The Void (Ice-Pick Lodge)

 PC
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 115 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 86 out of 115
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 115
  3. Negative: 14 out of 115

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  1. ZachridW.
    Nov 3, 2009
    2
    I may be writing this a little bit soon, but this game has the potential to frustrate you seriously. I really admire games in which you start with a 'WTF'-expression on your face and then have to figure out what you are supposed to do. "Penumbra: Overture" was a great game that way. The problem is, that there is no concrete feedback for your actions and so you can easily I may be writing this a little bit soon, but this game has the potential to frustrate you seriously. I really admire games in which you start with a 'WTF'-expression on your face and then have to figure out what you are supposed to do. "Penumbra: Overture" was a great game that way. The problem is, that there is no concrete feedback for your actions and so you can easily navigate yourself into a dead end and waste a couple of savegames, without even realizing it. For instance, you always need to keep some of the "collected color" (yeah, you collect color here) inside your body, while you are on the map-screen, otherwise you die. Easy enough, but you are always processing this color, you put into you body from your stock, into "color you can use" - meaning that you always have to refill the color-chambers inside of you and keep an eye on your stock. The color only respawns at the beginning of each "cycle", so if you are making the mistake to process too much color at one point, you may not have enough to to survive the rest of the circle - because you already have collected evey drop throughout the map. The next thing is: I always got an audio message when I did something wrong, but I never had an idea how serious the impact of my actions was. So I just made my thing, tried to survive the circles, do the quests, collect as much color as possible and donate some of it to NPCs, so I could get access to more areas... but suddenly, at the beginning of a new circle I got attacked by a boss, because "I overdone it" or something like that. I didn't even got the option to flee and so I was out of color (= Life, Ammo, Mana) and in the middle of a bossfight. I could neither attack him, nor survive his attacks or even had a idea how to beat him. I didn't had a any chance to rethink my actions, because the punishment killed me at the end of the cycle and not at the moment I gone to far. Besides, the only thing I did wrong in my eyes was wasting color, and this just because the game often didn't recognized what spell I wanted to cast. So my whole turn was in vain and perhaps don't know how may turns before that one too. Another thing is, that a NPC asked me for green and golden color so I could access more levels, not knowing this in the first place I used that up for spells. But the real problem was, that within the next cycles every other color spwaned, but not the two I needed. So I was struck for a few circles in the first few chambers without being able to do anything useful. ...did I mention that this game has only 35 circles? Yeah, It has a fricking timelimit for the whole game. This game is a blance act, but without you having any sense of balance. It gives you only vague directions, but is unforgiving if you break one of it's rules. It's like one of the old Sierra Adventures: Eat the pie at the beginning of the game and you will never defeat the yeti at the end of the game. This could have been a GREAT and atmospheric game, but like this, it is just frustrating - without a decent walkthrough you will have to start it over A LOT to find out how you have to beat it ... and this is not how games are supposed to work these days.… Expand
  2. NixSar
    Oct 20, 2010
    3
    Refreshing in its approach, yes, nerve-wrecking in its approach, a BIG YES. No real explanation of the system, constantly asking of you to balance resources without telling you any details about what kind of balance you should seek and very, very unforgiving of mistakes. I can really recommend this game only to the hardest of hard core adventure? gamers who like it the hard way -Refreshing in its approach, yes, nerve-wrecking in its approach, a BIG YES. No real explanation of the system, constantly asking of you to balance resources without telling you any details about what kind of balance you should seek and very, very unforgiving of mistakes. I can really recommend this game only to the hardest of hard core adventure? gamers who like it the hard way - constantly reloading, saving, making mistakes, replaying and on and on and on. Somebody wrote that it reminds him/her a lot of the old Sierra adventures that were incredibly punishing in their approach to gameplay dynamics. I agree, but without the excellent storyline.… Expand
  3. StevenR.
    Jan 30, 2010
    1
    This game had great potential. The graphics were great and the environments you move around in are really interesting. That being said, the game play sucks. I hear a lot of people say, "If you like a challenge, this game is for you." I say, "If an annoying game that you have to play 50 times over from the beginning just to get to the end is what you like, then this game is for you." There This game had great potential. The graphics were great and the environments you move around in are really interesting. That being said, the game play sucks. I hear a lot of people say, "If you like a challenge, this game is for you." I say, "If an annoying game that you have to play 50 times over from the beginning just to get to the end is what you like, then this game is for you." There is something to be said for a games re-play value if you get something different out of it the times you replay it. This game is not like that. It will take you a few hours just to get used to it. Then you will have to restart because you are a dead end. And then, ten hours into it, when you think you get the hang of it, you'll realize that yet again something went wrong and you have to restart, from the beginning and have to the same things all over again, with the NPCs saying the exact same things over again. It isn't very innovative at all. It's a time / resource management game that has sharp game terminations. You have no physical body in the game, so you have to draw symbols ( "glyphs" ) with your precious recourses ( "Color" ) in order to interact with the world. That is. Nothing too amazing there. As a matter of fact it far too annoying an tedious for what it has to offer.… Expand
  4. ave
    Feb 11, 2015
    3
    A quality you must acknowledge about The Void, is that the game innovates in many fields : context, challenges, controls, you name it.

