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 Void Stranger is a new puzzle game from System Erasure, the developers of excellent shmup game ZeroRanger. It's my game of the year for 2023 barring an actual miracle, and one of the best puzzle games i've ever played.  You played as Lady Gray, attendant to a struggling medieval kingdom, as she explores an infinite labyrinth in search of something dear to her. Rest in front of checkpoint trees throughout the labyrinth to recall more of her past and her mission.  Gameplay is in the Sokoban genre. For those not in the know, Sokoban is a genre of grid-based puzzle game with a heavy focus on button pressing and maneuvering objects in tight spaces. this game's specific twist on the genre is the Void Rod, an artifact you find at the start of your journey that allows tiles to be picked up and placed elsewhere in each room. Difficult ranges from pleasant walk in the park for the first half of the first gameplay mode, to occasionally tricky in the back half, to ballbustingly difficult in the game's Hard Mode. If you're a puzzle gaming novice, I would still recommend playing this game! The first playthrough is substantial all on its own, with a gentle difficulty curve and a lot of interesting twists and turns that should keep anybody hooked.  Sokoban isn't the only puzzling you'll be doing! The Void hides a massive, and I do mean massive number of secrets to decipher and interpret. If you've enjoyed such fine games as: Baba is You, Environmental Station Alpha, Tunic, or La Mulana, you might have an inkling of what's in store for you. As with most games of this nature, many of the important details have the best impact if you discover them yourself, but if you're stumped by any specific puzzle asking for hints is totally okay.  Please remember to spoiler tag posts and images! The cool story moments are one thing, but there's a whole host of things where seeing even the most oblique details can totally change your understanding of the game. FAQ The game's been out for a little bit, so I'm listing some tips for newcomers here. I think this is a game best experienced fresh, but some mechanics can be stumbled into without context in a way that doesn't explain their function. If you're mystified after something strange happened, or confused about what to do next, check here! Resetting Progress: There are three ways to reset progress. The first is a "soft" reset, which restarts the run from the first floor of the void. This reset can be accessed by entering a staircase positioned directly below one of the many black idols with four gems scattered throughout the void. Try not to do this accidentally! Resetting Progress part 2: The second reset is a "hard" reset, which closes the game and, upon reopening, returns the player to the main menu and brand selection screen. Despite resetting the run, certain pieces of game progress and memory crystals collected are still saved. Access this reset by running out of locusts and then refusing the offer of fruit from the trustworthy bat-devil in the scene that follows. If the fruit has already been accepted, it's also possible to perform a hard reset by dying many times in a single room in VOID mode. Resetting Progress part 3: There may be a third way to reset progress such that all save data is completely removed.... If such a thing did exist, it's surely not within the bounds of the void as anybody knows it. Don't ask how I know... Skipping Floors: Fall in front of a smiling statue to donate all held locusts and skip that many floors forward. There's are other ways to manipulate floor number, but they require inventive use of the void rod and a deep understanding of the structure of the Void. Keep an eye out! Permanent upgrades: Some special markers of progress can be brought into each new run. In particular, completing your first run in VOID mode will unlock one such special upgrade. Perform a hard reset (see Resetting Progress Part 2) after seeing the ending in order to formally unlock the new upgrade. And one free bit of advice: write things down, and take screenshots of anything that even whiffs of importance. The more you understand of the Void, the more efficiently you'll be able to traverse it. Venuz Patrol fucked around with this message at 02:30 on Sep 12, 2023 |
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Sep 6, 2023 03:07
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| # ? May 4, 2024 21:51 |
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This is in a very strong position for my game of the year. It's really tough to discuss without spoiling, even with tags, just because so many discoveries can come at any point in someone's run. I will try and frame where I'm at, though -- I have "finished the game" twice now -- I did a voided run, then I did another run without eating the fruit where I found 3 burdens and got to rest at the last tree. I've just restarted into the Lilly run, which I suppose is hard mode. Holy poo poo it's hard lol! I think I'm going to do a "voided" practice run with her for the first time like I did with Grey.
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Sep 6, 2023 04:09
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Don't let the graphics fool you. This game is very story heavy with meticulously designed and illustrated characters. It is also a long game. Expect to spend at least 40 hours to reach the true ending (I'm not personally that far yet).
