Ethan Walton-Jones - Sergeant Llama
29 March 2023
Post Void
“Post Void” is a single-player first-person shooter that is all about speed, speed, speed. Developed by YCJY Games and published in conjunction with Super Rare Games, “Post Void” is not a game for the faint of heart. With the trippy visual effects and difficult nature of the game, “Post Void” will leave any player with a rush that not many other games can achieve.
After a short tutorial to show the brief story and how “Post Void” works, the game begins. Find something to hold on to because this is the fastest and one of the most mentally stimulating games I have ever played. You’re thrown into a trippy, grainy, and colorful world equipped with a pistol, and an idol of a human head filled with a glowing white liquid. This liquid is your health and it will very quickly drain to empty, which is bad because this means you die. So how do you fill it up? Kill everything. Everything that moves. Quickly. That is the only way to survive. This combination of high speeds with surprisingly well-made gunplay creates a game experience that is unlike anything I've ever seen. Speeding around the map at Mach 5 and flicking onto the heads of the enemies hiding around corners is extremely satisfying and well worth the headache that playing this game for more than half an hour induces. Your goal in amongst the constant killing is to reach the end of each of the 11 levels without all of the liquid in your idol depleting. This is easier said than done so be prepared to die many, many times before you get even close to the end.
After each level is completed you will be granted a choice of one of three upgrades. These range from different weapons, to faster reloading to more strange ones, like faster movement speed when going backward. The different combinations that can be made with the upgrades keep the game feeling fresh each run, although I did find myself using the shotgun more than anything else. It just felt too good, don’t blame me. Another thing allowing the game to feel fresh is the maps themselves. There isn’t much to them but they are all procedurally generated, so no run ever feels the same. The movement in “Post Void” is a key part of what makes this game fun. Each movement from the running to the jumping to the sliding feels fast but also very smooth and fluid, which is exactly what it needs to be.
The music and art style in “Post Void” are further positives in the long list of positives this game seems to be producing. The music, you probably guessed it, is fast, keeping the player alert without being over-imposing or distracting. Apparently, the composer of the music Karl Flodin created the OST for “Post Void” by editing together a jam session that he had with YCJY games, which in my opinion is really cool. Especially since the music slaps. The high octane, high bpm mixture of drums and electric guitar combine superbly to create the perfect atmosphere. The music isn’t dynamic, so there are no changes to pitch or speed based on what’s actually happening as you move through the level. At the end of each level, it quietens down into the background, so it can be nice to use the intermission between levels as a short break from the barrage of sounds and colors. The sound design for each of the weapons is nicely done as well. Each of the weapons feels and sounds unique to use, especially the shotgun which feels and is powerful to use, just ask the enemies.
Now the art style. To be honest, I'm not even sure how to begin to describe the art style in “Post Void.” The bright lights and the trippy grainy effect are definitely not suited to the more photosensitive of us. At some points it can be very easy to lose your way, especially since a lot of the textures look the same, so try not to get turned around as it will more than likely lead to the end of the run. If you suffer from epilepsy, this is probably a game to steer well clear of, although there is an accessibility option to tone down the flashing images, which is a nice touch. However, if you don't, you will find yourself mesmerized by the hypnotic warping corridors and abstract ‘art’ plastered over the walls, not that you have much time to look at it, gotta keep moving, remember?
“Post Void” doesn't really include much in the way of a story or setting the scene, but honestly, this game doesn't need one. I had plenty of fun in “Post Void” without ever really thinking too much about what was really happening or why I was doing it. That's the beauty of it, I suppose. It doesn't give you the time to think about anything so it's very easy to get lost in trying to get to the end, which as a Physics student, is a nice change of pace from what I’m used to. Also, this game only costs 4 bucks. The gameplay is well worth that money and I don’t feel cheated at all by not having a story. One thing I will say is that the procedurally generated levels can sometimes mean that I would get to some areas that felt exceedingly difficult or even impossible to get past without perishing. To be honest, I probably just need to “get good” but that's how I found it anyway. Furthermore, this is not a game that you can, at least in my experience, play for long sessions at a time. The bright lights and constant up-and-down warping effect will likely give you a headache after a bit.
Overall, “Post Void” is a fantastic game by YCJY games and is well worth the 4-dollar price tag. The movement, gunplay, art style, and soundtrack all add to one of the best fps experiences I have had in recent times and I highly recommend this game to any FPS fan that wants to play something a bit more fresh and unique. “Post Void” is perfect in short bursts and is a game that I am very glad to have in my library, just to open up and get that adrenaline shot that it never fails to give you. My final score for “Post Void” is 9/10
9
10
The Bad
- Fluid movement
- Satisfying gunplay
- Unique art style
- Perfectly suited soundtrack
- FUN
- Great value for money
- Challenging gameplay
- May induce a headache
- May be inaccessable for some photosensitive users