Feature Review: Dark Void

Once players have this down, they’ll be introduced to vertical combat. This interesting take on cover-based combat is one of Dark Void’s most unique aspects. It sounds like little more than cover-to-cover shooting done vertically until you actually play it and experience the toe-tingling, sphincter-clenching sense of vertigo it provides, which is helped along by the swinging camera-work and pulled-back perspective. Will can use his boosters to thrust himself up to higher outcroppings or drop down to lower ones, depending on which way he’s going, and hoist himself up to fire at enemies above him or lean forward to fire at enemies below him. There’s plenty to remind players of gravity constantly tugging at them as defeated enemies fall to their doom, bouncing off rocks and outcroppings in a most satisfying manner.

These things alone are great fun, but it’s only when Will gets access to the rocket pack that Dark Void really opens up. The rocket pack has two primary uses: quick travel through the absolutely massive environments, and aerial combat. The aerial dogfighting is handled very well, and Will can fire at enemies with his rocket pack’s machine guns (and missiles, once you upgrade it enough) and perform some cool aerial stunts to position himself better. He can also hijack enemy aircraft, which is handled via a tense button-press minigame, allowing him to take control of more powerful weapons for a while. What makes this really impressive, especially during the later epic battles, is that Will can switch between on foot cover-based shooting to afterburning aerial combat at the drop of a hat. Only when you’re screaming around the skies gunning down enemy ships and then swooping down and running into a claustrophobic enemy base to destroy some power generators (without ever seeing a loading screen) will you truly realise what makes Dark Void so special.

With all that praise, you might think that the game doesn’t have a few niggling flaws, but even the best games have a few low points. They’re relatively minor in this case, though. The first problem is the lack of any braking option when hovering with the rocket pack. Will picks up inertia quite quickly while hovering, and there’s no way to counter it other than steering in the opposite direction, but it’s almost impossible to get him to drop straight down, making those delicate landings on small areas a bit tricky. The second is the melee combat. While Will can unleash an arsenal of brutal close combat moves on his enemies, it’s fiddly and doesn’t always respond when the button is pressed. The last thing worth mentioning is that the framerate seems to get a little choppy in those really large, epic battles, but it takes a lot for this to happen, and PC players may or may not experience it depending on the power of their machines. A little bit more variety in enemy types and the weapons on offer would have been welcome too.

With all of this in mind, Dark Void really manages to make itself stand out in an age where third-person shooters seem to rely on a minor hook or gimmick to put them a notch above the rest, by making its hook or gimmick a truly integrated part of the experience, inseparable from the core gameplay. It doesn’t hurt that it also looks great and features an excellent soundtrack and voice cast. Check it out if you’re in the mood for something new.