Review (5/6): Void Crew 1.0 - A Cool, Chaotic, and Challenging Space Adventure
We love feedback... both from both players in our community and media playing Void Crew. That gives us insights into which areas works and others to improve - making Void Crew the best experience it can be. One of the biggest Danish gaming medias, ARKADEN just released a full review of Void Crew 1.0. As it is written in Danish, we have translated it below, for you all to read. [img width="100"]https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/43802314/edb60fcef990197cc7d26163dd2a8010ed0a598a.png[/img] Void Crew 1.0 review (ARKADEN - original text in Danish) >>Void Crew 1.0 Review – A Cool, Chaotic, and Challenging Space Adventure.
Review in ARKADEN - Written by Michael Emcken, January 10, 2025. Void Crew has exited its 14-month-long Early Access, and it is incredibly addictive—especially when you have friends to man the ship with you. Void Crew offers an intense and cooperative experience where teamwork and communication are key to success. You and your friends will be thrust into chaotic missions where you must balance piloting the ship, fighting enemies, and scavenging "space junk" from the hostile ships you’ve taken down. Developed by Danish studio Hutlihut Games and published by Focus Entertainment, this rogue-like extraction game lets you navigate your spaceship through missions, extract loot, and upgrade your skills to progress as far as possible. The game begins with a brief introduction to the core mechanics. The pace is slow, and you won’t face significant challenges initially. But once the real game begins, the tempo and difficulty ramp up quickly. You’ll venture into space aboard a sophisticated spacecraft on exciting missions that you and your crew are hilariously unprepared for! Your main adversary is "The Hallow," the game’s only enemy faction. There’s a stark contrast between the tutorial and the main gameplay, but the difficulty is fair—you always understand why a mission failed. It’s just a matter of hopping back into the action, spending your newly-earned gene tree points, and venturing into space again. Roles and Gene Trees In Void Crew, each player can assume a different role on the ship, each with unique abilities and responsibilities. The available roles are: Pilot: Responsible for navigating the spaceship through missions, avoiding obstacles and enemy fire. Engineer: Focuses on maintaining and repairing the ship's systems, weapons, or hull. Gunner: Operates the ship's weapons to fend off enemies, ensuring you’re not overwhelmed by the numerous foes in certain missions. Scavenger: Heads out into space during the chaos to retrieve space junk that can be used to upgrade weapons or reinforce the hull.
Currently, the scavenger role feels unnecessary. While hull breaches require someone to venture into open space for repairs, it’s often better to send an engineer, as they’re more efficient at repairs. Some objectives require external work, but generally, having someone outside the ship is a disadvantage. As a result, the scavenger role doesn’t have a well-defined place compared to the others.
Players can rotate roles to keep gameplay dynamic and ensure everyone experiences different aspects of the game. Role selection and gene tree point allocation are managed in the Hub, where you also prepare for missions. Gene trees allow players to enhance specific aspects of their role, such as improving the pilot’s thruster speed or increasing the gunner’s weapon damage.
Into asteroid rain and ice storms the Space Ship has to venture out
The ship’s systems are interactive and easy to navigate. Weapons must be aimed, fired, and reloaded manually, and repairs often require players to dash around the ship like headless chickens, tackling one crisis after another.
While enemies try to turn your ship into space debris, environmental hazards like asteroid storms and ice fields also pose a threat. Effective communication is essential, as even simple tasks—like aligning the ship for a warp jump or managing power consumption—often require coordinated efforts from the crew.
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The moments when everything clicks and the crew functions as a well-oiled machine are deeply satisfying. Few games can match this level of cooperative enjoyment.
Alone in Space - Playing Solo
Void Crew can be played solo if you don’t want to team up with other players. This mode works surprisingly well, with automated turrets and other systems helping you manage tasks that would typically require multiple players.
While missions seem scaled for solo play, it’s not explicitly stated. Perhaps the automated turrets are just particularly effective at eliminating enemies.
Multiplayer: Where the Game Shines
We at Arkaden had the pleasure of playing Void Crew as a 4-player co-op team. According to Kasper Pedersen:
“Void Crew truly shines when experienced as part of a team. While missions—particularly space battles—can be tough, completing them feels incredibly rewarding. However, figuring out certain mechanics, like activating Hyper Drive, can be confusing at first. We also encountered a few bugs, like a crew member falling through the ship floor. But these issues were minor compared to the laughs and shouts we shared as a team, improving and mastering the game’s complex mechanics together.”
Conclusion
Void Crew is a fantastic game, slightly hindered by the lack of utility for the scavenger role and some technical issues. These flaws, however, don’t detract from the overall experience. The gameplay is solid, striking a perfect balance between micromanagement and engaging tasks. Every action aboard the ship has purpose and significance. Progression through the gene tree is satisfying, and each upgrade feels impactful. Space battles are intense, punishing mistakes harshly. While single-player mode is functional, it’s clear the game was designed for co-op. Void Crew is decent in single-player, great in multiplayer, and absolutely phenomenal with friends. Its strength lies in creating an engaging and dynamic multiplayer experience where teamwork is essential. For fans of co-op games and space adventures, Void Crew is a must-play. Developer/Publisher: Hutlihut Games/Focus Entertainment Genre: Rogue-lite/Adventure/Extraction Platform: PC (Steam)
Don't hesitate to share with us your Void Crew experience in comments! ...or join discussions with other Ectypes in the community on our Discord! //Hutlihut Games Crew
