VOID SOLS

This abstract indie Soulslike has some bright ideas

Lead designer Kartik Kini introduces this top-down dungeon crawler as "Geometry we're transported back in time to one of videogames' formative moments. As an abstract shape exploring a maze-like map with enemies to avoid and secrets to discover, it recalls Atari's Adventure, with its minimalist aesthetic and foreboding atmosphere, as much as Kini's contemporary reference points.

Otherwise, Kini's description fits the bill. As our triangular hero dodges jabs from pointed blades and fast-moving projectiles from archers, breakcore music from composer Vivi Mouse kicks in, capturing a similar mood to Bizarre Creations' twin-stick shooter. Yet we also find ourselves resting at bonfire-like sparks of light, where we can refill our healing flasks and choose which of our stats to boost, at the cost of causing enemies to respawn.

Maybe we aren’t, as we’d assumed, a victim, but a threat unleashed on the world?