Void Bastards challenges loons to conquer space with a foon

According to some, who shall go unnamed, rogue-y FPS Void Bastards is too easy a game even if you crank its difficulty slider all the way up to the amusingly named 'Hard Bastard' mode. Developers Blue Manchu are obviously listening to them, because they've just added a new super-high-end challenge mode to the game. Unlocked by completing the game on Hard Bastard mode with the Ironman modifier, Foon mode asks you to do it all again, this time armed with nothing but a piece of cheap plastic space-cutlery. See how it works in a cheeky trailer below.

As silly as the foon (the opposite of a spork) may sound, I can oddly see it being an advantage in some early-game situations. For starters, a space foon never runs out of ammo, and unlike a real foon, also won't shatter into a thousand useless plastic shards the moment you try to use it. Playing the game normally, if you manage to run completely dry on bullets and gadgets, you're left with just two options; death or escape, with death usually preferable. I'd have loved to fall back on this piece of seemingly useless cutlery normally, but in this special mode, it's all you've got.

Our man about orbit Graham reviewed Void Bastards last week, and while he wasn't as enamoured by it as I or my pals have been, he still reckons it's "worth rummaging through all the same". He found that he was able to fall into safe habits and strategies too easily, and didn't feel pressured by the game's interlocking systems of space murder. Perhaps he needs to master the way of the Foon, which can instantly kill on backstabs, but otherwise does a piddling ten damage up front. Not only does this mean mechanical enemies are nigh invulnerable, but just try it on one of the exploding Tourists.

The Foon update is live, free, and unlocked by completing the game once, then finishing it again on Hard Bastard/Ironman. On another run, select Foon mode from the modifiers. Good luck, you mad bastards.

Void Bastards is out now on Steam and Humble for £25/€30/$30, and is published by Humble.

Disclosure: Former RPS'er Cara Ellison did some writing and voice-work for Void Bastards. I'm almost entirely certain she's one of those extremely Scottish lady space pirates, and cheekily wrote her own lines.