Bit. Trip Void

Developer: Gaijin Games
Steam Release: Dec 2012
Hours Played: 1.8
Similar To: Bit.Trip Beat / Bit.Trip Core / Bit.Trip Fate / Orbt XL / Rflex
Rating: 1/5 Parsnips



GAMEPLAY
All four original Bit.Trip games come in the 8-bit style, all four have a simple gameplay premise and all four come with chunky kick-ass soundtracks. Void sits nicely with the rest of them and all should be included in the library of any self-respecting indie-game enthusiast. Putting the unexplained scoring system to one side, the gameplay for Bit.Trip Void is satisfyingly easy to pick up. You control a large, black pixelated dot which can be moved anywhere around the screen. To a great pulsating beat, black dots and white dots appear on the screen in various configurations. Sometimes they arrive in uniform lines, sometimes they fall from above, sometimes they swirl about etc etc. Your task is to absorb the black dots by allowing them to hit your own dot (which gets bigger as black dots are absorbed).


BALANCE & PACE
Conversely, you need to avoid the white dots which make your dot return to normal size. At any time, with the press of a button, the player may reduce the dot back to normal size which is necessary when it becomes impossible to avoid the white dots if you stay at a large size. Action can build thick and fast and, like Bit.Trip Beat, if you make too many errors the screen goes monochrome as a warning. Continue to mess up and it's game over. All dots have fixed routes so as you play the game you can anticipate the next step or brace yourself when the next tricky wave strikes. The soundtrack, as in all Gaijin games, really makes the experience enjoyable and intense. The game has three levels, checkpoints and is ideal for two or three games per session.


PRESENTATION & DESIGN
Menu screens of Gaijin's Bit.Trip series have always been poorly presented in my opinion. Even though it's supposed to be retro, viewing an 8-bit style menu nowadays is just not pleasant on the eyes and slightly cumbersome to navigate and read. There is also a slight fade-out and a wait when pathways are clicked on, but why can it not be instant? My final gripe in the presentation department is that I got the impression that the background was just a tad gloomy and dark. Why not freshen up the colours a bit and include bright oranges and greens to give the game added vibrancy? 

PROGRESS SYSTEM
Progress and stats are also poorly executed. Only your best score is recorded (in blocky, almost unreadable text) and the complicated scoring system is not explained. Why not get one point for a black dot and take one off for white? Why not keep this simple and easy to understand and in keeping with the spirit of the game? Finally, to put your score in some kind of context it may have been useful to include an online leaderboard. However, as the developers have never included online leaderboards I guess they could be forgiven for this.

CONCLUSION
While the gameplay allows for the usual slice of fun and excitement you'd come to expect in a Bit.Trip game, I can't help but feel annoyed at the botched scoring system. I really, really wish the developers would take some time to explain this because, as is, it makes it harder to appreciate the naunces of the game. Is missing a black dot worse than bumping into a white one? Do I get more taken off my score if I miss a black or get hit by a white? Does reducing the size of my dot mean I score less? Are there multipliers? Knowing how the score system works would just make the game more enjoyable as, at present, it's just about aiming to get as far as I can which just kind of makes the game lose value.