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This is another indie game that joins my list of excellent lesser-known soulslikes, alongside Dead Ink and Fire in the Beastlands. Just like those games, it excels at what I like most about this genre: level design.

Void Sols is a top-down soulslike with somewhat abstract visuals, where you play as a triangle fighting various other shape people. While all characters are represented as shapes, the landscapes are a little more detailed, with proper textures to create appropriate atmosphere. Despite the abstract enemies, the different environments managed to immerse me in the game's world, and the atmospheric soundtrack does its part to contribute to that immersion.

Combat is classic soulslike fare, primarily inspired by Dark Souls 1. Fights are more about stamina management than quick reflexes, although you do have to properly time your dodges and parries. The game offers a decent selection of different weapons and secondary items to use, but I stuck with the starter sword and shield throughout due to their versatility. No weapon in this game is a straight upgrade over another, instead every weapon has its own unique moveset and special effects. Improving your damage potential comes through getting weapon upgrades from the blacksmith, not finding a better sword.

Unlike other games in the genre, or even RPGs in general, Void Sols allows you to experiment with your character build and loadout even after you already bought some upgrades. When you unlock a weapon upgrade from the blacksmith, it will upgrade all of your weapons. When you rest at a bonfire, you can always freely respec your attribute points. You can try different builds without ever having to commit, encouraging experimentation. I enjoyed that aspect of the game, even though I'm usually not a fan of respeccing.

Another twist on classic soulslike/RPG mechanics is the way consumables work. Like your healing potion, their charges regenerate whenever you rest or respawn. This means that every item you discover is a permanent upgrade to your arsenal. Found a stick of dynamite? You can throw one stick of dynamite after every rest. Found another stick? Now you can throw two sticks after every rest. This makes loot far more rewarding and encourages using your consumables instead of hoarding them until the last boss. I played probably hundreds of RPGs in my life, but when it comes to how a game handles consumable, I genuinely think Void Sols has the best approach I've ever seen. Even if you're an item hoarder, this game will actually make you use all those potions and throwables you find.

And this leads us to the exploration. There's a lot to discover in Void Sols. Level design is very interconnected, you'll keep finding shortcuts leading back to a central bonfire, or connections to places you've been to before. And while there is no fast travel system as such, you can discover various portals that lead from one place to another. Most dungeons, for example, have a hidden portal that leads back to the village, where you can buy upgrades from the blacksmith and alchemist.

Shortcuts and secret areas are plentiful. Usually they're found by hitting secret walls, which reveal passages beyond. Some areas have brittle walls you can destroy with explosive barrels or throwable dynamite. One area, the factory, has keycard-activated generators that will open new pathways, but there's only one key of each color, meaning you can only have one of these doors unlocked at a time, forcing you to find alternate ways around if you want to use that key elsewhere.

As for things to find, there's plenty, too. Weapons, equipment, consumables (that permanently increase your max consumable stack). You can catch fish to sell to a merchant - which doesn't involve a tedious fishing minigame, but good observation skills as all you have to do is spot a fish in the water and reel it in with a fishing rod. There's a set of four "curios" which, when discovered, will increase the potency of your equipment. Every single piece of loot in this game is either hand-placed or dropped by a specific enemy. There are no random item drops. I really enjoy this game's approach to loot: since everything you pick up is unique and permanent, exploration is highly rewarding.

Of course, the world design is non-linear, too. I'm pretty sure I tackled some areas in a different sequence than intended. Both the regular enemies and the bosses in an area I did first seemed more difficult than those in the area I did next. While there are some areas you need keys to access, the game doesn't railroad you and instead allows you to approach things in any order you want. There's a lot of player freedom and no handholding, which I like a lot.

Overall, this is just an excellent game with great design from start to finish. The different biomes all offer unique layouts and challenges (like the aforementioned keycard puzzles in the factory, or the cold wind in the mountains, or the obligatory poison swamp seemingly every soulslike needs to have), there's plenty of secrets to discover, the levels are well-designed and loot is rewarding. If you enjoy exploration, you will love this game. I can thoroughly recommend it and am very much looking forward to what these devs are cooking up next.