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Sep 6, 2023 04:22
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I'm not going to have time to play this for a while, but my guess is that this will probably be the best game of 2023 based on how good Zero Ranger was.
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Sep 6, 2023 04:25
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I don't want specific spoilers, but I'm early in the game (~B035?) and there are a couple of areas where the chests seemed impossible to get with the given geometry. Do I get stuff later that will let me go back and get them, kind of like in a Metroidvania? Or are they all supposed to be possible given what you have when you first encounter them?
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Sep 6, 2023 05:00
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Seeing this mentioned in the fresh releases and general puzzle game threads as comparable in depth to Tunic, La-Mulana, ESA, and others convinced me to pick it up. It's a decent sokoban and certainly has weird stuff going on but after 6 hours I have yet to see it going off the rails. My progress: I've reached the first(?) ending while in void mode by getting to a musical montage (very nicely done) but the game didn't really reveal as much as I hoped. I now know how to hard and soft reset but no clue as to the utility. I can also skip levels equal to my number of locust idols which I assume comes into play with reaching certain floor numbers, but I didn't keep notes of those. I got the infinite lives code but combining it in the obvious way had underwhelming results. I'm looking forward to where it must go given all the praise and I can see hints to what lurks beneath the surface, though having to replay through all the early levels each time is a drag so I keep taking long breaks. WhiteHowler posted:I don't want specific spoilers, but I'm early in the game (~B035?) and there are a couple of areas where the chests seemed impossible to get with the given geometry. That early in you should be able to reach them all.
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Sep 6, 2023 05:05
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One bit of advice about void mode, mildly spoilery about routes: I would recommend being careful about using void mode or infinite locusts in hard mode. the infinite lives are obviously nice, but they won't solve rooms for you, and hard mode is so dense with high difficulty rooms that it might be a long time between each chance you get to reset progress or change routes. If you can reach the first checkpoint tree reliably in hard mode, playing on finite lives isn't so bad as you can start maintaining a decent stock of locusts (if you've been paying attention to the game's mechanics).WhiteHowler posted:I don't want specific spoilers, but I'm early in the game (~B035?) and there are a couple of areas where the chests seemed impossible to get with the given geometry. Every room is solvable with all chests with the void rod you picked up on floor 2. Some chests require using knowledge about the game's mechanics that haven't been tutorialized for you yet, so keep an eye out whenever a room teaches you a new trick and think about how it might apply elsewhere.
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Sep 6, 2023 05:08
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Hey yeah this game is sensational, it's all I can think about at work. I've made it to the bottom a couple of times while VOID, but haven't gotten more than a single room into the final (?) area while alive. Not because it's too hard at this point, but because I keep getting side tracked into cool secrets that warp me all the gently caress over the map!
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Sep 6, 2023 05:09
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WhiteHowler posted:I don't want specific spoilers, but I'm early in the game (~B035?) and there are a couple of areas where the chests seemed impossible to get with the given geometry. Don't remember B35 off the top of my head (post a screenshot if you're there now) but I'm pretty sure you should be able to get all chests at that point. Hold onto that "metroidvania" thought but know that you already have all the tools you need to get through the game. Do be aware you keep the rewards from chests even if you die after getting them.
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Sep 6, 2023 05:12
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Swilo posted:Seeing this mentioned in the fresh releases and general puzzle game threads as comparable in depth to Tunic, La-Mulana, ESA, and others convinced me to pick it up. It's a decent sokoban and certainly has weird stuff going on but after 6 hours I have yet to see it going off the rails. Not sure how much you hosed with them on your first run but next step is probably figuring out what to do with the murals
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Sep 6, 2023 05:15
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goferchan posted:Not sure how much you hosed with them on your first run but next step is probably figuring out what to do with the murals I'm still on my first run (up to floor B168) and I remember the game swatting me on the wrist when I tried to make my brand the B1 mural shape. Can't wait to find out more about it.
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Sep 6, 2023 05:29
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(Major endgame secret spoilers) Reached DIS, and this place really doesn't play around. Going to have to start a new run and stock up on more locusts, because otherwise I'm going to be stuck resetting each floor a bunch of times.
