Worldless (2023) [PC] critique

“In the beginning there was nothing. God said, ‘Let there be light!’ Then there was still nothing, we could just see it much better.
-Ellen DeGeneres

I’ll be honest with you, I don’t have much of a clue about the events that started our universe. Sure, I’m a theist, so I believe a powerful deity (I call him God) lit the match to get it going. Beyond that, your guess is as good as mine. It’s interesting to note that there is supposed to be so much time that took place between that event and today. Estimates vary, but the consensus is that the “Big Bang” took place around 13 billion years ago! With that much time being taken up in the expanse of the universe, one would think that there would be more fiction drawn from that period. Well, there aren’t many stories about that time because it seems more entertaining to speculate about the far future than the distant past. Humor me though, what if one could build an entire narrative of the Big Bang event as a battle of sorts? All the cosmic pieces of dust vying for control over their place in their new universe. Now, that sounds pretty interesting, and that is very similar to the idea that drives Noname Studios and publishers Thunderful and Coatsink’s metoidvania-action game, Worldless.

From the Beginning

From just the initial trailer footage, it is easy to see that this game is highly unique both visually and in terms of gameplay. Marketed as a “turn-based metroidvania” (it’s not turn-based, by the way, and we’ll look at that in the Gameplay section of this critique), the trailers show fractiles jumping and lunging at enemies in beautiful acrobatic sequences. If anything is going to get my attention for a game, it is a good trailer, and Worldless’ trailer is 10/10! I digress though. It was my pleasure to play Worldless for nearly a month before the lifting of the press embargo. I was both surprised and a little disappointed by some aspects of this cosmic title, but let’s break it down as we always do here at The Pixels.

The 8-Bit Review

Visuals: 9/10

Most of you who have read my articles know that I mention my work with sculptures and art galleries pretty regularly. My life as a professional artist allows me to see angles and aspects of the game’s visuals that some will not normally notice. With that said, I can confidently confess that Worldless is a visually gorgeous game.

As a “star” of sorts, the main character(s) have an intangibility to them. It is assumed from the gait and lithe movements of the Blue Star (that’s what I’m calling her right now) that it is a female. We don’t see her body until certain moves are accomplished, and even then, her full form is only seen through flickers of light. The Red Star, who you’ll see more often later on in the game, has a similar modality to Blue, but his movements are sharp and angry. All of this is portrayed through dots and light.

Speaking of which, light is very important to this game’s visuals and even storytelling. As your Star progresses through the interconnected world, new visuals appear in the background, suggesting “something” is coming or changing. The developers took great care in making the “void” of a new universe bright and vibrant. All these little details allow for this game to shine as a clearly hand-illustrated piece of art.

Pay attention to the use of color. Each zone is bathed in its own unique hue.

Audio: 7/10

No one knows what the beginning of a universe sounds like, but if I had to guess, it would sound ambient. The music in Worldless is something I could easily fall asleep to. It is atmospheric and peaceful most of the time. When entering into combat, however, the music makes a sharp turn.

The battle music is quite good in this game. It has a heavy and energetic orchestral tone that expresses how massive these battles between titanic stars and heavenly entities are! The battle tracks change and aren’t just limited to “mob music” and “boss music.” I will say, though, that the boss music makes me feel like I am fighting a god. That’s how you know it’s good!

The audio for this game would get higher marks if the sound effects didn’t sound like on-board Unity assets. Light steps, punches, and even some spells present SFX that I have heard in other games. The sounds within a game should match the quality of the soundtrack, which unfortunately isn’t the case with Worldless.

Everything feels and sounds delicate early on, but that does change as the game progresses.

Gameplay: 6/10

How could a Metroidvania have a turned-based battle system? It’s not common but there are a few games, like Monster Sanctuary, that employ that mechanic within the labyrinthian corridors of the genre. I hate to defy the trailer and Coatsink’s marketing department, but Worldless is not one of these, at least not in the traditional sense. It is actually phase-based!

The combat of Worldless is very clever and unique. As your star is walking around the new universe, they will encounter the occasional enemy. There are two phases to combat, an attack phase and a defense phase. During the attack phase, your Star can bust out as many physical and magical attacks as they can until the action-timer depletes. Then it is the enemy’s turn to attack and your Star enters a defensive phase. You must then watch for visual cues from the enemy as they attempt to land blows on the Star. These are either upper or lower parries, and the action can get darn near Soul-like. There is no waiting, as you can see, you have to be constantly hitting buttons.

