Imagine FTL: Faster Than Light, but instead of sterile spaceship corridors, you have gothic cathedral-ships strewn with skulls and soaked in blood. Imagine boarding battles not as a secondary mechanic, but as the core of the gameplay. That’s exactly what Tundra Studio released under the name Void War—a game that does not hide its inspiration from both classic FTL and the grimdark aesthetic of Warhammer 40,000.
What the Game Is About
Void War invites you to take command of an ancient starship and fight your way to the heart of a dying Empire, battling insane cultists, cowardly space pirates, and xenophobic Imperial soldiers. Events unfold in an alternate universe where the Emperor has finally died, leaving the galaxy in chaos and decay.
The game was announced for release on May 30, 2025, although according to the community, the launch was postponed due to technical issues on Steam. The price is around $18–20, which sparked mixed reactions from players—some consider it fair for such an amount of content, while others think it’s overpriced for an “FTL clone.”
FTL’s Legacy and New Mechanics
What Feels Familiar
If you’ve played FTL, the basic principles of Void War will feel familiar: managing your ship’s systems, distributing power among subsystems, and making jumps on a galaxy map with random events. It has the same resources (fuel, drones, missiles), the same real-time-with-pause mechanic, and the same challenges in choosing a route.
Many players outright call Void War “an obvious FTL clone” or “FTL with a different coat of paint.” Indeed—the game’s core structure is almost identical to its prototype.
What Has Changed Radically
But the devil, as always, is in the details. And these details turn a familiar formula into a completely new experience.
Boarding System—The Heart of the Game
In FTL, boarding was possible but remained a secondary mechanic; in Void War, it is a central feature. Even the starting ship is equipped with boarding sleds, allowing you to hurl crew members through the void straight onto the enemy vessel.
According to players, the boarding mechanics here are “extremely powerful, especially when you have weapons that heal on kill.” You can create a true army of cheap boarders, resurrect the fallen, and use psychic abilities to control the enemy crew. Some even note that “you can fill your ship with hundreds of ersatz boarders,” turning every battle into “a damn meat grinder.”
Deep Crew Customization
Unlike FTL, where each crew member had a fairly simple role, here every unit can be equipped with weapons, armor, tools, and even spells. There are “psi bolts, poison spheres, demon assassins”—an arsenal that allows for unique tactical combinations.
Faction System
Instead of a single type of crew, the game offers several factions: Death Cult, Raiders, and others. Each has its own characteristics, unique units, and story branches. Choosing a faction affects available artifacts and events, significantly increasing replayability.
Atmosphere and Visual Realization
Full-on Grimdark
The creators of Void War do not hide their inspiration from the Warhammer 40K universe. You’ll find all the attributes of classic grimdark: gothic ships, skull decorations, religious fanaticism, technology bordering on magic, and a pervasive sense of a great civilization’s decay.
Players note that “you feel like a small cog in a grim and merciless cosmos.” The lore is revealed fragmentarily—through random events, artifact descriptions, and in-game texts—creating an immersion in a living, yet dying, universe.
Interface Issues
Unfortunately, the visual component is not without flaws. The main complaint from players is about the interface: “tiny icons, unreadable text,” “muddy design, a lot of visual noise.” This is especially critical for Steam Deck owners or those with smaller monitors.
The sprite-based graphics themselves are stylish and atmospheric, but the interface’s clutter hinders fully enjoying the game. Scalable fonts and cleaner icons are needed.
Balance and Difficulty
Torment System
Void War offers 12 difficulty levels under the name “Torment.” The base level, according to players, is “nearly unloseable, allowing you to comfortably get acquainted,” while Torment 12 is “significantly harder than Hard in FTL.”
This gradient allows both newcomers to comfortably learn the mechanics and veterans to find a worthy challenge.
Balance Issues
The main complaint about balance concerns boarding tactics. With proper upgrades, boarding units can become too strong, especially with healing-on-kill equipment. Some players note that “a more thought-out crew size limit is needed,” since the current system allows armies of boarders to be created.
Technical Aspects
Problematic Launch
The game’s release faced serious technical difficulties—initially planned for May 30, the launch was postponed due to an additional Steam verification layer. This created a negative background around the game even before its release.
Stability
Overall, the game runs stably, but players report periodic crashes, especially “during boarding or boss fights,” as well as “frame drops when many units are in battle.” Losing progress due to sudden crashes remains a painful issue.
Price and Value
For $18–20, the player gets a project with high replayability: 12 commanders, various factions, procedurally generated events, and many difficulty levels. Most positive reviews note: “One of the best $17 I’ve spent.”
However, there are skeptics: “Paying that much for FTL with a different coat of paint—that’s not appealing.” Whether this criticism is justified depends on your expectations and attitude toward “spiritual successors.”
Comparison with FTL: Heir or Clone?
What Is Inherited
- Core gameplay structure (ship combat, exploration, resource management)
- Real-time-with-pause and micro-management system
- Procedural event generation
- Overall game rhythm
What Is Added
- Deep boarding system
- Crew customization with equipment
- Faction system
- Psychic abilities and spells
- Grimdark atmosphere
- More varied weapons and subsystems
Verdict on Originality
Void War occupies a complex position between “spiritual heir” and “clone.” On one hand, the core mechanics are indeed copied almost one-to-one. On the other hand, the new systems (especially boarding and customization) are deep enough to create its own identity.
Who This Game Is For
Definitely Worth Trying:
- FTL fans who want more content in a familiar format
- Warhammer 40K enthusiasts and grimdark aesthetic lovers
- Tactical game fans focused on boarding combat
- Players seeking high replayability in strategic roguelikes
Better to Wait If:
- You expect a radically new experience, not just an evolution of the FTL formula
- You have issues with small text or play on a Steam Deck
- You find $20 overpriced for an “enhanced mod”
Conclusion
Void War is exactly what it advertises itself to be: FTL in a grimdark universe reminiscent of Warhammer 40K. The game doesn’t attempt to hide its inspiration and isn’t striving for revolutionary innovations. Instead, it takes a proven formula and develops it in the right direction.
The boarding system truly changes the nature of the game, making it more aggressive and bloody. The faction system and deep crew customization add strategic depth. And the grim atmosphere of a dying empire sets the right mood for long evenings of tactical battles.
Yes, it’s not a revolution in the genre. Yes, many mechanics are blatantly borrowed. But if you’ve exhausted FTL and its mods, if you appreciate gothic aesthetics and brutal boarding battles, Void War may be the very project to fill the void that has formed.
Final Score:7.5/10
