The Voidness - Lidar Horror Survival Game

About The Voidness - Lidar Horror Survival Game

The Voidness was made by one developer at Steelkrill Studio, the maker of The Stairway 7 and The Backrooms 1998. It entered Early Access on Steam in April 2023 and was fully released on 30 October 2023. The first chapter is free to download on itch.io as a demo of the full game, which is sold on Steam.

You play Francesca Lee, a space specialist sent with a crew to study a mysterious void on a newly founded planet. The mission has gone wrong, and inside the void there is nothing but gloom. Your only way to see is a range-finding scanner: each sweep throws points of light onto the walls, floor and furniture around you, and slowly a room takes shape out of the black. Scanning turrets can light up landmarks for you, you can mark places you have been, and you find upgrades that let the scanner sweep vertically, horizontally and over a wider area.

You are not alone in there. The creatures that roam the void can only be seen when your scanner happens to hit them, and they react to noise and to being in their line of sight. Broken glass crunches under your feet, crates scrape, objects fall, and every sound can give you away. You have a stamina bar for short runs, but the maker is clear that you cannot outrun them. Instead you sneak, peek around corners and hide under tables. If you turn on the optional microphone feature, the enemies can hear you breathe while you hide.

Between encounters you collect supplies, health packs and clues in a full inventory, solve puzzles to open the way forward and piece together what happened to your crewmates. Progress is saved at save points and some auto-saves. Parts of the game take place in lit corridors and labs of the facility, which the Steam screenshots show stained with blood.

The store page warns of flashing lights, blood and jumpscares. The Voidness suits players who liked the point-cloud caves of Scanner Sombre but wanted something hunting them in the dark, and those who enjoy stealth horror where sound is the main danger.

How to play The Voidness - Lidar Horror Survival Game

1. Download the free Chapter 1 from itch.io to try it, or buy the full game on Steam for Windows.
2. Sweep your scanner across the darkness to paint the walls, floor and objects around you in dots of light.
3. Move slowly and watch where you step; broken glass, crates and falling objects make noise the enemies can hear.
4. When something is near, hide under a table and keep quiet; with the microphone option on, breathe softly.
5. Collect supplies, upgrades and clues, solve the puzzles that block your way and reach save points to keep your progress.

Tips

• Scan often in short bursts: the creatures can only be seen when the scan touches them.
• Mark rooms and paths you have already explored so you do not get lost in the black.
• Save stamina for escapes; the maker says the enemy never tires, so running only buys a moment to reach a hiding spot.
• If you play with the microphone feature on, use headphones so the game's sound does not leak into your mic.

Questions