Vostok Inc. | Nintendo Switch | Review

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Everyone likes money. Making a game hopelessly obsessed with it, focusing on grabbing as much of it as possible, seems like a simple enough idea. Vostock Inc. combines a space exploration experience with a simple, Monopoly-esque construction sim to create a game with a wider variety of experiences compared to your usual idle clicker.

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by
James
Michael
​Parry

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​@james_parry

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Developer: Nosebleed Interactive
Publisher: Wired Productions
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PS4, PS Vita, PC
Players: 1

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You are the new CEO of the titular Vostok Inc., on a mission to make as much Moolah (that’s cash to you and me) as possible by exploring planetary systems and building different installations on planets. As time ticks by, the money starts rolling in, and the more you invest in your buildings and upgrades, the higher that number will go - spiraling in the later game into the trillions, quintillions and even septillions (that’s 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, but who’s counting?)

The result is that at first upgrades and buildings come fairly easily, just a few hundred Moolah for a single building, but the more you buy on each planet, the more the price spirals out of control as you continue to invest in pursuit of higher profits. As a result, it pays to spread your dosh around, exploring the various solar systems.
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You’ll begin in Sol, our local system, complete with Pluto - reinstated as a planet officially as an exclusive for the Switch version - before branching out to the likes of Vent and Voltimus. Each system has its own set of baddies, which share some basic archetypes of enemies to blast but all have an individual manner and design, be it terrifying Terminator-esque robots, animals seemingly neglected after being sent to space, or bizarre-looking fish monsters.

The dialogue with these races is handled by Jimmy, your go-to-guy, who has some amusing (and unashamedly British) exchanges with the various inhabitants. He also acts as your source of hints and tips, but you can always mute these if you’d rather not be distracted once you’ve got to grips with things.

The game has been available since the summer for Xbox One, PS4, PC and Vita, but only the latter has offered the handheld experience which the title feels particularly well-suited for. On Switch, of course, you have the flexibility of home or on-the-go use, and while the game looks and performs well on the big screen, there’s little benefit other than not having to keep an eye on the console to ensure it doesn’t go to sleep, as the money slowly ticks up.

While you wait, there’s the twin-stick shooter aspect of the game, which can be a bit more of a mixed bag than the polished balance of the Moolah-making. You can take out asteroids and crates in space for bonuses, save managers and executives for bonuses, or even take on huge enemy bosses for, you guessed it, bonuses - generally in the form of lots and lots of yellow pieces which your tiny ship can lap up and add to your total.

Enemies spawn a little too frequently at times, sometimes appearing before the graphic congratulating you for defeating a big baddie has even left the screen, but this feels like a deliberate attempt to keep you playing and striving on to the next challenge, rather than a lapse in design.

A few times we’ve found ourselves taking massive damage by being physically stuck between two enemies and bouncing between them at high speed. Fortunately, if you should blow up all is not lost, you have a tiny life pod (which can also protect any executives you’ve collected) that’ll offer some protection as you scatter back to the Motherbase for the system to regain health. Even being destroyed completely only chops away a swathe of the cash you have on you, rather than having any long-lasting implications.

​To defend yourself you’ll need to use one of the game’s colourful weapons, which range from a simple machine gun to a laser unicorn attack squad and graviton aperture gun. In practice, merely upgrading the weapon you get on best with works for most encounters, providing you have the dexterity to keep mobile, and providing you invest money now and again, the enemies are rarely overwhelming.

If that wasn’t enough to keep you busy, there’s also plenty of upgrades to Motherbase, your ship and your radar, which can certainly make your life easier - depending on what your priorities are - and there’s the aforementioned executives to look after. These overpaid fat cats (well, one of them literally is a cat lady) are only around to boost your productivity, but they’ll need to be furnished with lavish gifts to be kept happy and let you reap the rewards.

Vostok Inc. consistently punches above its weight, giving compelling gameplay and humour without layering in unnecessary systems and cluttering the experience.

Each has their own personalised 8-bit mini game, varying from driving sims to first-person shooters to Flappy Bird clones, which give you the opportunity to pick up these items, but most are pretty challenging, so you’re better off obliterating a few enemies and asteroids instead. The games themselves are a welcome distraction though, and fill out what is, on the surface, quite a basic experience.

Whether this is a game for you will depend on how you like to play. It’s at its best with a degree of passiveness and patience, waiting for the money total to tick up so you can grab that upgrade before you dash downstairs for dinner. Passing the time before bedtime with the game was initially an exercise in real-world stealth, as destroying asteroids and creating buildings set off the Switch’s overzealous rumble, putting the good night’s sleep of significant others everywhere in jeopardy, but fortunately there is an option to turn this off hidden in one of the multiple options menus.

For something which might look like it only belongs on a mobile phone at first glance, Vostok Inc. consistently punches above its weight, giving compelling gameplay and humour without layering in unnecessary systems and cluttering the experience. The later game may feel more drawn out, as everything takes longer to happen and you’ve explored all of the six systems available, but the thirst for more and more money is strangely addictive - but hopefully in a fun way, rather than the more negative real-world consequences… Without a doubt, for the price (£12.99), this is one well worth snapping up.

​Pros
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• Well designed adventure built on a simple idea
• Far more depth and variety than meets the eye
• Charming art style, charismatic presentation and humour impress

Cons
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• Time starts to drag out towards the end as costs inevitably rise
• Enemies spawn near-constantly, even after a boss is defeated
• Boss battles themselves feel basic

9/10

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