There’s been a lot of big, blockbuster games hitting over the last few weeks, and that can get a bit tiring. So this weekend, as I was perusing the Steam new releases, I spotted a curious-looking game called Void Stranger. I didn’t know what to expect, but it had some eager positive reviews and a novel idea.
What I got was one of the more pleasant surprises of the year. Void Stranger is a puzzling gem that I haven’t been able to get out of my head.
Made by ZeroRanger studio Systems Erasure, Void Stranger is a puzzle game in the Sokoban genre; essentially, pushing and manipulating blocks. Even if you don’t know the origin, you probably recognize the style from games like Baba Is You, Chip’s Challenge, or (arguably) Catherine. The vast majority of your time playing is spent in a Game Boy-stylized world, manipulating the small amount of real estate you have, thinking about how every step, direction, and manipulation can get you toward the next set of stairs.
It goes on and on like this, down flight after flight. Your protagonist is tumbling down a labyrinth, reminding me of games like Dungeon Encounters or another recent indie surprise, Demon Lord Reincarnation. But it has some surprises of its own, too.
Made in abyss
As you can tell from the trailer, Void Stranger doesn’t just do one look. It’s got a whole wealth of gorgeous pixel art it uses to tell its story, in very vague and interpretative ways. It pulls some really clever tricks that will make fans of Inscryption or Doki Doki Literature Club sit up a bit in their seats. I’m hesitant to share any of them because at least the first one—involving a brief respite—got several genuine laughs of appreciation out of me.
Even just briefly eyeing the discussions happening on the Steam forums, it’s easy to tell there’s a lot going on in this seemingly straightforward game. What’s impressed me about Void Stranger, though, is it’s fairly committed to using its medium to convey the mysteries. Within all these deeper explorations and ideas, manipulations of things that seem both mind-shattering and game-breaking, it’s all still the same sokoban puzzler. Systems Erasure has found some really clever ways of building a deep enigma within the mechanics of its puzzles, and I really dig that.
I don’t know if I’ll manage to see the bottom of this labyrinth. But if you’ve grown weary of the AAA bombardment we’ve had for the last few weeks and want something decidedly offbeat and different, Void Strangers is that. You can pick it up here on Steam or through the Itch.io storefront.
