Review
Atomfall review: intriguing concept, rough execution
by Philipp Rüegg
"Void Sails" tested: A successful indie game that hits my nerve
15.5.2025
Translation: machine translated
Pictures: Cassie Mammone
"Void Sails" sounds like a mixture of "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker" and Cthulhu mythology. But it's not quite that adventurous. But the game certainly offers a few cosy hours on a flying ship in a magical world.
On rainy days, I like to snuggle up with tea while reading. When I start «Void Sails» on my PC for the first time, I don't expect the game to give me the same feeling. But it does. «Void Sails» feels like a gamebook in game form.
(Adventure) gamebooks are a type of novel that usually don't read linearly from front to back. Instead, I make decisions that direct me to certain pages in the book, which continue the storyline, characterised by my choices. It's usually about overcoming an obstacle, finding a lost treasure or escaping from a hotel. Depending on my decision, I may die due to a chain of unfortunate events and have to start all over again. I don't experience «Void Sails» quite so mercilessly, although I regularly make decisions that have an impact on the story.
In search of the missing father - and Cthulhu?
In the pre-release version of «Void Sails» I take on the role of the nameless «Captain», who is looking for his father. He never returned home from an expedition. Instead, I board a ship and cross not the sea, but outer space.
In space, I have to be careful. The guardians of order in the form of the Inquisition are everywhere. Because mysterious cults with a penchant for occult rituals are springing up in every nook and cranny of the universe.
During the story, I have to choose several times: do I perform a dodgy ritual myself to save my father, or do I abide by the law and the official authorities? I never know who I can trust. The Inquisition takes a hard line, but I'm also unsure of the charming and so-called «man in yellow» who offers his support at the beginning. But because I've already familiarised myself with the Cthulhu mythos, I can guess what kind of character I can expect from him: definitely not a helpful Samaritan.
These are the perfect ingredients for a Cthulhu-esque or Lovecraftian adventure: the stories in which the protagonists usually go mad because they are confronted with an unwelcome truth or all-powerful aliens that the human brain can't process. The Old Gods from «World of Warcaft», the mind flayer from «Stranger Things» or the complete game «Bloodborne» by FromSoftware are just a few examples inspired by this.
Source: H. P. Lovecraft
The Cthulhu Mythos has the particular characteristic that not all of its content originates from the pen of its controversial creator H. P. Lovecraft. During his lifetime, when he was neither rich nor famous, the author was in contact with numerous other artists who added their own stories to his universe. For example, the inspiration for the «Man in Yellow» came from the author Robert W. Chambers.
«Void Sails» reveals its influences from the Cthulhu Mythos without going into too much depth. But that's not what I expect from a gamebook-like story. The existing content provides enough material to make the plot interesting and drive it forward crisply.
Decisions based on the A-or-B principle
The gamebook comparison stems from the fact that during the story - which I experience in text form - I make decisions that influence the end of «Void Sails». To do this, I simply select answer A or answer B. I experience my individual ending after about four hours of gameplay with a satisfied feeling. The short playing time makes it a good idea to restart the game to explore further storylines and endings.
Sometimes the answers go to so-called skill checks. This means that I have to roll on one of my three status values: Knowledge, Perception and Determination.
The dice are rolled using a turntable. My rolled number must be equal to or below a certain value, which is determined by the difficulty level of the check. The higher my status value, the easier the check is.
At the start of the story, I select my career and use it to determine my starting values. As always, I create a particularly intelligent character - at the expense of the other stats. As a result, I constantly mess up perception checks. This causes this value to drop. If I pass «Void Sails» checks, my stats go up and if I mess them up, they go down.
I get frustrated when I don't pass my Perception checks despite having supporting items like magic books or lucky charms. This causes my score to drop so low that at some point, not even items help. The hub drives me into a negative vortex from which there is no escape. As a result, I have little chance of passing decisions that require good perception. This locks me out of some storylines.
This fits in with the role-playing factor of the value-based dice system of «Void Sails». You can also easily avoid the problem by levelling up at the start of the game.
It gets playful on the ship
When I'm not rolling dice and making decisions, I explore the open areas with my airship. I drop anchor in places where more of the plot or side stories await me. Occasionally, I trigger simple switches or fight enemy ships.
Three firearms are part of my equipment: two conventional guns and a more powerful solar cannon that shoots a laser beam. Depending on which direction I am facing when aiming - forwards, left or right - I shoot with a different weapon. The fact that the cannons have their own cooldown times makes the battles a little more tactical. As much as I would like to pulverise everything with the solar cannon, this powerful weapon takes longer to reload than the two side cannons and is used less frequently.
The controls feel a little sluggish. My ship sometimes takes so much momentum when steering that I crash into walls and lose health points. It's not so bad that it takes the fun out of the game. But it annoys me unnecessarily during battles.
Another essential feature of my ship are the shields. I learned the hard way that attack is not the best defence in this game. The enemy ships fire back during battles and drain my life bar if I don't activate a shield. Fortunately, after five early, frustrating deaths against a pirate, it clicks for me «» . Since then, I've been more patient in the entertaining ship battles. This drastically increases my chances of success.
I can also improve my ship and make my shields more robust or my solar cannon more powerful, for example.
Little variety and sluggish performance
The last, rather unimpressive gameplay element of «Void Sails» is the journey between the open areas and action sequences. This takes place via an interactive map, where I click on the point I want to travel to next. In the process, I make intermediate stops where I am confronted with supernatural events. Here, too, I usually have to complete skill checks that push me in one direction of the plot or earn me a valuable item as a reward.
In between, I rest at the lighthouse and bag provisions - there is also a tiny Management or Survival element in the form of food. This is so simple that it could have been left out. Before I set off for the next map, the game tells me how much food I need to buy. Even if I take detours on my journey, I always have enough provisions. Thrills never arise.
The first work by indie studio Ticking Clock Games leaves a good impression with its production. The texts that describe the plot to me are grippingly written. Occasional dialogues are successfully dubbed into English. Apropos: «Void Sails» is only available in English.
I would like to see more quality in the game's performance. Not everything runs smoothly on the scorecards. In addition, the game crashed several times - twice within the first 1.5 hours at the same point. I don't know at the time of writing this review whether this will improve with the release. What is to follow is controller and Steam Deck support.
While I'm playing «Void Sails» with mouse and keyboard, I imagine how much more fun it would be on the Steam Deck - preferably snuggled up with a cup of tea.
«Void Sails» has been available for PC since 14 May 2025 for just under 21 francs. I tested the PC version via Steam.
In a nutshell
A cosy Cthulhu adventure despite its lack of complexity
"Void Sails" is a playable book with space ships in the Cthulhu Mythos. An absurd mixture that is both captivating and cosy at the same time.
The game is aimed at a specific audience: Cthulhu and sci-fi fans who enjoy reading. The video game feels like a childhood game book and tells an exciting story with a lot of freedom of choice. The exploration of the ship and the cannon battles offer a fun change of pace. Unfortunately, the controls are a little fiddly in places. With a playing time of just under four hours, "Void Sails" is a short but wonderful and cosy adventure.
Pro
- Successful Cthulhu story with mystery elements
- Freedom of choice, comparable to a playbook
- Several gameplay elements provide variety when reading
Contra
- Skills system, skill checks and provisions not sophisticated enough
Cassie Mammone
Freelance Editor
cassie.mammone.freelance@gmail.comI wrote my first text about video games when I was eight years old. I haven't been able to stop since. The rest of my time is spent on my love for 2D husbandos, monsters, my cats and sport.
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