Voidwrought is a hand-drawn Metroidvania set in a world of cosmic horrors. In most genres, a game with incredible art, deep lore, precise controls, and awesome sound design would make for an unforgettable classic. But in the world with Hollow Knight and Blasphemous, that’s just the bar for entry.
Swedish developer Powersnake checked all the right Metroidvania boxes when making this game. Voidwrought looks great, controls well, builds a compelling, enigmatic world to explore, and has one of the best soundtracks of the year. It even innovates by adding base-building mechanics and refinements to the menus, most notably in the map section. But even with so much going for it, the game struggles to become more than the sum of its exceptional parts.
Our hero is a nameless, shapeshifting warrior whose body is made of cape and goo. After centuries of slumber, we’re called to awakening by the whispers of a blood-red star. As soon as we burst free from the sacred ovum, we learn that the hallowed halls of our shrine have been overrun by false gods! To sweep out all the heretics, we’re going to have to slither around the surrounding ruins and look for upgrades to grow our power.
“Voidwrought looks great, controls well, builds a compelling, enigmatic world to explore, and has one of the best soundtracks of the year.”
There’s a deep well of lore and world-building in Voidwrought, but not much of a story to dig your tendrils into. The motivation to clear the temple of abominations is strictly practical. To reach new areas of the map, you’ll need skill upgrades. Skill upgrades that are being guarded by false gods and abominations. Once you kill the boss and get your upgrade, you can progress a little further.
The newly unlocked biomes give interesting insights into what kind of world we find ourselves in but scarce notions about the implications of our quest. Granted, a Metroidvania is mostly about what you’re doing, not why you’re doing it. But with so much effort put into the design and lore, having more than vibes to push the story along would have been welcome.
Each frame of Voidwrought is oozing with character. The world’s rich and detailed lore is painted into the backgrounds of each biome, pulling together motifs from ancient Egypt, sci-fi, horror, and more. You can feel the inspiration of Hellboy creator Mike Mignola in the hand-drawn art, with flattened perspectives and shading that prefers strong blocks of tone over gradation. This did make for some cool, albeit nondescript, character designs.
The animation has an odd quality to it. Idle movements and attacks have limited keyframes, giving characters a jerky comic-book feel, which looks great until they start moving. Movement across the environment is handled with regular frame rates; the combination of styles gives everything a floaty feeling that can be jarring and unpleasant.
“There’s a deep well of lore and world-building in Voidwrought, but not much of a story to dig your tendrils into.”
Mechanically, movement and combat are precise to a fault. Jumping and sliding around the map feels effortless. By the mid-game, entire biomes can be parkoured across with only the briefest tippy tapping of your slimy little toes across the ground. Surprisingly, the map didn’t have many sections dedicated to platforming puzzles. Which was a shame as it’s the game’s strongest mechanic. The few that do exist are one-offs to gather upgrades or currency that, once completed, you’ll never have to revisit.
Combat isn’t as refined or exciting in Voidwrought. Aside from the melee claw attack, players can use the game’s combat currency, “void charges,” to trigger relics that deal ranged damage, cast area of effect spells, or power buffs. Changing relics was more trouble than it was worth, as each enemy, even in the late game, can be quickly dispatched with simple claw swipes. I managed to work my way through the entire game with relics I had found in the first hour. There are also equipable souls that can boost health, increase item pick-up range, passively attack, and change stats. There are about 30 to collect, but only five that offer bonuses worth checking out.
The problem at large with Voidwrought lies in the balancing. By the midgame, our goo God is so powerful that even the advanced sections of the map feel like a grind. New enemies fall before they can get a shot off, and environmental obstacles deal inconsequential damage to your seemingly endless supply of health. Nothing suffers from the difficulty curve more than the boss battles.
Early on, boss encounters are exciting and creative, with evolutions that keep players cycling between mechanics just to stay in the fight. By the midgame, however, they become attritional head-to-heads, requiring nothing but spamming the primary attack. By the final encounter, I was standing right in front of the enemy without moving, casting spells, or taking any damage.
The frustrating thing about Voidwrought is that it comes so close to being an excellent game, but it can’t seem to stick the landing. It has beautiful art, superb mechanics, and one of the best soundtracks of the year, but also balancing issues that undermine its solid base. For Metroidvania fans, Voidwrought will absolutely scratch their itch. It’s a fast, fun, and gorgeous game, but also inconsistent.
