Spawn. Shoot. Upgrade. Die. Repeat. There are a lot of pixelated aliens in the galaxy that need to die and you're the lone pilot that has to do it.
Void Scrappers is bullet-hell done right - its mechanics are easy to pick up, and you'll soon be blasting your way through the galaxy in short bursts.
Pick one of the plucky crew - each with their own particular set of skills - and rocket off on a mission to murder anything that moves with lasers, projectiles and fast-moving orbitals. Your path of destruction will be underscored by relaxing beats which will kick into high gear at just the right moments.
This rogue-lite also keeps you on your toes - with every increasingly stronger enemy wave, you’ll be frantically dodging oncoming fire and weaving through small gaps in their frontlines. With very little in shielding and defence, you’ll become an expert at either dodging or dying.
Having well-honed reflexes will come vital to survival once you're faced with the final boss. No spoilers - just good luck with that one. At least, you won’t have to wait around forever for that boss, a single run - most likely ending in death - will be over way before you become too overpowered and bored.
Void Scrappers might not have an upgrade tree as expansive as the excellent Vampire Survivors, but that just means that you’ll get to focus on a specific weapon and set of utility upgrades. However, those who like experimenting, and finding the wackiest possible item combos, might find the experience to be pretty stale fair.
Where Void Scrappers stumbles is in the information department or rather lack thereof. Take for example its spud-brother from another mother Brotato, which makes it easy to find your current stats by simply pausing the game - you'll instantly know where you stand power-wise and what to hunt down for an optimal build. Void Scrappers, however, doesn't have a quick way to see your combined stats, so you're always unsure about whether you'll be under or over-levelled.
I’ve sunk a lot of time into this underrated gem. It’s a great cleanser after hours of playing Mass Effect’s Legendary Edition, and as an added bonus, it plays great on the Steam Deck. So, I’d recommend Void Scrappers to anyone looking for something to fill that…void completing Vampire Survivours left