A Void Hope Review - Running On Empties (And Lost Memories)

Let me begin by saying how amazing the soundtrack for A Void Hope is. I daren’t move past the menu for a good 20 minutes, embracing the synths and letting my mind wander… what was I gonna say? Do you want to head to the log cabin? Oh yeah – let’s get on with the review.

The story follows a couple as they seek to find a cure for memory loss. This isn’t a simple case of retracing one’s steps to locate a set of keys, more so a pandemic where people are becoming husks of their former selves, with no recollection of who they once were.

A Void Hope is a narrative-driven platformer where you navigate a nightscape search for an exit, locate memory fragments, and find a method to undo what’s happened. As you progress through this relatively brief tale, you’ll note the couple’s motivations differ, with one looking to retreat to their log cabin while the other searches for a solution.

A Void Hope Review (PC)

This will make sense as you unlock the shared memories scattered throughout the city. There aren’t memories for every stage; there’s just enough to reveal the bigger picture, and even then, A Void Hope doesn’t offer crystal clear clarity, and that’s a good decision as you’ll be ‘living this out’ well after finishing.

Initially, you’ll locate items that trigger memories or interact with the environment when required. There isn’t much in hand-holding here, as gameplay is intuitive and moves at a brilliant pace, unlike the combat. In the first chapter, you will collect a gun, which is painful to use. That’s not the recoil pulsating through your controller but the dreadful movement speed.

The shoulder button will charge it up, and then a cursor appears on the screen that moves at a snail’s pace, allowing you to blast one of the ‘Empties’ in the game (the husks), though they are only immobilised and reappear. Other enemies are – how shall we say… swifter. Thankfully, checkpoints are close, plus there are fast travel points throughout. 

Way Of The Gun

The gun in A Void Hope is best used to destroy switches opening up new paths, and aside from the enemies in the game, it is probably the only challenge. In fact, for the first 30 minutes, while I was enjoying the pace, it was too easy. The gun mechanics are minor – the real challenge is probably working out where to go or unlocking a vault via a Snake-like mini-game.

You need not find everything on a stage in one go, and in some cases, you can’t proceed until you locate an item – such as a grappling hook in a later level, or tackle a creature in the forest until completing something else. There are no hints, so there might be a few moments of thumb twiddling.

The hardest part of A Void Hope, from my experience, was getting stuck on a stage involving fuel as it wasn’t clear what I had to do, and, without any hints, I wandered for too long. However, with that all pushed to the side, the overall storytelling and ambience make this a great alternative to something like Baldur’s Gate 3, Pal World, or fixing that leaky tap.

Taking the design element from Elden Pixels’ previous titles, such as Alwa’s Legacy and Alwa’s Awakening, A Void Hope looks great and (aside from the gun) handles beautifully. Besides the fantastic soundtrack, the colour palette popped for me. It’s rich and has a colour scheme similar to something like Leisure Suit Larry (the originals), and paired with the presentation and intriguing narrative, it all worked in its favour.

A Void Hope Review Summary

It’s a joy to complete a meaningful game without having to devote hours and hours to it; seeing through the narrative from start to finish in one sitting has quite the impact. Once you complete it, A Void Hope begs further replays to unlock all the secrets and relive the story once more; now you have some of the answers…