Void Terrarium Review (Nintendo Switch)

Game: void tRrLM(); //Void Terrarium
Genre: RPG, Rogue-lite
System: Nintendo Switch (also on PS4)
Developers | Publishers: NIS America| NIS America
Age Rating: EU 7+ | US T
Price: USD $24.99 | AUD $37.50 | CAD $33.06 | UK £22.49 | EU € 24,99
Release Date: July 10th, 2020

Review code provided with many thanks to NIS America.

Post-Apocalyptic Problems

Known for series such as Disgaea, Atelier, and Ys, NIS has a fantastic record of player-consuming titles. Void Terrarium, or void tRrLM();, is the next title to try to steal away our precious time.

Players take on the role of Robbie, a small, mute robot wandering the wastes of a post-apocalyptic world. After stumbling on a dying human child (later named Toriko), you set off to bring her back to health. Aided by a decommissioned AI known as factoryAI, you must work on creating a refuge for Toriko.

It soon becomes apparent that this world was once inhabited by humans who escaped an invasive fungus by burrowing underground. I won’t spoil the next part of the story, but you begin to build up an understanding as to why Toriko may be the last human on the planet. The general gameplay loop revolves around building and maintaining the titular terrarium and therefore protecting little Toriko.

Into the Void

Reviewing Void Terrarium was quite tricky. It isn’t, as Nintendo states, an RPG, but it isn’t entirely a rogue-lite either. It is something of its own making. The opening of the game leads you through a gorgeous 2D platformer setting. The artwork is beautiful and really lures you into the world. The audio should also be commended, as it was a joy to listen to and it really helps to set the scene throughout. A basic but effective tutorial guides you through all of the game’s nuances and you are soon plonked into the gameplay loop proper.

Each session I had with the game played out as follows. FactoryAI would tell me a new item I needed to make for Toriko. I would then leave the 2D setting of the terrarium and go out into the rogue-lite top-down portion of the game. This consists of procedurally generated dungeons where you fight a range of monsters and robots whilst gathering resources. These resources are then placed into your terrarium storage, where they allow you to construct items and upgrades for your character. Each dungeon is meant to represent an old area of this post-human world. However, the limits of the procedural generation mean that most settings look very similar.

Battles are semi turn-based and sometimes wildly varied in difficulty level from one play through to the next. That said, each session felt fun, and different items and craftable elements did help add a layer of strategy to the mix.

Tamagotchi Surprise!

You return to the terrarium either by completing the dungeon by working through each floor, or by being defeated. Items you have gathered such as food for Toriko or key parts to create new terrarium furniture are then placed in your storage ready to be used. An interesting addition in the early stages of the game is a simple Tamagotchi overlay that was completely unexpected. In order to keep an eye on Toriko you are shown basic information such as hunger and cleanliness. It soon becomes a balancing act between dungeon-delving further or returning home to feed, clean, and emotionally support Toriko as needed.

Without spoiling your playthrough, other additions to the gameplay do appear but nothing that changes the general loop mentioned. It is because of this that things do start to become a little samey. Whilst looking after Toriko and venturing into dungeons is fun. I am not sure how long I would feel the same buzz of exploration once I have invested more time in the game. Void Terrarium feels suited as a quick daily blast of fun, rather than the typical games released by NIS that can take up an entire weekend of solid play!

The general story and gameplay are interesting and it was a shame not to see this world more fully realised. The artwork present is beautiful and the animations used for Toriko are subtle yet effective. I do hope NIS will come back to this setting in the future and expand upon it further.

A Different Kind of Game

Void Terrarium is a very interesting title. It has a unique mix of gameplay styles that are coated in gorgeous artwork and an impressive soundtrack. My advice would be to not go in expecting Disgaea levels of content or Atelier customization and you will have a much better time. Taken as a quickplay rogue-lite title it is a great little distraction and is priced reasonably for the content on offer.

Final verdict: I like it!