Full Void review – A beautiful, if simple, pixel platformer

Pixel graphics have come a long way since the first Super Mario Bros. and early Pokémon titles. In that time, developers like OutOfTheBit have been able to create some truly impressive interactive art. That’s kind of where Full Void falls in for me, as it’s more art than it feels like a game. Even still, it’s a light puzzle platformer that shouldn’t take players more than a few hours to beat.

While it’s not the most expansive game in the world, Full Void does everything it promises to in an incredibly simple and easy-to-understand way. Anything I didn’t immediately understand, I felt as if I was trying to rush and needed to consider my options before running ahead. Even in its simplicity, there were moments that vaguely reminded me of Game Boy Advance titles I played growing up.

Players who need a million things to do to be satiated will likely be bored with this title, but just sitting back and experiencing the beautiful atmosphere and sound design is enough.

Don’t look back

The premise for Full Void is a pretty standard one in sci-fi, with a rogue A.I. and robots that have taken over the world and a young player character being the only person who can right the wrong. There are brief flashbacks to the world before it was ruined, showing the main character’s mother working at a lab and giving her children a small robot helper. Some flashbacks do disappear too quickly, unfortunately.

This robot helper can be found in the game and used to simultaneously activate levers using the game’s interesting command system. It’s rudimentary, but the puzzles included were nothing short of impressive in their difficulty and solutions. The game gives you basically no tutorials and leaves you to figure it out for yourself, but thankfully there’s usually some kind of hint to help you arrive at a solution.

While there were certain areas where I had to repeat a challenge about half a dozen times, I never felt frustrated or like the game was unfair. There were a few moments where I felt the area between hazards and scene transitions was a bit too close, but this is an incredibly minor inconvenience compared to how easy it is to understand many of the traversal opportunities in the game.

Something interesting that Full Void does is provide alternate paths that players can explore to see something new, but sometimes this will cause them to die by spawning an enemy. It’s usually worth it because the game will put you back at a checkpoint that was autosaved when you reached it.

The simplicity is refreshing

If you’re playing on a controller, you’ll only use two buttons and the joystick for the entirety of the game, making it feel like a classic GBA title. Paired with some of the platforming and interactive mechanics, I briefly felt as if I was transported back to a younger version of myself sitting in a chair that was twice as big as I am without a care in the world.

The control of the robots was a really fun mechanic that starts as a surprise early in the game before becoming a core mechanic later on. These puzzles go from being easy enough to let you get your feet wet to being something that had me scratching my head and trying to come up with convoluted walking patterns when the answer was actually very simple.

The sound design is so impressive in that it evokes a kind of suspense and intensity one might not expect from a title with such beautiful visuals. It pairs together really well in addition to the basic gameplay mechanics to create an exceptionally atmospheric title that’s as pretty as it is unsettling. That being said, the music can be a bit overpowering at times and I had to keep lowering it.

OutOfTheBit has created a fun platformer that’s real attraction is how pretty everything looks. The simplicity in the gameplay is refreshing and reminds me of games I would play when I was younger. While it likely won’t be enough for the hungrier gamers out there, it’s a good, if short, platforming adventure that will test players’ reflexes and will to survive.

Try Hard Guides was provided with a PC review copy of Full Void. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles in the Game Reviews section of our website!