- The official game depicting the 40-year world of Canadian metal band Voivod in a Metroidvania style.
- Band’s Music, Artwork, and Sci-Fi Worldview in Pixel Art… Free Trial Released on October 19
Voivod: The Nuclear Warrior, an officially licensed game that fully captures the unique music, artwork, and dystopian sci-fi worldview of the Canadian progressive metal band Voivod, has unveiled a new demo trailer.
The game is a story-driven run-and-gun Metroidvania set in a desolate world where space-time and even reality have collapsed following a nuclear war. It perfectly recreates Voivod’s signature bizarre and unrivaled sci-fi visuals using rough-textured pixel art, while densely incorporating the band’s intense music and the unique worldview they have built over a long period into the game.
The developer, Chaosmonger Studio, plans to showcase a free demo for global users at Steam Next Fest, which will be held starting October 19. They are accelerating development with the goal of an official release in early 2027.
The journey of ‘Boivod’, a mutant warrior who lost his memory
The game is set in a future where reality itself has begun to collapse following a nuclear war.
The player takes on the role of the constantly mutating warrior ‘Boivod’ and explores a warped dimension, nightmarish spaces covered in bio-machines, and a devastated land. The goal is to recover fragments of lost memories by following the guidance of the mysterious entity ‘Nothingface’ within a shattered mind.
In the journey, bizarrely mutated enemies and mysterious creatures stand in your way. You must expand your combat styles by acquiring various weapons and new abilities, and face off against powerful bosses.
The game combines fast-paced run-and-gun combat with Metroidvania-style exploration and atmospheric storytelling. The developers explained that they worked closely with Voivod to focus on incorporating the band’s music, mythology, and visual identity into the game world.
From the story to the boss battles… A demo version to enjoy in two ways
This Steam Next Fest demo offers two modes that can be selected based on play style.
With the ‘Story Path,’ you can experience approximately one hour of content sequentially starting from the beginning of the full version. It is a method of encountering the game’s characters, weapons, and abilities one by one, focusing on the story, exploration, and worldview, in a flow similar to the actual main game.
On the other hand, ‘Combat Trial’ focuses on action. Players can use a wider variety of weapons and abilities from the start and quickly experience intense battles against enemies and boss fights. In essence, one focuses on experiencing the world and story at a leisurely pace, while the other focuses on getting an immediate taste of the combat system’s core.
The development team plans to showcase the game’s bizarre atmosphere and story, as well as fast-paced combat and grotesque enemy designs, in different ways through the two modes. They are continuously adjusting the combat system, enemy behavior, and game balance, and are also incorporating user feedback from playtesting into the development.
Voyboard’s First Official Game, Directly Participated In , Draws Attention for Successful Crowdfunding
‘Voiboard: Nuclear Warrior’ is also significant as the first official video game based on Voivod. The project laid the groundwork for production by achieving 265% of its target amount in a previous Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign.
According to previously released materials, band members also participated in the game’s production process. Michel ‘Away’ Langevin contributed to the visual design and artwork, while Daniel ‘Chewy’ Mongrain helped reconfigure the music for the game.
Vocalist Denis ‘Snake’ Bélanger is known to have participated in voice acting, while bassist Dominique ‘Rocky’ Laroche participated in playtesting.
It is not simply a game that borrows the band’s name and music, but rather a project that expands the music, artwork, and sci-fi worldview that Voivod has built over decades into a single game.
Voivod’s unique sci-fi world in pixel art
Voivod, formed in Canada in 1982, is a band that has established a unique niche by crossing between progressive metal, thrash metal, and experimental music.
They have consistently dealt with themes encompassing nuclear war, future society, technological civilization, and dystopian science fiction, as well as unconventional song compositions. In particular, the unique artwork created by Michel ‘Away’ Langevin is considered an important element in shaping Voivod’s identity alongside their music.
The game also actively utilizes these visual characteristics. Rough and bizarre-shaped creatures, bio-machines, and twisted spaces are depicted using hand-drawn pixel art, creating an atmosphere that feels like Voivod’s album artwork in motion.
Chaos Monger Studio, leveraging film and animation experience
Chaos Monger Studio, responsible for development, is an independent game studio based in Tallinn, Estonia. It was founded by Italian filmmaker and game developer Nicola Piovesan, who applies his experience in film, animation, and interactive entertainment to game development.
Representative works include the sci-fi adventure ‘Encodya’ and the Metroidvania action adventure ‘Clunky Hero’.
‘Voiboard: Nuclear Warrior’, which translates Voyboard’s music, artwork, and dystopian sci-fi worldview into a single game, feels like it takes a slightly different direction from typical band licensed games.
For long-time fans of the band, it offers an experience of exploring the world within the album artwork firsthand, while for users new to Voivod, it presents a unique experience as a run-and-gun Metroidvania featuring a bizarre sci-fi worldview.
In particular, as this demo allows players to experience the ‘Story Pass,’ which focuses on story and exploration, and the ‘Combat Trials,’ which focuses on combat, there is interest in how it will be received at Steam Next Fest.
‘Voiboard: Nuclear Warrior’ is currently under development with the goal of an official release in early 2027.
Information regarding ‘Voivod: The Nuclear Warrior’
| item | detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | Chaosmonger Studio |
| Publisher | Verification needed (Previous data indicated that Chaos Monger Studio handled both development and publishing) |
| Genre | Run-and-gun Metroidvania, Action Adventure |
| platform | PC (Windows, macOS, Linux, Steam Deck), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox (under development) |
| Release date | Scheduled for early 2027 |
| Trial version | Steam Next Fest (October 19–26) Free Trial, Story Pass, and Trials of Battle Mode |
| language | No mention in press release; need to verify Korean language support. |
| Reactions/Evaluations | Achieved 265% of Kickstarter goal (based on previous reports) |
| Steam Page | Shortcut |
