I walked into void tRrLM(); //Void Terrarium not knowing exactly what I’d get and was left pleasantly surprised. Until the New Game + Expo, I had no idea what this title even was but the trailer piqued my interest. Even though this game released during a busy period, don’t let it sneak passed you. I found Void Terrarium to be the perfect companion piece as I played Sony’s two latest exclusives.
Void Terrarium starts off a bit strange. The opening has you playing as a rat in a 2D environment until it activates your true player character, a lone robot. Once awaken, the robot meets a girl who may be the last human. With help from an A.I., who names the robot Robbie and the girl Toriko, Robbie sets out to keep Toriko healthy and safe.
It’s a Lonely World Out There
There’s a charm to the way the bleak world is presented. There are all kinds of muted colors to depict how uninhabitable this world is. The enemies have unique designs to them though after a while you start to see some palette swaps. Toriko has an interesting design as she’s a girl with something in her left eye that looks like tentacles.
In order for Robbie to keep Toriko healthy, he has to venture out into the ruins left by humanity. It’s at this point I learned what exactly Void Terrarium is. It’s a top down dungeon crawler role playing game similar in vein to the Mystery Dungeon games. You explore dungeons to collect items that help you delve deeper. Once you either leave the dungeon or are defeated, those items you’re holding are then converted into crafting materials. You can use this to craft thing s like beds, medicine, and even combat upgrades for Robbie. While Robbie’s level may reset after every run, by crafting items for Toriko you can gain permanent stat boosts.
One More Run
Combat is pretty simple. When in dungeons, everything you do is based on turns. Each step forward is a turn and the same goes for attacks. You level up like in any rpg and you are skills to choose from. These skills can be passive stat boosts or special moves you assign to one of the face buttons. There are all kinds of status affects and traps that can hinder your progress. You can be put to sleep and miss turns, you can be poisoned, and so much more. It’s so easy to get lost in the gameplay and get caught up in doing just one more run.
Taking care of Toriko also means she is properly fed and that her terrarium is kept clean. There will be times when Toriko may contract an illness from the food you feed her. All the food you feed her is contaminated and you have to watch the contamination amount that you feed her. These illnesses can be pretty weird like ballonitis where she blows up like a balloon. Another one sees her turn into a bird. It’s at this point you have to go to special dungeons to find ingredients for the cure to that specific illness.
It’s Okay to Take Your Time
So when I got my review code for the game, I tried to rush through it to review it before release. This is not the ideal way to play this game. You are expected to die in dungeons multiple times before you acheive your objectives. For me, this quite frustrating given that I was playing the intense The Last of Us Part II at the same time. There are also things going on in life that may have added to my frustrations. At that point I decided to take things a lot slower. I began to appreciate Void Terrarium a lot more after that. This isn’t a game you’re meant to rush through. You are suppose to think about why your last run fail and maybe think to how you can do better in the next one.
I find it easy to recommend Void Terrarium to anyone looking for a break from gigantic open worlds and bleak storylines. While the premise may sound dark and depressing, this game has so much heart you can’t help but to feel hopeful with Robbie and Toriko.
CodyJayBlogs 