Cyberpunk Adventure Void And Meddler Going Episodic
Hack the planet
I really enjoyed the surreal cyberpunk world of Void & Meddler [official site] last year. Created in a game jam, it was an adventure game which gave a fine sense of a weird, sprawling world by not explaining any of it. No lengthy exposition about the grubby future, the humanoid animals, our character's history, or any of that guff - you launch the game and launch into a sinister adventure of murder, illicit substances, cyberdreams, and conspiracy.
I'm delighted to see that creators Dorian SRed and Trevor Reveur (the duo behind also No Wave) have built a team to continue Void & Meddler, and plan an episodic release starting in October.
With six branching acts over three episodes, Void & Meddler will continue the non-linear story of a lady who found herself embroiled in a right nasty mess after being sent to steal something she didn't even understand. Always know what you're stealing in the cyberfuture, chums. I'll be glad to see more of her sticky situation, but especially to see what they can do with the world.
The game jam prototype's night clubs and metro stations bustled with life, people doing their own thing and hinting at far more that you're never shown. One fine scene sees you talking twenty-five seconds to walk a block, seeing a big chunk of city from a zoomed-out perspective to establish a sense of place. It also had a few interesting red herrings, like several ways to tackle a narc who, it turned out, you can avoid entirely. So yes, more mystery and more unexplained oddities, please.
You can still play the original prototype over here. That was made by Dorian and Trevor in only 15 days, so I'm jolly excited to see what a team of six might do with months. Their team, NO CVT, has also picked up Out There creator Mi-Clos Studio as a publisher/mentor.
A season pass will cost $12 (£7.70-ish). Here, have a trailer:
