Full Void

A short but challenging adventure about taking back humanity's freedom from an evil AI, Full Void is a beautifully crafted cinematic platformer that owes as much to Another World as it does Inside.

With such a tight run time, Full Void’s ideas don’t have time to wear thin, but neither do they have chance to develop much depth. As a modern game, it’s far more player-friendly than Another World, its main inspiration, and looks and sounds fantastic. It also brings fresh ideas to the table, rather than simply retreading the old for the sake of nostalgia. However, it lacks a compelling narrative arc, which could have made it feel truly cinematic.

A Slice of Cinematic Cyberpunk

With its wonderful pixel art and minimalist but atmospheric soundtrack, we’ve been pleasantly surprised with Full Void. We honestly launched it while waiting for another game to download, but then couldn’t pull ourselves away until it was over. Needless to say, while it’s quite short and relatively simple, it’s an experience you shouldn’t overlook during this absurdly busy period. Especially if you have a fondness for old-fashioned 2D platforming adventures.

Hats off to me for this excellent piece of software from indie developer "OutOfTheBit," which, with just 367 megabytes of storage, provides great entertainment and a little journey back in time on the Xbox Series X. Anyone interested can also try it on Nintendo Switch or PC (via Steam). Please, more of this! The only thing I need to investigate further is the two crashes on my Denon X4000 receiver. It's been running flawlessly for years and didn't cause any problems during subsequent gaming or TV sessions. I'm not entirely sure how a game or its sounds could cause a security shutdown, but if I can reproduce this, a patch might be needed to remedy the situation.

Despite its short runtime and perhaps lacking enough challenge for veteran players, Full Void is still absolutely worth picking up. The platforming puzzles and superb visuals are a great combination, underscored by an exceptional sense of atmosphere and unease. It also taps into how a debilitating event would feel and be perceived through the eyes of a child living through it. A worthy homage to its 20th-century predecessors, fans will feel right at home and have an enjoyable couple of hours.

Full Void tries to answer to the fans' call for the good old classic platforms like Another World, but a lack of challenges and its short longevity make it hard to justify playing it more than once.

Full Void is a cool little indie game that makes the most out of its influences and offers up a nice mix of puzzling and platforming within its short playtime. While it doesn't revolutionise the genre, it is a nice throwback to cinematic platformers of old that removes many of the more frustrating elements of its predecessors. If you remember the likes of Prince of Persia fondly then you could do a lot worse than jump into the Full Void.

Full Void is on the short side, but that’s no bad thing. There’s only so much you can do to keep someone invested in a dystopian narrative that does little to explain the world it resides in, and this adventure thankfully provides mystery, suspense, and climax in quick succession. I clocked in at just under two hours and came away satisfied. While the metaphors at work err on the self-indulgent side and the gameplay is relatively shallow, Full Void delivers a memorable experience about how it feels to have your childhood ripped away by forces you can’t control.

Full Void is worth playing for its best moments alone, and the artistic vision that underlies its crumbling world provides a consistently engaging visual feast. Nonetheless, it's hard not to wish that the gameplay more frequently rose above its comparatively mundane tendencies, especially considering a slight runtime that shouldn't necessitate much filler. Players looking for an exciting challenge or brain-teasers to rival the best adventure games might not be completely satisfied, but those compelled by the look of the game will no doubt find plenty to love in its beautiful artwork and atmospheric design of Full Void.