The critically acclaimed strategy-shooter roguelike, Void Bastards from Blue Manchu, has been re-released by Humble Games, prompting me to revisit this captivating title for a second time – once without digital rights management and again on Steam. More than five years after its inception, Wild Bastards has undergone a significant transformation, redirecting its focus down a new and unexplored trajectory that no longer resonates with me.
I had always looked forward to tackling this assignment with enthusiasm and relish? The game’s launch felt refreshingly hip and airy, a promising start to the pre-autumn AAA gaming frenzy. Regrettably, my initial experience has been underwhelming, leaving me wondering if I’m simply not mentally prepared to tackle this project, although some reviewers’ opinions eerily reflect my own sentiments.
It’s plain from the outset that Wild Bastards is an unapologetic tribute to the classic Western genre. “In reality, it explicitly states this on the duvet cover.” The tone is somewhat sarcastic, but it’s clear what you’re getting at. With precision-crafted dialogue, Blue Manchu effectively captures the witty repartee between characters, despite the occasional annoyance; the show’s sci-fi setting also cleverly draws inspiration from classic cowboy and bandit films, blending genres with aplomb. There exists a group of 13 legendary outlaws, comprising sufficient clichés to warrant scrutiny. With clear nods to its inspirations, it flaunts its heritage with unapologetic panache.
As the last two survivors of their former gang face the inescapable reality of their own mortality, they forge an unlikely alliance with the enigmatic Drifter, a sentient spacecraft, to search out and revive the lifeless remains of their fallen comrades as they make their perilous journey to the fabled Homestead. While the premise shows promise, the introduction’s hasty pace and disorienting chaos raise concerns from the outset, plunging players into a story that already seems to be several steps ahead of its own beginning. Indeed, this premise may prove cinematically captivating and thought-provoking (I find an excellent opening scene), yet the decision to transition from realistic characters to cartoon cutouts and comic strips feels arbitrary, leaving viewers feeling disconnected and disoriented.
The information regarding software, mechanics, and building processes lacks refinement. In reality, the primary run’s saving grace in roguelike/lite titles is that the game itself isn’t overly complex; players can simply click through their way, enjoying the fight encounter sections as they would in other first-person shooters, until an early demise due to being inexperienced and underpowered.
Like Void Bastards, Wild Bastards boasts a distinctive ‘tactical’ layer on top of its procedurally generated levels, allowing players to manage their crew’s abilities, upgrades, and navigation choices à la FTL, as they strive to reach their destination – eventually. Mostly, you’ll spend a considerable amount of time navigating through various menus to determine who’s joining each expedition, allocating resources and assigning loots, and ultimately identifying the safest or most rewarding route to your next destination. While navigating the complexities of Wild Bastards’ default difficulty setting requires a delicate balance between skill and strategy, it’s not until players unlock the “legendary” characters that the game truly feels fair.
The apparent lethargy of certain characters, coupled with the frustrating limitations on acrobatic skills, starkly highlights the detrimental impact of poison’s pervasive influence. The visuals belie nothing: Wild Bastards is every bit as rigid as its one-dimensional appearance suggests, its counsel akin to a flimsy paper doll. While this might not be a challenge if the gameplay did something different, as a genuine attempt at creating a classy shooter, it feels painfully rigid. The sport demands strategic usage of each character’s unique abilities, such as exploiting enemies for a bonus by randomly detonating them, but this mechanic is essentially reduced to mindless exploration of procedurally generated maps to collect as many power-ups as possible and spam special moves. While Choice B may seem appealing at first glance, the strategy of slowly strolling around and taking down enemies while conserving as much health as possible doesn’t quite add up to a winning formula.
While differing from Void Bastards’ approach, Blue Manchu’s new game doesn’t launch into action; instead, its combat and encounter dynamics bear a striking resemblance to Void Bastards, where strategy and the option to engage in combat were carefully considered during development. While considering the switch from combat-focused arenas to System Shock-inspired ranges wasn’t inherently flawed, the lack of fundamental adjustments to core elements like controls and player movement hindered the execution of this central concept. While the strategic layer operates smoothly, offering enough variety to keep me invested until the credits roll at least once (some innovative mechanics like NPC assistance and nuking roadblocks are improbable ways to shake things up), I’ve found myself longing for a turn-based game instead, or perhaps something equally as engaging.
Despite being refined since its pre-launch version, numerous irritants remain that are difficult to fathom were not addressed during testing. Despite my attempts to adjust the volume, the audio is unimpressively muted, with dynamic range compromised; equally disappointing is the stilted quality of the voiceovers, which seem to emanate from an adjacent space. The lingering bug from a previous demo release still persists, leaving many wondering why it hasn’t been resolved yet? Occasionally, I’ve encountered frustrating instances where enemies have perished without provocation, their lifeless bodies a stark reminder of unregistered key presses during intense firefights.
While some minor kinks will inevitably be smoothed out, the likelihood of profound, lasting changes materializing anytime soon remains dubious, as addressing the core problems plaguing Wild Bastards demands more substantial effort and dedication. While some may overlook subpar shooting mechanics and cinematic sequences in favor of engaging character dynamics and intricate relationships among outlaws, others might find these shortcomings more pronounced than the shallow depth of available gameplay features. Wild Bastards’ ambitious endeavour attempts to balance numerous novel ideas, yet struggles to fully commit or discard outdated concepts, ultimately leaving a sense of disconnection. With an abundance of refined and individualized roguelike alternatives currently available, I’ll soon be abandoning this intergalactic journey.