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Sep 6, 2023 05:59
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idk what your hint is on about, goferchan, but I just found literacy, my favorite powerup in any of these meta-puzzle games. Followed shortly thereafter by doing no-no things on the HUD and now I think I'm all in. Screenshots, notes, I'm exploring now. I hope the dripfed lore all ties together somehow in the end. edit: is there any way to make the game not close itself on certain events? It happens frequently enough to go from cutesy effect to mild nuisance, especially when steam cloud sync goes off. Swilo fucked around with this message at 06:12 on Sep 6, 2023 |
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Sep 6, 2023 06:02
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Venuz Patrol posted:If you've enjoyed such fine games as: Tunic Sold. Still haven't finished Stephen's Sausage Roll but I can add another Sokoban game to the pile.
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Sep 6, 2023 06:13
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goferchan posted:Not sure how much you hosed with them on your first run but next step is probably figuring out what to do with the murals i figured something (the floors that match the murals) you could do with those the first time it came up, being primed that this was a cryptic puzzle game with secrets everywhere, and that was enough to immediately hook me. excited to see where it goes
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Sep 6, 2023 08:51
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Swilo posted:idk what your hint is on about, goferchan, but I just found literacy, my favorite powerup in any of these meta-puzzle games. Followed shortly thereafter by doing no-no things on the HUD and now I think I'm all in. Screenshots, notes, I'm exploring now. Oh yeah you're rolling now, have fun. And no to the closing, but it should be very infrequent now.
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Sep 6, 2023 11:47
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"Hard mode" question here, just struggled my way to the first mural room and the chest for the burden was empty??? Good god lol that's brutal. Is there another way to get them or do I need to go without? I was voided, idk if that makes a difference
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Sep 6, 2023 14:27
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Stuck for the first time on B073. I know what's supposed to happen from previous puzzles, but I can't get the critter to stop on the button. Because of the layout of the level, I don't see a way to bait him toward the right place after popping out a floor section, and he turns around too quick to do it after.
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Sep 6, 2023 14:41
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WhiteHowler posted:Stuck for the first time on B073. you can move the button
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Sep 6, 2023 14:42
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lih posted:you can move the button Fuuuuuuuuck.  I had discovered on a previous level, by accident, that I could pick up the stairs, but I quickly forgot about it because it hasn't been needed up to this point.
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Sep 6, 2023 14:49
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Still regularly have to remind myself that if something is in an inconvenient place, I can just pick it up and put it in a better place.
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Sep 6, 2023 15:56
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I've reached the end of the last ending's route, and all I can say is This sure is a game by the developers of ZeroRanger, huh. I'm going to be here a whilegoferchan posted:"Hard mode" question here, just struggled my way to the first mural room and the chest for the burden was empty??? Good god lol that's brutal. Is there another way to get them or do I need to go without? I was voided, idk if that makes a difference This is something a little awkward about how the way the game directly transitions into hard mode from your first run. If you reset progress (like fully reset so you have to paint your brand again), you'll be given a way to take your burdens into hard mode
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Sep 6, 2023 16:16
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I swear I was clicking something on my 2nd monitor and my character skipped like 10 stages and my fly treasures reset to 0. I'm so confused lol. Timer still going.....
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Sep 6, 2023 19:18
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poe meater posted:I swear I was clicking something on my 2nd monitor and my character skipped like 10 stages and my fly treasures reset to 0. I'm so confused lol. Timer still going..... You must have fell into a hole you've discovered the stage skipping mechanic Can anyone give a hint for 204? This is how it looks:  I don't see how this can work with this few pieces, unless I'm missing some interaction.
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Sep 6, 2023 20:14
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grate deceiver posted:You must have fell into a hole you've discovered the stage skipping mechanic
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Sep 6, 2023 20:18
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No Wave posted:Black thing can fall off and you'll still have something that can press the button. That part I know, but as far as I can tell, I can grab only 1 safe tile. The "dangerous" one I need to leave for the end I think, and that leaves me with no way to make a path to either of the important parts.
