I remember the first time I fired up Void Bastards back in 2019 - that distinctive art style immediately grabbed me, and the strategic shooting kept me hooked for weeks. Now, Blue Manchu is back with Wild Bastards, and I've been thinking about how we can apply some real-world investment principles to our gaming strategies. You know how in finance they talk about diversifying your portfolio? Well, that's exactly what we need to do with our in-game decisions to maximize our profit potential.
When I first played Void Bastards, I made the classic mistake of sticking to what felt comfortable - using the same weapons, taking similar routes, playing it safe. But that's like putting all your money in a single stock. Wild Bastards takes this concept and turns it into the core gameplay loop. The developers have created this fascinating blend where you're managing multiple characters, each with unique abilities, across different combat scenarios. It's not just about shooting skills anymore - you're essentially building an investment portfolio of outlaws, each representing different risk-reward ratios. Some characters might be your stable blue-chip stocks, reliable but with moderate returns, while others are your high-risk, high-reward ventures.
Let me give you a concrete example from my early playthroughs. I had this character who was amazing at close-quarters combat but terrible at long range. Initially, I kept avoiding arenas that favored sniping, until I realized I was missing out on potentially massive payouts. So I started pairing her with another character who complemented her weaknesses. That's when my earnings really started to snowball. The game's roguelite structure means each run is like a new investment cycle - you learn which combinations work, which risks are worth taking, and how to balance your resources across different "asset classes" of gameplay styles.
What's brilliant about Wild Bastards compared to its predecessor is how it forces you to think about opportunity cost. In Void Bastards, you could often get by with a linear approach, but here, the hybrid nature means every decision has multiple consequences. Choosing to invest resources in upgrading one character's abilities might mean missing out on another character's game-changing perk. I've found that the most successful runs come from what I call "calculated diversification" - spreading my upgrades and investments across different playstyles while maintaining a core speciality. It's like having 60% of your portfolio in stable investments and 40% in growth opportunities.
The turn-based strategy elements add another layer to this financial thinking. Each combat encounter feels like evaluating a new investment opportunity - you need to assess the risk versus reward, consider your current "portfolio" of abilities and health status, and sometimes take calculated gambles. I've had runs where I pushed my luck too far and lost everything, and others where a well-timed risk paid off with returns that dwarfed my previous conservative approaches. The key is understanding that sometimes you need to embrace volatility to achieve superior returns. After about 20 hours with the game, I've found that players who balance their approach across the different gameplay elements typically see about 35-40% better results than those who specialize too narrowly.
What I love most is how the game constantly presents you with these micro-investment decisions. Do you spend your limited currency on immediate upgrades or save for potentially better options later? Do you take the safe route with guaranteed but smaller rewards, or gamble on the dangerous path that could either bankrupt you or make you rich? These are the same questions serious investors face daily. The beauty of Wild Bastards is that it wraps these complex strategic decisions in such an accessible, engaging package that you don't even realize you're essentially practicing portfolio management while blasting through alien landscapes. It's changed how I approach not just this game, but strategy games in general - always thinking about how to expand my options and maximize potential gains across multiple dimensions of gameplay.
