Interviews
Mac n Cheese Games on Void Martyrs – Interview Series
Mac n Cheese Games, the studio behind rogue-lite action game Munch and other work-for-hire projects that involve clients such as Star Wars creator George Lucas and multiple CD Projekt Red alumni, has formally announced Void Martyrs, a brand-new “grimdark survival horror roguelite about a nun in a space suit.” According to the team, the upcoming title, which is due to launch on PC via Steam, will feature a hand-crafted art style, procedural levels, and a single-player campaign with “meta progression”, amongst other survival-horror sci-fi elements.
I recently caught up with the Mac n Cheese team to talk more about Void Martyrs and its rich sci-fi hooks and the world surrounding its “biochemical plague” plot. Here’s everything I was able to learn from that sit down with developers Max and Maaroof.
It’s great to sit down and speak with you about your latest rogue-lite survival horror, Void Martyrs. Before we jump into the details on that, though, let’s talk a bit about Mac n Cheese Games and its historical impact on the gaming industry. Would you mind walking us through that story?
We’re two co-founders (Max and Maaroof) who first met while building an educational games company. Max was the Art Director there, putting his background in art production for AAA games towards an educational mission, and I was on the business side. After a few years, Max went to study game design more formally at Vancouver Film School where he won some fancy awards and then later went on to be a lead artist on Cyberpunk 2077. I stayed on making educational games, but once Cyberpunk launched, Max and I decided to build an indie studio together.
With the help of Pro Helvetia (the Swiss Arts Council), we self-published our first game in 2024 on Steam, a heavy metal hack n slash called Munch, where you play an evolving monster that sets out to free the Gods of Heavy Metal, with a soundtrack by metal guitarist Bryant Clifford Meyer. We love the metal scene, so it was kind of our tribute and a good way to get our feet wet. Right after that, we started on our second game Void Martyrs, which is a grimdark survival horror about a nun in a space suit.
The concept of a “nun in a space suit” with a rogue-lite twist has certainly piqued our interest. Please could you tell us more about how that idea came to fruition?
Like Munch, we wanted to make a game targeted towards a sub-culture we knew and loved, so we decided early on our second game would be in a grimdark theme. After researching gaming trends, we decided to take a stab at survival horror since it fit with the aesthetic.
The nun in a space suit part came as we brainstormed different vulnerable main characters (a key element of survival horrors), and looked around at some of our game inspirations like Signalis. Some of our grimdark inspirations like Warhammer 40K and Trench Crusade have heavy religious undertones including nuns/sisters, but they’re a bit too powerful, so we went with a novice nun with very little experience and put her in a place she would be completely out of her depth, like in space.
As we worked on the idea, the game idea took shape and began exploring the larger idea of morality and individual sacrifice towards a greater cause. We’ve initially leaned towards a rogue-lite in-part because it fits well with the fact that you’re kind of just another pawn in battle of cosmic entities, playing one of thousands of novice nuns, each dying for the bigger cause.
Let’s talk about the storyline, as well as how this convent ties in with the biochemical plague that orbits the galaxy. Paint us a picture of this setting, if you’d be so kind. Who are we, and what are we aiming to accomplish?
Void Martyrs is set in an alternate timeline where the church wins the race to the moon with their space program, and has expanded from there. You play the role of one of the Untainted Sisters, young novice nuns frozen in cryosleep and sent into space, each awakened only after the one before her dies. These Sisters belong to an old, ultra-orthodox convent that rejected the bionic implants used by the rest of humankind. That refusal, once seen as backward, is now the only reason they remain untouched by a biomechanical plague.
Humanity had discovered a resource of cross-shaped crystals that the Church called Seraphite believing it to be divine. These crystals powered everything: ships, life support, implants, even artificial gravity. But the crystals came from another universe ruled by a hostile god, and when humanity got close enough to the source (the void, or Heaven’s Gate), something woke up. A plague spread through every implant, turning people into biomechanical husks and corrupting their souls.
The Church panicked and sealed off the region of space, quarantining entire space cathedrals. Millions were left to die inside. Now you’re being sent into those tombs, alone, to retrieve sacred relics that the Church says are the last hope for salvation. Maybe they are. Or maybe you’re just one more sacrifice in a long line of forgotten martyrs.
Tell us more about the gameplay progression and the challenges that we might have to overcome during our orbital crusade?
It plays like a slow-burning survival horror roguelite. Each mission drops you into one of the locked-down giant space cathedrals and ships orbiting Heaven’s Gate (the void). These places are dark, broken, and full of things that shouldn’t be alive. Your goal is to find a holy relic, bring it back to the mothership, and hopefully survive the process.
In each mission, you scavenge tools and Seraphite, manage your dwindling provisions, and face morally weighted decisions that affect your faith levels. The once-human corrupted (now vessels of the plague) roam the halls. You can destroy and loot their bodies, but doing so costs your soul. The righteous path lies in holy rites: exorcisms, anointments, and sacrificial prayers that purify their suffering, but leave you exposed and vulnerable.
Death is permanent, but not final. When a Sister dies, the next is awakened. Her mission continues, bearing the scars and blessings of those who came before her. Relics you recover (including from your own predecessor’s corpse) shape your build. Your actions shape your holiness. And your holiness determines whether you end your pilgrimage as a saint… or something else.
Do you have any words of advice for those who might be looking to embark on their own pilgrimage into space?
Take your time. Void Martyrs isn’t about rushing in and shooting everything that moves, in fact it punishes that actually. You’re not a soldier. You’re a scared, unaugmented novice in a dead basilica, holding a prayer book and a half-broken bolt gun.
Pay attention to your surroundings. Read the messages. The story’s not dumped on you, it’s scattered in pieces and it rewards those who are curious and patient.
Also: don’t ignore the holy rites. They’re risky, but they’re the heart of the game. The more you lean into them, the more you’ll start to understand what the game is really about.
Lastly, don’t get too attached to your first nun. She’s probably not gonna make it.
Where might we be able to find some more information on Void Martyrs? Are there any social channels, event details, or newsletters that we could share with our readers?
— TikTok
— YouTube
— BlueSky
— Discord
Would you like to add any other details or last-minute comments to this story before we bring it towards its final chapter?
We’re always looking for playtesters so would love to call out joining discord or the newsletter list to get in on the action!
Also, please link to the Steam page.
You’ve been great, thank you. We’re looking forward to seeing more of Void Martyrs in the near future!
For even more information on Mac n Cheese Games’ Void Martyrs, be sure to follow the team over on their official X handle here. Alternatively, you can add the game to your wishlist on Steam for additional updates here.
