Void War Demo

Ever since Star Wars introduced the rad-looking space dogfights, featuring lasers, hyperdrive and fiery explosions, the prospect of a Top Gun in space has been on everyone’s minds. Games like Freespace and Freelancer are probably the best examples in the genre, but there are many more that attempted to provide the players with an entire cosmos to roam about and enough lasers to last for a lifetime.

Void War is not as grand as the other mentioned titles, but it does stem from the same idea and it can be quite fun when experienced in short bursts. The lack of a proper story and the ‘tight’ environments work against it and make the entire thing fall apart quite quickly, on the other hand, but you can still cause some havoc with the on-board lasers and admire some beautiful imagery while you’re doing it.

The singleplayer mode features a variety of challenges, as well as a ‘story’ mode, in which you have to complete some missions one after the other. Plot-wise, there’s too little intrigue and too few characters to make sense of the overall picture, but it is obvious that the game does not emphasize on it. Instead, you are encouraged to fight and make use of a hefty arsenal, against increasingly more challenging foes.

To diversify the gameplay, there are a few other gimmicks to watch out for as you scour the galaxy. Traps are hidden everywhere and they require a bit of skill to avoid, such as asteroid fields, hyper-gravity wells and deadly vapor clouds. On the other hand, you can also use the latter to hide from enemy detection, since the clouds also act as natural sensor blockers and they can save your life if you make wise use of them.

The arcade nature of the game surfaces when it comes to the weapons, since you can find and pick up ammo and better guns, instead of buying them from vendors or equipping them in docking stations. Hence, realism is not of great concern, but there are some viable physical laws that apply in a semi-convincing manner, such as inertia and gravity. In short, the blend of arcade and realism is quite volatile and you should not make any rational assertions based on intuition, because they might not work out as planned.

All things being equal, you probably won’t be able to enjoy Void War for long periods of time, since it lacks the proper ingredients to provide you with enough content and gameplay mechanics required for a memorable experience. However, you can still have moderate amounts of fun with it, as long as you do not take it very seriously and you are prepared to be disappointed.