Void Scrappers review

It didn’t take long for me to get utterly hooked on Void Scrappers. This is a great example of an indie developer focusing on one simple game loop, and refining it to the point of excellence. The premise is simple – you take control of a spacecraft in a top down, classically Time Pilot style, and have to blast all manner of space nasties and destructible debris and collect the scrap they leave behind.

If you played the similarly ace Vampire Survivors you will be familiar with the style, however rather than a bloodsucking fantasy setting the action here takes place in a hostile galaxy far far away, where scrap metal is currency and you have to place yourself in real danger to get it. It is certainly a far cry from where I live, where simply leaving a knackered cooker outside on the drive will attract a flatbed vehicle within five minutes, no interstellar combat required. Anyway, I digress.

Your avatar will fire automatically so it is up to you to steer it through the maelstrom of ordnance, scrap and hostile foes. To begin with you are very weak, with just a puny pea shooter of a cannon to work with. You can also turn on the afterburners to use an evasive manoeuvre to pull you out of trouble, with the requisite cooldown period required. You begin with three shield segments, which seems a lot, but trust me, really isn’t once you get going. Collecting scrap metal allows a succession of upgrades to your guns and ammo, cooldown, shields and many other variables.

You can also collect shield boosts on the playing field, but sometimes attempting to alter your course to go and find them can place you in danger, so there is a choice to be made whether to concentrate on survival or make a raid for the pickup. The compulsion to turn your ship from a pathetic vulnerable husk into a death dealing scrap metal hoarding behemoth is real. The difficulty slowly ramps up at a manageable level and crucially never stops being fun. The procedurally generated nature of the run-throughs also keeps things fresh.

You can use collected in-game currency earned by meeting certain conditions and collecting a shit-load of scrap to permanently enhance aspects of your weapon and shield setup, as well as unlocking new characters and weapons. The developers have gone on record to say that the randomness of the action is crucial, but also enables situations where it is entirely possible to exceed limitations. The idea is that you start off “puny” but end up the absolute Don, covering the screen in chaotic destruction. There are features that combine to borderline break the game, making you invincible, or pushing past the (intended) end game.

The art style is of a resolutely old-school aesthetic and there is some excellent pixel art. There isn’t too much of a plot but the characters all have their own distinct personalities and humorous banter, not to mention radically differing play styles. The soundtrack courtesy of the highly talented Christoph Gray is also sensational, a real retro treat for the ears as you blast and dodge your way through the unfolding chaos.

For the ridiculously cheap price, this is a lot of game for your dough, and a very, very enjoyable one which I got bewitched by quickly and couldn’t put down. Void Scrappers is an absolute no brainer if you like quirky shooters and actually sits quite nicely alongside other genre-mates. This one is going to be on my Switch for some time to come, and it really does feel right at home there.