Dark Void Zero

Genre: Action-Platformer

Players: 1

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Review:

Dark Void Zero is an Action-Platformer released on mobile devices and on the Nintendo DSi via the DSiWare service in 2010 and then grandfathered into the Nintendo 3DS eShop when that system was released. This game was originally released alongside the console game, Dark Void, intended as a companion tie-in game, but ultimately, many ended up feeling that despite its smaller profile, Dark Void Zero was the far better game out of the two.

Stylistically, Dark Void Zero has been created to look like an 8-bit game, to the point where players start the game by “blowing into the cartridge” on-screen (using the Nintendo DSi/Nintendo 3DS microphone). The game’s pixel art visuals look great here, and they’re paired with an excellent chiptune soundtrack created by Bear McCreary, who has since gone on to compose the soundtrack for numerous big-budget videogames and blockbuster films. The end result is a game that would have been one of the best-looking games to grace the Nintendo Entertainment system… if it had ever been released on that platform.

The gameplay in Dark Void Zero has players searching around large levels for keycards that will let them progress to new areas. To do so, they’ll be jumping from platform to platform, shooting enemies, and occasionally getting to make use of a jetpack that enables them to fly around at will. I found the jetpack a bit unwieldy to use, but overall the core gameplay here is great.

I’m a bit less-enamored with all the backtracking this game makes players do, something made even more tedious due to the fact that enemies frequently respawn the moment they go off-screen. This doesn’t ruin the game, but it does feel like it pads out the content a bit (and even with this padding, the game is only 2-3 hours long), and I would have rather had either more linear stages or game design that more closely resembled a Metroidvania.

Still, even with its frustrations and short length, at $5 it’s a solid Action-Platformer that’s well worth picking up. The retro aesthetic does a good job hitting the nostalgia spot, and the core gameplay is excellent. If you’re looking for Nintendo 3DS games to get before the platform’s eShop closes permanently in March 2023, this one is well worth consideration.

tl;dr – Dark Void Zero is an Action-Platformer that has players blasting through enemies and jetpacking through somewhat nonlinear areas hunting down keycards to progress. The game is only 2-3 hours long, and even within that small playtime it’s a bit padded out, but the gameplay here is good, with fun mechanics and excellent variety. It’s definitely worth picking up.

Grade: B-

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