By Chris Jackson
PLATFORM: PC, PS4/5, SWITCH (REVIEWED), XBOX ONE/SERIES | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
In a review that may well be as brief as the game itself, Post Void asks you to run through ten short 3D maze-like levels within a seriously restrictive time limit, shooting enemies along the way to give yourself a few precious extra seconds. Purposely ugly to look at, with garishly bright colours, barely-formed pixel art and erratic visual effects, it’s one of the trippiest games of recent years that may well find it residing in cult corner in years to come (hence the reason why we’re telling you about it).
Each level is done and dusted in less than a minute, but it takes a heck of a lot of practise to make it through in one piece. Killing enemies quickly – ideally with a single headshot – is the key to success, maximising the available seconds to find the exit by spending as little time as possible blasting away at the weird and wonky bad guys. However, levels are procedurally generated, their layouts changing each time you play, making it impossible to memorise the correct path.
Reaching the end of a level allows you to choose one of three randomly-selected upgrades, giving you a slightly better chance of making it through subsequent levels, and a handful of increasingly destructive weapons can be found tucked away within the labyrinthine corridors. You lose everything when you die, starting over from the beginning with nothing more than a simple pistol.
Post Void won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but for less than a fiver, it offers a bizarrely addictive bite-sized shooter that anyone with a tolerance for migraine-inducing and mildly nauseating visuals can pick up and play and be done with in less than ten minutes. It’s weird as fuck, but that’s pretty much exactly what Starburst is here for.
