Summary

Voidling Bound is an action-adventure creature-collecting RPG where players embark on a space-wrangling journey across various planets while neurologically linked to powerful companions known as Voidlings to push back the encroaching Void that’s destroying the local ecosystems. Here, players collect, upgrade, train, and battle as these creatures while exploring diverse regions, uncovering secrets, and making sure that the Void doesn’t spread any further.

Gameplay

The gameplay in Voidling Bound centers around your home base aboard a spaceship, where you’ll be doing most of your upgrades and Voidling training, as well as the planets you’ll be exploring and completing missions in after being neurologically linked to a Voidling of your choice.

Yes, unlike most creature-collector games, you actually play as the creature yourself in Voidling Bound, thanks to its advanced brain-linking technology. This ties into the setting of the game since the planets you’ll be visiting aren’t exactly habitable to humans, but they are considered local ecosystems for the Voidlings. However, while aboard the ship, the Voidlings are mostly confined to the sanctuary where they can wander freely. Here, you can view their unique behaviors from lying down to rest, frolicking with other Voidlings, or even taking a sip out of the shallow pond.

As a creature-collecting game, you’d be wondering how you can get new Voidlings. Well, you don’t catch them in the wild like Pokemon. Instead, you’ll find Voidling eggs in the wild and bring them back to the hatchery. Hatching them is as easy as switching on the machine, but the Voidlings you get can vary quite a bit. Aside from aesthetic differences, some Voidlings may even be born with rare natures (or traits) which grant them extra stats right from level 1.

These Voidlings can then be further leveled up to gain more stats, which you can assign to the attributes you want, either by training at the wheel or going on missions with you. Voidlings can also use mutagens that you collect while planetside to evolve. Evolution here works like a branching path, so by choosing one path, you can’t go back and go down the other path. Each path is also associated with a specific elemental alignment, which can be advantageous for you when facing down certain enemy factions that are weak against said element.

Of course, that’s not including the much-coveted Golden Eggs, which will hatch Voidlings that are at max evolution. Just imagine how much mutagen you can save this way… well, in exchange for not being able to choose which evolution path your Voidling takes! At one point, you can even breed your best Voidlings of the same species to hopefully get an offspring that has all the best parts of its parents.

There are also cerebral enhancements that you can invest in using the research points gained from missions. These enhancements are species-linked, meaning that the upgrades purchased will apply across all Voidlings of the same species, and are unlike Evolution, which requires you to spend mutagens on a per Voidling basis.

There are many species of Voidlings that you can discover, hatch, and collect in your Voidpedia, but there is a limit as to how many Voidlings you can store at a time. When you need to clear up some space for new Voidlings, you can simply release the ones you don’t need back into the wild and, in return, you’ll get some research points.

As mentioned earlier, another aspect of the game involves going on missions, planetside. There are many different kinds of missions in this game. Aside from the story-linked ones, there are missions where you’ll need to capture and hold areas for a time, battle enemies in an arena, or cleanse a location of all oozes. Most missions come with a boss fight at the end, which can be challenging, especially if your Voidling isn’t of the correct elemental alignment.

Personally, I also like that the game has fun little puzzles in some of the missions where you find new paths forward by unlocking new mechanisms, along with the many cleverly hidden resource stashes or golden eggs that any avid explorer in the game would be well-rewarded with. This is something I think the devs could expand on further if they plan to produce DLC for Voidling Bound. That said, each mission also has a timer that is entirely optional, but it does grant you an extra star on the mission if you can complete it within the time limit.

As fun as the game is, there are some obvious “meta Voidlings” (often from hatching Golden eggs) that I find myself sticking to when taking on certain enemy factions, which defeats the purpose of having a large variety of creatures… well, aside from filling up my collection. The devs could also add more mission variety – Considering that I only play missions that are new, at one point, I kept getting a series of arena battle-oriented missions, which can get tiresome quite fast.

Graphics/ Sound

Voidling Bound features a stylized fantasy 3D art style that combines cozy adventure game aesthetics with creature-collecting charm. The visual design places significant emphasis on the game's titular Voidlings - mysterious creatures that accompany the player throughout their journey. Each Voidling features a distinct appearance and personality, with designs ranging from cute and approachable to more fantastical and powerful forms. Their varied silhouettes and animations also help make collecting and bonding with them a central visual attraction.

In terms of sound, the game features orchestral and ambient influences that support exploration, creature bonding, and combat encounters while maintaining an overall lighthearted tone. Environmental audio also helps bring the world of Elysia to life, with natural ambiance, magical effects, and creature sounds adding depth to the setting.

Conclusion

Voidling Bound combines colorful fantasy visuals with creature-collecting mechanics to create an inviting action-adventure experience. It’s a game that’s designed for players who enjoy collecting and training companions, exploring vibrant worlds (and be well-rewarded for going on a tangent), and battling alongside some incredibly unique creatures. If this sounds like a game you’d like to play, be sure to check out the game on Steam now – you can thank us later for the recommendation!