Masks of the Void Preview

The roguelike genre has seen quite a few titles in the last few years, with all kinds of twists, turns, and mechanics being thrown in to stand out in the crowd. Due to the popularity and ubiquitousness of the genre, however, I often find myself put off before ever booting a game up. As such, I went into the demo of ROLLDBOX GAMES’ upcoming title, Masks of the Void, with a bit of trepidation, only to be pleasantly surprised!

Though somewhat short, clocking in at about an hour of content, the demo does give us a look at the basics: we play as Iret, a denizen of Boreal Island trying to save her home from an eldritch being known as the Everlasting Night. To do this, she must venture into the Vortex, a fragmented dimension that was consumed by the Night ages ago. With the help of a mysterious power and a scientist, Dr. Herdsett, Iret is able to go back to the final 30 minutes of the Vortex’s existence with the aim of gathering both power and knowledge.

To keep her safe and enable her to fight the not-so-welcoming locals, Iret gains the use of one of the titular Masks of the Void, powerful artefacts with varying powers and the ability to grow even stronger. The Masks’ power is, however, tied to the chaotic energies of the Vortex in some manner, meaning the stronger you become, the more hazardous the surrounding area is.

In gameplay terms, Masks of the Void is a roguelite bullet heaven. Each time you dive into the Vortex, you’ll have 30 minutes to battle your way as far into the level as possible, taking on hordes of enemies and facing strong bosses. Depending on which of the Masks you use, you will have varying abilities, though each has the same categories: Basic, Defence, Special, and Dash. Your basic attack is used to increase Focus and act as your go-to weapon to deal damage. The Special attack drains your focus but usually deals some hefty damage, whereas the Dash and Defence skills help you to avoid damage or negate it altogether, respectively. Each of these skills can also be augmented via upgrades and special Void Gifts found during a run.

Now, the moment-to-moment gameplay is somewhat basic: you run around a map fighting monsters with your skills and avoiding damage. As you defeat enemies, they will drop crystals that can be used to upgrade your Mask and you can find useful items and extra upgrades on the map. Where Masks of the Void does come to its own, however, is in how your abilities actually work: telekinesis. While this may just seem like fluff, your psychic powers actually have a bit of strategy to them. When you use your Special skill, normally Iret will grab a few rocks from under the desert sands to attack with. However, if you happen to use the ability in the vicinity of smaller items in the level, like an old fence or the bones of a long-dead creature, they will be added to your telekinetic arsenal, allowing you to deal more damage! If that’s not enough, you can even use the ability to open up secret areas and alternate routes, which I found very interesting.

As I mentioned before, the demo itself is a bit on the short side and is very much a work in progress, as can be seen (or heard) in the cutscenes of the game. Instead of voice acting, I believe the characters are currently using text-to-speech or an AI voice, though that is completely understandable in an early demo. The combat can also be a bit monotonous, with your attacks missing single enemies more often than not due to their AoE nature, but it does a great job acting as a proof of concept for the concept the title is going for!

Though still rough around the edges, I liked the core concept of Masks of the Void. Being able to select between multiple Masks with varying skills and playstyles is always fun and the puzzle elements add a much-needed layer of strategy and variation to the bullet heaven formula. I hope the devs focus more on creative uses for the powers in play and I’m looking forward to seeing what this game will look like on release!