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Sep 6, 2023 20:35
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grate deceiver posted:That part I know, but as far as I can tell, I can grab only 1 safe tile. The "dangerous" one I need to leave for the end I think, and that leaves me with no way to make a path to either of the important parts. More direct hint: I believe once you navigate to the button, you can then pick the button up and work from there For my part, anyone have any hints for the 208, right after?  I keep wandering in circles because I can't figure out how to approach the exit tile without a shadow falling down a trick tile and as far as I can tell the field doesn't give me maneuverability to drop blocks in useful places. V Got it, thanks! RoboCicero fucked around with this message at 21:31 on Sep 6, 2023 |
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Sep 6, 2023 20:58
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grate deceiver posted:That part I know, but as far as I can tell, I can grab only 1 safe tile. The "dangerous" one I need to leave for the end I think, and that leaves me with no way to make a path to either of the important parts. Trying to keep vague here but notice anything different about this series of floors from the rest of the dungeon?
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Sep 6, 2023 21:00
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RoboCicero posted:For my part, anyone have any hints for the 208, right after? This one can be quite hard. First move is to step onto the trick tile to the right and then grab the tile in front of you.
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Sep 6, 2023 21:02
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 Wow looks like Im buying this!!
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Sep 6, 2023 21:06
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https://twitter.com/Setzeri/status/1699460853299306878
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Sep 7, 2023 00:13
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I pushed the black door thing near a set of steps and now its... brought me back to the beginning. Am I supposed to do something to skip back ahead? I was in the ~125ish room range and feel like I'm missing something
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Sep 7, 2023 01:22
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faantastic posted:I pushed the black door thing near a set of steps and now its... brought me back to the beginning. Am I supposed to do something to skip back ahead? I was in the ~125ish room range and feel like I'm missing something Ouch. You found out what that does, at least. Yes, you can do some amount of skipping ahead, but nothing specifically to take you to where you reset. You can also probably find a lot of things you missed your first time through with what you know now. Do you know what all the other statues do?
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Sep 7, 2023 01:31
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goferchan posted:Ouch. You found out what that does, at least. Yes, you can do some amount of skipping ahead, but nothing specifically to take you to where you reset. You can also probably find a lot of things you missed your first time through with what you know now. Do you know what all the other statues do? I've only seen the one type of statue, the black runed door, rock, snake, bull, Glover and that's it I think. I'm just wandering atm trying to figure it out naturally
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Sep 7, 2023 01:36
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faantastic posted:I've only seen the one type of statue, the black runed door, rock, snake, bull, Glover and that's it I think. I'm just wandering atm trying to figure it out naturally Nah you've seen another, looks like a laughing guy.
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Sep 7, 2023 01:43
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goferchan posted:Nah you've seen another, looks like a laughing guy. Oh I've seen a few but uhhh maybe kicked them down a hole.
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Sep 7, 2023 01:51
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Venuz Patrol posted:I've reached the end of the last ending's route, and all I can say is This sure is a game by the developers of ZeroRanger, huh. I'm going to be here a while i've been here for at least eight hours. i need to sleep and take a shower and come back fresh. at this point i have no idea if it's actually that hard or sleep deprivation and fatigue is catching up with me
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Sep 7, 2023 01:57
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Just finished my first run. I'm starting over, though I still don't know what's going on with regards to the murals. I'm going to soldier on to the first tree and see what's changed other than having limited lives and there's gems...now...?
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Sep 7, 2023 02:17
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RoboCicero posted:Just finished my first run. I'm starting over, though I still don't know what's going on with regards to the murals. I'm going to soldier on to the first tree and see what's changed other than having limited lives and there's gems...now...? Those were always there, you just couldn't see them because (just guessing) you fell right after you got the rod and voided immediately. Happens to lots of people!
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Sep 7, 2023 03:22
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| # ? May 4, 2024 21:51 |
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first run managed to get to ~B60 before running out of lives and needing to switch to VOID; I could have gotten farther, but apparently JUSTICE didn't appreciate my strategy of quitting the game and reloading to conserve lives, and I got cursed to lose a life every time a floor loaded (at least I'm pretty sure that's why that happened - possibly I could have avoided it by pleading not guilty? does anyone know?). second run is definitely going smoother (at the very least, I'm not accidentally ending cutscenes or murdering NPCs due to poor understanding of controls); game's really good, and looking forward to/dreading the puzzles getting worse.
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Sep 7, 2023 03:47
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