Voidbreaker: the FPS that rewires roguelites

Voidbreaker, the incredible roguelite shooter you probably aren’t playing

To bring something truly unique in a popular and heavily saturated genre like the FPS genre is no mean feat; in fact, it’s a rarity usually reserved for hugely experienced teams with sizeable budgets and the marketing clout to preach to the masses. In this Voidbreaker review, we explore how the game attempts to stand out in this competitive landscape.

Launch & Reception

Voidbreaker pretty much slipped under everyone’s radar when it launched into early access on the 19th August and since then has blazed a trail of high praise from players and gaming press alike, amassing an impressive 1,100 ‘very positive’ reviews on Steam already. Hell, even Kotaku stated that it might be 2025’s best FPS.

Trailer

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From a Solo Dev

Voidbreaker is the work of just one man, a Brighton-based lone developer by the name of Daniel Stubbington. He was formerly cinematics lead at TrailerFarm, a creative studio that produced game trailers for game publishers and development studios. His previous game, The Entropy Centre, was a mind-bending first-person adventure where you solve ingenious and complex puzzles by rewinding objects through time, and currently sits at a respectable 7/10 on IGN.

It’s all in the data, and the data don’t lie

If Tron, Superhot, and the creative visionary mind of Syd Mead all got put into a blender, then Voidbreaker could be the end result; it’s beautifully realised with a retina-burning palette of neon colours, fast-looping gameplay, and action that combines brutal FPS ballistics with some great sci-fi anti-gravity physics.

Gunplay at Speed

Where the game really stands out is its gameplay and action; the gunplay alone is a great reason to dip in, but it’s the sheer pace of the action that elevates Voidbreaker amongst its peers. Add to that the ability to completely destroy buildings and structures, which tactically can be used to your advantage—especially if you catch enemies in the ensuing collapse of debris.

Destruction as Strategy

For a lone developer to nail smooth gunplay in such a way, but also incorporate the additional aspect of running and jumping in a balletic tour-de-force—thinking about your next move to string together epic takedowns as you lock on to an enemy and take them out, or tether and fling large objects with an anti-gravity weapon (yeah, just like Half-Life)—is not only a cool gameplay mechanic, it’s also a visual treat. Such lofty aspirations of game design, where mechanics and user intuition are balanced so well, are no doubt in part down to the 3,500 players who directly provided feedback on the game; from a playtest that ran 20 days with 55,000 players, it’s easy to understand how it accumulated 56,000 wishlists before launch.

An AI narrative Brings Sci-fi Satisfaction

In terms of narrative, Voidbreaker presents an enthralling Tron-esque atmosphere that sets the game inside a huge AI programme that uses human test subjects to gather intel on combat tactics and warfare. You’re helped on this journey by a remnant consciousness; sure, you’ll die again and again as you try run after run to defeat everything the AI throws at you, but it’s not tedious or repetitive—allowing you to learn from your mistakes, try new strategies, and work at upgrading through progression-based gameplay.

This is a bizarre AI world with some mind-bending enemy design, but it’s beautifully done, and combat is hardcore: it’s brutal, colourful, and extremely satisfying; weapons have punch, and the particle effects are to die for. Voidbreaker reminded me a little of Perfect Dark, and I can’t help thinking there are aspects of that game that have inspired Stubbington—one in which he has clearly loved working. Its Early Access status means there’s room for improvement, but with so many positive reviews already, this time can instead be focused on only small tidying up and perhaps more focus on creating new, compelling content to keep players coming back for more.

Gunning for a Player Base and Share of Voice

Whereas roguelite Deadzone Rogue brings a slightly more traditional sci-fi shooter with a tiny hint of Unreal Tournament to how weapons are styled—this too has extremely competent gunplay—Voidbreaker, on the other hand, stands apart with a surgically clean and open feel that makes it appear quite fresh. Insane upgrades gained via loot boxes dotted around the environment mean you can really shake up your tactical approach. Since damage, fire rate, or accuracy can all be played around with, this opens up some interesting strategic decisions: deal out wider, more impactful shot spread at the expense of ammo rate, or upgrade how accurate you are on the move.

On the face of it, this is ‘combat parkour’ on digital acid as you leap high over enemies, using buildings as cover or blowing out walls and ceilings to bring collateral damage into your offensive runs.

Loadouts & Upgrades

Deadzone Rogue also slipped in under the radar earlier in August, and both games deserve way more awareness and marketing than they’ve actually got, but I see this as a result of available resources to promote rather than an overall reluctance to do so. Being a lone developer like Stubbington means you’re addressing more of the challenges to launch a game that will see you wearing many hats to juggle the myriad duties from developer, producer, and publisher, to PR rep, salesman, and marketeer—and at some point, one of those is going to have to suffer.

Read our coverage of Shape of Dreams.

Timing & Awareness

Both games, and especially Voidbreaker, have launched at just the right time—late summer and inside that small window of opportunity before bigger titles start eating up the last quarter, where it becomes harder to stand out. Both games got great results from pre-launch exposure, which at least got them noticed during Next Fest and IGN Live. Now the only thing to do is to figure out how to add a couple more hours into a typical day to play everything worth playing.

Voidbreaker – Summary

• Developed by lone developer Daniel Stubbington, creator of The Entropy Centre.
• Utilises a branching upgrade system that adds tons of variety and tactical options to gunplay and capabilities.
• Pin-sharp visuals set within an abstract AI universe; a cool sci-fi narrative with a Tron-inspired subplot and fast, frenetic gameplay.
• It’s currently in Early Access and already has over 1,100 ‘Very Positive’ reviews on Steam.

Images courtesy of Stubby Games / Playstack.

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