NEGATIVE SPACE - Preview!

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Often the broader labels we give to games don’t do them justice. In the worst cases, they can put someone off a game which might otherwise have unlocked a whole new genre for them. Negative Space is an upcoming “roguelike deckbuilder” - for all intents and purposes - but one with a good chance of appealing to people who usually bounce off of games that would be described that way. These types of games, where players commit to “runs”, emphasise grit and learning from one’s mistakes. The player has to fail, learn, pick themself up, and try again. This is usually communicated through dark aesthetics. HADES, SLAY THE SPIRE, and LOOP HERO are all games about intrepid warriors dying over and over again in the dark.

It’s clear from the first screen of NEGATIVE SPACE that players should expect something else. We’re treated to a lurid art style evocative of Memphis Jr. - which you might know from 90s animation on Nickelodeon, MTV, and some of the funkier games of the period, like Sega’s ToeJam & Earl. Bold secondary colours and simple geometric shapes made welcoming and toy-like through the magic of wobbliness. NEGATIVE SPACE is here to do something different. And if you thought for a second that this playful 90s aesthetic was an accidental afterthought, the soundtrack is here to correct you via New Jack Swing bangers which wouldn’t sound out of place in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

Yes, this is a game where you gradually craft a deck of cards and pilot them through increasingly challenging situations involving tactical thinking, math, boons, and bonuses. But it’s all wrapped in art and theming, which feel like they were pulled more from the cosy games quadrant of the indie games galaxy, or maybe somewhere even further afield. This isn’t to say that your time with NEGATIVE SPACE is going to be a cakewalk - it most certainly isn’t. You will fail. A lot. But it's obvious from the way that the game is presented that it’s going for a different kind of experience. 

First off, this isn’t a game about the literal “hero vs monster” kind of conflict that’s common to run-based games. You’ll be taking on the role of a quirky space captain, with your deck of cards representing specific crew members and gadgets aboard your ship. Each “mission” will see your crew tackling the exploration of a different area of space, working under a time limit. Fail to complete your mission in a set number of days (rounds) and you’re deemed a bad space captain and presumably fired (hopefully not out of the airlock).

In practice, this all means attempting to beat the numbers presented on “planet” cards using the “effort” of the crew members. Every hand of cards will contain an array of cute astronauts on pastel green cards, while a mustard card background indicates a helpful piece of technology. Most turns have you mulling over which crew to play on which planets, and whether to go all-in on your exploration goals, or spend some of your energy tech to empower your astronauts for later on.

The cards have a lot of flavour, and as you progress, you’ll be able to build your deck out to feel a particular way. You can sack your crew off for more gadgets. Or try and pack your tiny ship with as many little spacefolk as possible. If you take the gamble of going for buffs over instant progress, you’ll be able to boost your crewmembers’ effectiveness to silly levels. These boosts only last for the current mission, but they’re central to what makes the game feel so juicy and what makes the design here feel a little different from similar games. Yes, you’re still chasing the deckbuilder dream of an over-efficient, game-breaking engine, picking synergistic effects while scrapping cards that slow you down. But you’ll also get the thrill of temporarily hyping your crew up for their current mission so that they’ll be able to smash through the last few objectives in the nick of time.

As is often the case in card-based games, the numbers-driven abstraction ends up telling some amusing little stories using scant character details. My personal fave of the standard crew members is the janitor. This unassuming gent buffs the other crew in your hand if he manages to complete a planet on his own. What’s happening there thematically? Well, my crew just saw the ship’s elderly janitor return from Alpha Persei without so much as a xenomorph face-hugger riding his moustache. What an inspiration. They’re hootin’ and hollerin’! They’re chanting his name and carrying him through the halls!

Some special missions are less about just collecting stars and more about dealing with other obstructions, which might cause problems if not removed swiftly. Whereas a more standard SLAY THE SPIRE-like might have different monster combinations that require us to adapt to their specific sets of abilities, here we’re dealing with boss scenarios where our normal planet-hopping is replaced with the arduous task of trying to navigate through a cosmic traffic jam to reach a space station. It’s all super cute. But don’t let that cuteness fool you. It’s still a game about failing, learning, and trying again. 

This is a different approach to deckbuilding, one where your deck is a gang of characters trying to work together rather than a representation of a hero’s abilities. This mechanical twist on the genre really plays well with the game’s quirky and cute aesthetics, all signalling that you’re here to care for your crew.

Negative Space is currently in an open beta on Steam.