre. Putrefaction 2: Void Walker may not be as intricate as those, but the mechanics are every little bit as exciting and fun, so you can easily spend many hours obliterating monsters.