Explore some post apocalyptic dungeons as a small, intrepid robot. Is Void Terrarium Worth Playing in 2023?
Table of Contents
Background
This cozy dungeon game went on its first journey back in 2020 and just got a sequel. Void Terrarium, aka void tRrLM(), is a mystery dungeon title without the official trademark. The apocalypse came and went, and now you play as Robbie, a small scavenging robot that explores the ruins of civilization looking for junk. Early on, you encounter Toriko, the last human child. You continue to explore while also endeavoring to keep Toriko alive.
In a nutshell, this is the standard mystery dungeon format with a Tamagotchi bolted on. Spend too long in a dungeon and Toriko will starve to death or make a mess of her terrarium. It’s a neat spin on the dungeoneering premise and it incentives intentional, rather than thorough exploration. I found a lot of success in dipping out of the dungeons as soon as my inventory was full, but it adds another layer of preparation when you’re making sure that your child isn’t going to waste away when you set out to reach floor 10-15 of a dungeon. While this is an additional layer of stress/planning, it’s not dire, per se. I was able to keep Toriko safe and never let her die.
Appropriately for the setting and the format, this game is rather unforgiving. You don’t reach the end of the dungeon and simply go home, as you would in say, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon. Instead, you either self destruct or die. You’re going to die, a lot. Don’t fret about it, it’s simply part of the loop. The items you collect are transformed into resources upon your death, so every run is a small step forward. You use the resources to create upgrades for Toriko, which also give Robbie some much needed stat boosts for subsequent runs.
TL;DR: it’s Wall-E Mystery Dungeon.
What does Void Terrarium do well?
You’re going to get your little robot butt kicked a lot – this is by design. Failure, in a sense, is rewarded. You carry over the items you’ve collected as resources. Crafting items for Toriko’s terrarium gives you bonus stats which make a difference over the long term. I didn’t bother to pimp out her terrarium, but I definitely crafted every item for that bonus (when convenient).
You won’t find yourself humming any of the game’s instrumentals, but they are appropriate and never obtrusive.
What could Void Terrarium do better?
Robbie is a hard worker, but there are some things even he can’t fix.
Skills are useless
Skills run off of energy (think hunger/stamina meter). Simply kite enemies to a hallway or use the myriad bombs or grenades. You also can’t guarantee that batteries will be available, so wasting energy on skills is a gamble. You can buff your regular attack greatly, even making it AOE, so there’s really no sense in spending a level-up perk or energy on skills.
Consistency
Every run is different. However, every run is not created equal. Don’t count on getting equipment like armor, weapons, or mods every run. Don’t be surprised when you run into an unfair situation like a warp trap into a monster house.
The overall difficulty is mitigated by the fact that failure is expected, but some runs feel frustrating because there are too many factors that you can’t control. Status effects are a great example. I had plenty of runs grind to a halt because I got stunned, poisoned, and confused at the same time as enemies whaled on me.
Speed
There’s a sense of urgency in addressing Toriko’s condition. However, this game moves at a glacial pace. The items you find break down into fractions of resources; an item that gives .2 to .4 of a given resource is on the high end. As you can imagine, this means that even successful runs may only net you 1-2 of a resource. The contamination resource accrues even more slowly. You’ll be lucky to find items that give as much as .1 of that resource.
Relationship Building
Toriko doesn’t ever meaningfully interact with Robbie and is largely just a pet for the player to take care of. Don’t expect a social link here.
Was Void Terrarium fun?
I enjoyed it and the caregiver aspect was a neat spin on the formula. It’s not a game with a lot of replayability, but it was fun to go through once.
Is Void Terrarium good value?
This is a pretty short game, and I think the gameplay estimates are from players with less dungeoneering experience. I reached the final dungeon in about 5 hours. You can go for full archive completion and there is an endless mode. I found the mechanics rather basic and didn’t feel driven to craft every item, nor did I find it necessary.
Who is this game for?
Hardcore mystery dungeon fans will likely find this on the easy or basic side.
Is Void Terrarium worth playing in 2023?
If you’re into the mystery dungeon format then this is a decent entry. This is a somewhat simple, unambitious game, so adjust your expectations accordingly. It’s priced at $24.99, but has dropped to as low as $9.99. If you’re up for a comfy dungeon crawler then you could certainly do worse.
Is the DLC worth it?
The Switch and PS4 versions have a single DLC item: Toriko’s Care Package. This allows you to play tag and hide and seek with Toriko, as well as adding some outfit customization and new maladies for her. It appears to be included with the PS5 version (Void Terrarium++), but is $9.99 for Switch and PS4. I passed on it.
Alternatives
There are, of course, other entries in the Mystery Dungeon format. Some of the absolute paragons in the genre are still held captive on the DS (Explorers of Sky, for example), but there are a few available on Switch.
You have the two Touhou games: Genso Wanderer and Lotus Labyrinth.
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DX is great, but it takes a while for the training wheels to come off.
Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon: EVERY BUDDY! is a Final Fantasy-themed take on the format.
Void Terrarium 2 just dropped recently, and we’ll cover it eventually.
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