The combat is chaotic and bright. Every hit feels purposely overexaggerated.

I will say, though, I love the combat, but that’s only a small portion of this game. What hurts this title in terms of gameplay is the exploration. You will find similar explorative mechanics in Ori titles, which Worldless appears to draw some inspiration from. Unfortunately, the one thing Ori titles have that Worldless doesn’t is, well, stuff!

Worldless is an incredibly empty game, which would justify the title, but it doesn’t make exploration any more fun. When running through the various areas of the universe, there are very few enemies to fight. On top of that, there does not appear to be a large swath of collectibles, which help keep a player interested in the game.

Narrative: 9/10

The narrative of Worldless leaves me, well, wordless. This is a game that begins with a Big Bang of sorts. Then it gets cryptic and remains that way for most of the game. What keeps the player going is being able to interpret the story through non-verbal interaction between the Stars. There are a few entities that do speak, but it doesn’t make any sense to the player. This is a massive universe of confusion and chaos, and that is exactly what it needs to be!

Everything is based on constellations in Worldless, even your character’s skill tree.

While playing Worldless, I was reminded of another indie game with a subversive narrative, Braid. The narrative of that game is not so much about figuring out what is happening, but rather it is up to the interpretation of the player to determine what might be happening. Worldless delivers a subversive narrative that allows the player to fill in the gaps, and that is why Braid is still being talked about to this day. It would not surprise me if Worldless shares in that “subversive story” legacy.

Challenge: 9/10

This is the first, and probably the last time that you will ever hear me say that a game in which you cannot die is very challenging. That’s right, your Star can’t die! If your Star loses a fight, they are simply knocked back to a safe distance so that they can try again. That’s a nice feature, considering the defense phases of a battle can be incredibly difficult to manage. Following the quick cues to dodge and block a salvo of shots gives me flashbacks of dying in Elden Ring over and over again. If you want to win some battles, you might need to find more upgrades around the void to increase your chances.

Replayability: 8/10

Though I harped on the tediousness of the exploration in Worldless, part of the reason why you will play this game over again is to find more upgrades and details about the story. Some “elder entities” can be very hard to find. Those characters reveal more about what is going on or might be going on. It is that innate drive to explore that may bring us back to play Worldless again and again.

Some battles seem impossible, but that is where persistence comes in.

Uniqueness: 10/10

Taking everything I have said in earlier sections into account, it comes as no surprise that I would call Worldless wildly unique! The game features aesthetics that are otherworldly and bizarre, but also elegant and beautiful. The phase-based combat is a game changer, in my humble opinion, and can easily become a new feature in many games to come.

Worldless feels like it could be the beginning of more artistic expression within the field of game design. Many developers I have talked to shy away from becoming too “artsy.” They do this out of fear that players will think it is odd or weird. Knowing the indie game player base (I’m part of it, naturally), I feel that is exactly where the fans want it to go. It’s like a developer buddy of mine recently told me, “The weirder the better!”

Personal: 8/10

It was an absolute joy to play Worldless. I’m a 40-year-old gamer with a family who has played a lot of games over the years. I have played so much Unity and Unreal-manufactured trash that it was truly refreshing to play a game that felt new! The illustrated visuals are breathtaking, so much so that they can be considered comparable to GRIS, and that’s saying a lot. The fluid and exciting combat, though sometimes frustrating, is a great centerpiece to the beautiful chaos of this game.

Despite these praises, the lack of content within the exploratory sections and occasional lulls in the audio mixing did nothing to help my final verdict of this title. I honestly wanted to give it a higher ranking. I really did.  However, the grime on a diamond sullies the beauty of the stone, and that’s just the way it is.

Good or evil? Friend or foe? Creator or destroyer? These are constant questions within Worldless.

As an artist and lover of good artwork, I think Worldless could easily be considered a work of art itself. It’s classy and mysterious, and I know many people will purchase this game because of those qualities. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll find out what Worldless says about the mysteries of the universe. One can only hope.

Thank you to Coatsink, Thunderful Games, and Noname Studio for sending us a copy of Worldless for this review.

Aggregated Score: 8.3

J.R. Sommerfeldt is a family man, licensed counselor, farmer, fiber artist, and indie game enthusiast living in the heartland of America. He has found solace living the simple life, and his preference for games centering around narratives, crafting, and exploration is a testament to this.