Mini Review: A Void Hope (Switch)

“If you look long enough into the void…”

Version Reviewed: North American

review by Mitch Vogel 4h ago

Elden Pixels has built a strong reputation for itself with its Alwa games, both offering a great take on the traditional Metroidvania formula, but its latest release tries to do something quite a bit different. A Void Hope certainly carries on some of the level design and exploration elements central to the studio’s previous releases, but here there’s much more focus on atmosphere, story, and horror. It doesn’t entirely stick the landing, but this is ultimately a worthwhile little project that we’d encourage you to consider.

A Void Hope follows the tale of Keegan and Glinda, a couple in a rocky patch of their relationship who find themselves dealing with the fallout of a global pandemic. People all over are becoming infected and losing their memories, eventually devolving into zombie-like creatures that sometimes transform into something decidedly less human.

Despite the focus on narrative here, details are relatively sparse, which works both for and against the game. On one hand, the vagueness really helps you feel as helpless and confused as the characters, which adds a lot to the atmosphere. On the other, the emotional plot beats don’t hit nearly as hard as intended, as there’s usually not a lot of setup leading to these payoffs.

Gameplay could be best described as a walking simulator with some light Metroidvania elements. Each of the eleven levels has a series of objectives to fulfill, such as finding an object or activating a computer terminal, and you’re expected to solve basic environmental puzzles along the way. There’s nothing here overly challenging, but tension is always high as any of the people on screen can turn into a zombie at any moment and start chasing you.

As you progress, you’ll come across items to unlock new routes forward or to backtrack and find new areas in previous levels, such as by using a crowbar to remove planks from blocked doors. There aren’t really any upgrades or powerups to find along the way, but it’s still fun to revisit old areas and find new exits and other hidden goodies.

If there’s one thing A Void Hope excels at, it’s presentation. Every minute of its five or six hours is dripping with atmosphere, a lot of which is sold by the tremendous pixel art. The shadowy, somewhat decrepit environments display impressive amounts of detail in the spritework, while every character has you on edge and ready to run if they suddenly turn. Meanwhile, the lumbering darkwave soundtrack by Waveshaper gives it all a menacing and eerie tinge with marching drums and deep synths. This is the kind of game that completely pulls you into its world through its art and atmosphere. It’s totally captivating from start to finish.

A Void Hope isn’t Elden Pixel’s finest project yet, but it is certainly its most interesting one. Even if its gameplay and story feel shallow, it does a great job of immersing you in its creepy and dark world—this is the kind of game that you’ll probably never play again after you finish it, but you’ll always remember it. It’s worth picking up if you’re at all a fan of this studio’s previous work or if you’re interested in trying something that deviates from the norm a bit.