Voivod: The Nuclear Warrior looks and sounds fantastic, but the demo's safe and serviceable gameplay never matched the energy of its heavy metal world
I recently got the chance to play the demo for Voivod: The Nuclear Warrior on PC on the ROG Xbox Ally X. It is a 2D Metroidvania set in a nightmarish post-apocalyptic wasteland, with the titular warrior searching for fragments of his lost mind while fighting biomechanical horrors. He also wears a face mask that makes him look a little like Casey Jones from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which is a pretty good way to establish the game's particular flavor of cool.
Presentation is easily the strongest part of the demo. The retro pixel art is gorgeous, dirty, and packed with heavy metal imagery. The level featured in the demo opens onto a sickly yellow desert filled with dead trees and huge, jagged shapes in the distance. Framed by the dark cave around it, the whole backdrop often looks like Voivod album art brought to life. Closer environments are full of spikes, blades, twisted machinery, and other sharp things that look designed to end you. The enemies follow the same philosophy, appearing like mutant creatures pulled straight from a particularly wild album cover. Mowing them down with a gun or cutting through them with a sword looks awesome.
It sounds the part too. The soundtrack uses reworked tracks from Voivod's current lineup, and the heavy riffs fit this collapsing sci-fi nightmare extremely well. There is real confidence in the game's identity. Even if you know nothing about the band, the art and music work together to create a world that feels specific rather than another generic apocalyptic wasteland.
Unfortunately, the actual gameplay did not click with me. Everything works. You can run, jump, shoot, and slash without any obvious problems, but the combat feels serviceable and, at times, borderline boring. Some enemies charge straight at you and die from a single sword swipe. Others fire projectiles from a distance, so you can stand back and shoot them, sometimes before they are properly visible on screen. It is functional, but it feels conventional and far too safe for a game with this much personality.
The world follows the familiar Metroidvania formula. You encounter locked doors and routes that require abilities you either just discovered or have yet to unlock. One ability sends your consciousness out of your body as an orb, letting you move through tight spaces and press a button on the other side. Elsewhere, large gaps and spike-filled passages clearly suggest a dash or another traversal upgrade, although I did not find out whether those abilities are available in this demo.
Healing also left a poor impression. Health pickups can be found inside crates, but once they are gone, preparing for the demo's metal spider boss means farming enemies for currency and buying more healing items from a vendor. I much prefer the reusable flask approach found in many modern Metroidvanias. Having to grind just to replace consumed healing items adds friction without making the challenge more interesting.
The demo only takes around 30 to 40 minutes to finish, so this is just an early impression of a game still targeting a Q1 2027 release. There is time for its combat, enemies, and progression to develop into something more satisfying. Right now, though, Voivod: The Nuclear Warrior is far more exciting to look at and listen to than it is to play. I adore its pixel art and heavy metal atmosphere, but its gameplay never scratched that Metroidvania itch. Thanks for reading!
The game was previewed on PC via a ROG Xbox Ally X using a pre-release demo. Voivod: The Nuclear Warrior is scheduled to release on PC via Steam in Q1 2027.
