Is this addictive game made by just one person the best first-person shooter of the year?

Sometimes an indie game comes along that really surprises us with how much a single developer can do. Daniel Stubbington's Void/Breaker is a remarkable lightning-fast sci-fi roguelike FPS that some people are already nominating as the best game of the year in its genre – and certainly one of the most addictive (see our guide to the best game development software if you're inspired).

Made in Unreal Engine 5, the game brings Titanfall and Marathon to mind. It blends crisp graphics and super smooth movement while delivering the intense combat of games like TheFinals and Warframe in a weird AI world (see our piece on indie game devs for more inspiration).

VOID/BREAKER | Launch Trailer | PC Game Pass - YouTube

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Based in Brighton, UK, Daniel used to be the Cinematics Lead at The Trailerfarm. Since setting out on his own as Stubby Games, he already released one self-developed title – The Entropy Centre in 2022. His follow up Void/Breaker is now in early access via Game Pass and Steam.

The game requires us to battle robots inside an AI program that's using human guinea pigs to collect data on combat and warfare. It forces us to run random gauntlets and repeatedly die, but we're aided by another human who tried to escape the program. Everything about it is weird, including the deadpan robot announcer.

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Since the gauntlets are randomly generated, every run feels different, and mods can unlock new abilities. Players are commenting on the smoothness of the movement, the chaotic, rapid-fire gunplay with limitless weapon synergies and the environmental destruction, which can be used to stun or kill enemies. It's even surprising some players who don't normally like roguelike games.

Void/Breaker already has over 800 'very positive' reviews on Steam. “This game has become the following: 1) My favorite movement shooter 2) My favorite rougelite 3) My favorite Titanfall replacement. The run where I beat the game I was rocking a duplicating wall of missiles. Daniel should be very proud of this, It was a blast to play and I can't wait to try other builds,” one early fan wrote.

It's always impressive when a solo dev is behind such an interesting and ambitious game. See our piece on indie devs for more inspiration. And if you're starting work on your own solo project, don't miss our guide to the best laptops for game development.