Demo Impression: Dark Void

The first few things you are going to notice right off the bat with Dark Void are: graphics, jet pack, Nathan Fillion! And most likely they’ll be in that order. The demo opens to William Augustus Grey’s first time taking his jet pack for a drive. His training objectives are to destroy a couple watch towers, stationary weapons, and space crafts along a gorgeous cliffside overlooking a river. While Will is getting used to his new rocket powered backpack his animations are awkward and his witty banter shows his struggle with trying to harness the powers of his suit. The decision to have Will as an amateur soldier is a standout choice by Airtight Games. It’s not often that we’re given the chance to walk in the shoes of an underdog, so it’s a nice breath of fresh air from our usual world renowned super soldiers.

The demo takes us into Section 6 of Episode 1, where Will is getting newly acquainted with his jet pack, just as you are becoming more familiar with controlling him and his jet pack. The connection the player can make with Will’s amateurish ways does a great job at getting into his shoes. The controls are simple enough, the left analog stick controls Will’s direction, the right his spin, and the combination of the both to pull off fancy aero-acrobatics. Barrel rolls, reverse flips, and tricky turning aren’t just for looks though, they are effective evasive maneuvers that you’ll have to execute properly if you want make it through a mission alive.

The highlight of the demo was the constant shift from air to land combat. It goes a little something like this: boost towards a landing pad filled with enemies, make a quick switch to hover mode where you’ll pull out your assault rifle and attack, swap back to fly mode to avoid on coming fire. The rapid transitions from air to land adds an extra layer of strategy and excitement.

Will, voiced by Nolan North, not Nathan Fillion as mentioned above, is secondary only to the well handled air-to-land combat. I mention Nathan Fillion because Will seems to have been crafted out of his essence. He’s snarky, sarcastic, awkward, and an unlikely hero, much like Nathan Fillion’s character Mel from the cult television show Firefly. Luckily, we don’t lose any of Fillion’s charm with North voicing the character. I do wonder why they didn’t just get Fillion to voice Will, but other acting obligations are most likely the culprit.

My only gripe with the demo was its length. It’s merely a 10 minute training session. The experience ends just as soon as you start to get the hang of things. Too short even to tell if the game is worthy of a purchase. And if the demo doesn’t give you enough time to decide whether you like it or not, then what’s its purpose?