Steam Stealth Fest is now live and will run until July 31, and if I could only recommend one game among the many sneaky discounts, it would be the BioShock-inspired FPS roguelike made by the studio which was founded by one of the co-founders of BioShock developer Irrational Games.
That game is Void Bastards, a strategic shooter with a roguelike gameplay loop and a lovely cel-shaded aesthetic. It's 70% off for this stealth sale, dropping it to just $9. I'm spotlighting it partly because I still think it's underrated, and also because it kicks a lot of ass.
Void Bastards is the debut game for developer Blue Manchu, which was founded by Jonathan Chey a few years ago. Chey's best known as one of the co-founders of Irrational as well as development director on BioShock and System Shock 2, so when Blue Manchu says Void Bastards is inspired by the iconic undersea FPS, it really means it.
Void Bastards is an FPS about charting a course through space with a crew of misfits. You're trying to get out of the Sargasso Nebula and you've got an endless supply of prisoners to throw at the problem. There is a big strategic element to choosing destinations – in a map that will feel familiar to fans of games like FTL or perhaps Slay the Spire – but you've also got to put your boots on the ground.
There's quite a lot of shooting and looting in Void Bastards, and the pressure's always on to make the most of your resources. Explore abandoned ships, scavenge food and fuel, cannibalize sci-fi tech, and make clever use of environmental hazards in almost immersive sim-lite environments chock-full of enemies that feel good to shoot.
The FPS pedigree shines through in a fun way that adds moment-to-moment kinetic skill expression that can let you get away with risky gambles. You might be woefully unprepared for an encounter, but you still might pull it off if your aim's good enough. And no, stealth isn't the first descriptor that comes to my mind, but the genre tag isn't totally unwarranted and I'm not complaining because it means it's on sale.
Void Bastards takes about 10 to 20 hours to clear and you can theoretically play it a bazillion times. Give it a go if you find yourself hankering for something with Shock DNA. It's also on PS4 and Switch, if you prefer.
For a very different sci-fi roguelike, check out this Star Fox-style bullet hell.