    You begin your journey after your death, and enter the void, a kind of limbo you may stay in as long as you can harvest colours. Your first steps are kindly suggested by a Sister, that provides you with your first survival objectives and understanding of    A quality you must acknowledge about The Void, is that the game innovates in many fields : context, challenges, controls, you name it.

    You begin your journey after your death, and enter the void, a kind of limbo you may stay in as long as you can harvest colours. Your first steps are kindly suggested by a Sister, that provides you with your first survival objectives and understanding of the place.

    And then you die by colour depletion, without even trying. Quite quickly I might add. So, what's next except restarting the whole game?

    But in one hand you have a slow paced game about (presumably) death, and in another hand the necessity of grokking the whole thing and acting quickly. Since I found the controls too cryptic, the first attire of the underworld turned into a complete lack of interest.

    I love innovation in games, but it is always dangerous to innovate in every field at the same time without any sort of volatility control. The Void could have been a great adventure game but the neverending addition of novelty ruined it for me.    … Expand
  5. dajhorn
    Aug 13, 2012
    3
    The Void is a resource strategy game pretending to be something else, but it is so unique and beautiful that you'll force yourself to play it even after you realize that you're planting "color" and farming trees.

    By design, you must play the game through several times and deduce the economics of "color". Like a classic adventure game from the 1980s, an early mistake on the first level    The Void is a resource strategy game pretending to be something else, but it is so unique and beautiful that you'll force yourself to play it even after you realize that you're planting "color" and farming trees.

    By design, you must play the game through several times and deduce the economics of "color". Like a classic adventure game from the 1980s, an early mistake on the first level will kill you much later, and you'll have no idea why.

    Needing to rotate game saves and spend a day learning game mechanics is boring, and drawing the glyphs is too hard and just not fun. Ice-Pick could have had a blockbuster in the The Void if they did some basic play testing.    … Expand
  6. hwanin
    Sep 17, 2021
    3
    There are not many games I deleted after I decided to install and play, but this is one of the few.
    I think I decided to delete when I realized you can proceed the game when you can properly please the women who are like demons in the underworld. You can please them by harvesting particular !colors! in the abyss like dimension then ...feeding... the women with the colors you harvested.    There are not many games I deleted after I decided to install and play, but this is one of the few.
    I think I decided to delete when I realized you can proceed the game when you can properly please the women who are like demons in the underworld. You can please them by harvesting particular !colors! in the abyss like dimension then ...feeding... the women with the colors you harvested. Sick enough?

    The game itself has a very genuine control mechanism and it was frustrating to get used to, but I still consider it a strong advantage.
    The map system is also unique. Like the neural network of a brain...
    The graphics are atmospheric, but were depressing to me.

    It's surrealistic from every aspect.    … Expand
  7. Pinkpansylove
    Aug 18, 2018
    4
    I imagine the unique setting will resonate with some people. For me personally I felt the environments and game play were both barren and lacking.

Awards & Rankings

65
#65 Best PC Game of 2009
62
#62 Most Discussed PC Game of 2009

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. GameStar
    68
    The Void has its fascinating sides, lucid colors on dull grey, bizarrely warped beings, floating bodies and bare breast. Surrealism plays a huge role in this otherwise quite simple game. Using an out-of-date function like time limits is simply annoying. But the game manages to surprise from time to time and is still worth giving it a try, despite the weaknesses.
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  2. Just Adventure
    100
    A solid "A" for innovation and delivering it in the highest professional manner.
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  3. PC Games
    75
    Titled as an action-adventure, this game is not typical. The best way to describe it, is like a modern art picture. You’ll find bizarre and beautiful elements and it his hard to understand, what the game is telling the player. The plot takes place between life and death and the melancholical spoken dialogues are good performed. So if u like to play around with uncommon gameplay, the void is a nice try.
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