Void and Meddler, developed by no CVT, is an episodic point and click cyberpunk adventure set in a neon dystopian future. We play as Fyn, a girl who has lost her memory two years ago and is going through a night of seeking other memories to insert into her own. Here is our overview of the first episode along with the first 20 minutes playthrough.
Void and Meddler’s first episode is an introduction to this world. It is divided into six acts that is separated by three episodes. Episode one features two acts of those six. In fact, Void and Meddler’s first impressions are both visually compelling and strewn with great background music that fits perfectly with our first impressions of who our main character Fyn possibly is. There is no doubt that Void and Meddler is trying for a different feeling. The story is one that is not exactly complex but aims to intrigue its players to learn more about a world where there is a technology that can download someone else’s memories into your own mind. There are powerful drugs and people who are not modified are far and few seemingly. At least that is the understanding we got from our playthrough. Visually, one of the first things to catch our eyes the moment we finish exploring the location we start in, Fyn’s Condo, is the street level. Right here, the best touch is having the raindrops have the effect of rolling down our screens. It is not only cool but rather immersive to see.
https://youtu.be/KOF_kLMLpS8
Void and Meddler’s dialogue is also quite edgy. Fyn shows off a lot of her tough, desensitized and perhaps, hot-headed personality. She also is a smart-ass with some cheeky comments. Put simply, she has attitude. However, there is an endearing factor that makes us want to learn more about her. As we discover the Void and Meddler world with her, it is hard to nudge off a dreariness lurking in it. It seems the cities and different subway stations lead to different areas that range in environments from secluded, abandoned areas like Moore to more upscale looking areas like Enki. There is a lot to discover and Fyn is free to roam around.
Here is where Void and Meddler may fall apart a little. For one, our first attempt of the game did fall apart literally in one area when a bug caused the cursor to vanish. That caused a complete restart of the game from the beginning. It could be because a graphics issues but it did work again on the second try. Second, the search for items and non-linear style of Void and Meddler set in a world that we are just starting to discover sometimes causes certain aspects to be hard to connect together. While, point and click adventures tend to have that feature, it takes time to move forward. Fyn proceeds rather slowly through one area to the next and when it is just going back to see what we missed, it becomes a lack of efficiency.
Void and Meddler’s second run-through was actually a lot smoother and we didn’t mind it because it helped us learn that there are actually different outcomes to your actions. A different approach lies with various parts and unlocks different achievements. On top of that, there are various characters that differ, perhaps that will result in a different episode ending. Also, while the game paced the character’s movement through the locations slow, an episode takes somewhere around the one to two hour mark depending on exploration and such, which is decent length to play through.
Void and Meddler isn’t a perfect game and might not have the best start. It is a little slow and when the episodes end, the acts didn’t actually seem like there was so much that happen but more that the movement from one location to the next took more time than the actual meat of the story being developed. The dialogue however is entertaining. It is visually appealing and the music is fitting. Fyn is a fun character to play as with her smart mouth and hot-headed personality. We can only hope that Episode 2 will show off more of her story.
Void and Meddler is currently available on Steam and has recently released Episode 2 on October 31, 2016. Look for our review coming soon.