Indie horror games are often where some of the most exciting ideas for the genre end up being found. Typically, horror games are all about keeping players on edge or building up to a major scare, like the jumpscares in Five Nights at Freddy's. Rarely do players see a title that takes its time and relies almost entirely on its atmosphere to set players on edge. That's what makes what some would call 2022's scariest horror game, Voices of the Void, such a new experience in the genre. Listening to radio signals is much scarier than it initially seems.

Voices of the Void is a game that tasks players with locating and decrypting signals from space using the equipment at their listening outpost. Outside of catching signals, players also need to fix their equipment when it breaks down, manage their hunger and sleep, and upgrade their tools to get better signals. Voices of the Void is a management game on the surface. In fact, the game's horror elements might not even pop up during a player's first time with the title.

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Voices of the Void Delivers the Terror of Silence to Players

A vast majority of a player's time with Voices of the Void will be in silence. Searching for signals is only accompanied by the ambient sounds of computers working. Even when players actually find a signal to listen to, there's a real chance that it won't turn out to be anything meaningful. That doesn't mean there's any downtime where Voices of the Void isn't building tension, though. The silence works to unsettle players and keep them from getting too comfortable.

However, the game still wants the player to fall into some kind of comforting grind. A lot of Voices of the Void's gameplay becomes routine. There are a lot of things to do when it comes to tracking down signals, from calibrating satellites to setting up downloads. Add that to managing their character's needs, and most players will usually fall into a fairly standard gameplay loop. The balance between being unsettled and having a routine is one of the key parts of Voices of the Void, and it makes the eventual horror so much stronger.

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There's also a sense of isolation in the game's environment. The base that players operate out of in-game contains a lot of very tight corridors that are separated by sliding metal doors. In the main office, there's a massive window right in front of the main workstation that gives players a pretty good view of the woods outside the base. At night, the only thing that can really be seen outside this window is darkness. With no other people around, it really amplifies just how quiet things can get.

The Scares Pull Players Out of Their Comforting Routine

A hallway in the main base in Voices of the Void

Putting players into an almost workplace-like routine is a really smart move, as it makes the scares that break that routine so much stronger. The source of the game's scares mostly comes from the signals emanating from extraterrestrial lifeforms, though there's also a fair share of scares tied to the player character's need to sleep. Shadowy creatures can begin to appear as the player character gets tired, some of which can even plunge them into strange nightmare-like locations.

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Of course, there are also alien encounters that can be triggered by certain signals. This is an element carried over by Voices of the Void's main inspiration, Signal Simulator. While the sound of particular signals can certainly be described as off-putting and creepy, it's when players realize they aren't actually alone anymore that things get absolutely terrifying. There's a sort of comforting isolation the game builds up with the surrounding environment that is then shattered.

It's hard to fully explain what makes Voices of the Void's scares work so well without spoiling a lot of them. It is really one of those games that should be experienced first-hand, and luckily, it's incredibly easy to do so. The game is currently free (name-your-own-price) on the developer's website. It's an incredibly unique indie horror experience that stands out from the current wave of Five Nights at Freddy's-inspired games.