Indie developers are, for the most part, the silent center of attention behind big AAA developers. They say little, but flex their muscles and keep their eyes alert, and sooner or later, a few of them will unleash a game that will surprise the gaming public.

That's why it's interesting and even a little unsettling to find a game that's so addictive that I have to wonder why this idea hasn't really caught on before. To be quite honest, I didn't expect the Void Scrappers to sweep those who've played it off their feet, but that's what the gameplay does. And it does it with a certain rugged grace. 

I wrote my initial impressions of the game on a piece of paper, noting the following, "it is a simple game, wrapped in addiction, inside a simple premise." The gameplay fascinates you at the moment and getting from one level to the next is tricky, but it does it so that you're almost oblivious to time.

One Man's Trash...

The story in Void Scrappers is hardly original, but I do know that in a parallel universe the galaxy as a whole has gone to the garbage and that scraps of metal are the most prized commodities. The only problem is that in order to obtain scraps, you'll need to blast them out of the enemy ships.

In short, the more enemy ships you destroy, the more scraps you can collect. Like all games of this genre, Void Scrappers' premise is for the player to survive for as long as possible against wave after wave of relentless enemy attacks.

Of course, with every level, there's the obligatory end-level boss who's a bit faster and stronger than the rest and can take much more damage than most enemy ships combined.

Fortunately, you can upgrade your ships in two ways: collect enough scraps to power up your basic traits or defeat bosses to level up your weapons. Either way, you'll need every upgradeable path to take on the most hardened of bosses later on in the game.

Space Jockeys

Character selection is robust and you have a choice of different pilots to choose from, who in turn, possess different skills and attributes, as well as personalities. There's not much information revealed about these hired guns which adds a deeper sense of mystery and intrigue.

In their younger days, I presume, they may have been law enforcement officers, happily spending their time handing out tickets and enforcing the rule of law upon the galaxy.

Now, they are millions of miles from home, casually sitting in a grungy-filled bar waiting for their next job with their looks indicating that they've seen better days.

To the developer's credit, Void Scrappers is a more entertaining game, to me at least, than Vampire Survivors, because it takes place in space which provides a deeper challenge since you can incorporate other variables to make the game more challenging, such as asteroids, meteors, and space debris.

Even though none of these are present in the game, there's the possibility that they can be added later via a sequel or DLC.

Don't Avoid the Void

The weight of the game obviously falls on the shoulders of gameplay. Here, I feel Void Scrapper has better combat strategies because it paces itself slower and more deliberately than other rogue-like games out there.

While other titles will try to overwhelm you from the start, Void Scrappers eases you ever so slowly until you've leveled up enough to stand a fighting chance.

Good movies also mimic this approach and it should be no surprise that good games follow. It's this type of pacing that provides good-honest fun because doing it in reverse would just spoil and totally ruin the build-up.

Overall, Void Scrappers is definitely a game worth getting, especially if you're a fan of fast-paced shooters. And at just under $5, you'll certainly be getting much more value here than with most games that cost considerably more.

Joel

Healthcare Professional, Gamer, and Writer all rolled up in one. He once opened up an old Atari 2600 to see if it had a heart ... and it did. Hence, the lifelong love affair with gaming.

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