Interview: Nicola Piovesan on turning Voivod into a Metroidvania with Voivod: The Nuclear Warrior

Voivod: The Nuclear Warrior is the official game of the legendary Canadian metal band: a pixel-art action Metroidvania with visuals supervised by drummer Away, a soundtrack supervised by guitarist Chewy and singer Snake voicing the protagonist. The demo is live during Steam Next Fest, and the launch is planned for early 2027 on PC and consoles.

I spoke by email with Nicola Piovesan, the game’s creator and founder of Chaosmonger Studio in Estonia, about going from a music video for the band to a game, recording with Snake, and why the game includes Brazilian Portuguese.

The interview

How did the project start? Were you already a Voivod fan?

“I’ve been a Voivod fan since the mid-’90s. I’ve always loved their groundbreaking approach to metal, combined with science fiction, dystopian imagery and incredibly original artwork. In 2012, I met Michel “Away” Langevin at a concert in Helsinki and proposed making an animated music video for the band. That became the official video for “Target Earth”, released in 2013.”

“Years later, after moving into video game development and releasing several games, I approached the band again with the idea of creating a game based on their universe. They loved it, and our previous collaboration certainly helped.”

What was the hardest part of turning Voivod’s universe into a Metroidvania?

“The biggest challenge was translating such a distinctive visual universe into a coherent, interactive world. Away’s artwork is full of biomechanical structures, bizarre creatures and surreal landscapes, but not everything translates directly into gameplay! We reinterpreted these elements as enemies, environments and explorable locations, while building a narrative around the Voivod character, who must recover fragments of his lost mind with Nothingface as his guide.”

“The band has been involved throughout development, mostly trusting my creative direction rather than requesting major changes.”

How do Away and Chewy contribute to the visuals and music?

“Away’s artwork has guided our visual direction throughout development. He created a few custom illustrations for the game, but his main role has been supervising the visuals. I’ve regularly shared our progress with him, usually receiving an immediate green light!”

“For the soundtrack, our composer Yann Latour reworked Voivod’s songs into a retro-game style under Chewy’s supervision. Chewy even provided MIDI files and sheet music to help with the arrangements.”

Snake voices the protagonist. What was it like recording with him?

“Since I’m based in Estonia and Snake lives in Canada, we worked remotely. I provided guidance, and he recorded several takes on his own, experimenting with different interpretations and adding some really cool touches. Snake is quite a character and a natural voice actor, so the process was surprisingly easy and enjoyable! Hearing his unmistakable voice and sounds coming from my game is pretty surreal as a longtime fan.”

Which games or artists inspired the pixel art and gameplay?

“I grew up playing games on the Amiga, so classics like Turrican and Shadow of the Beast II certainly influenced the atmosphere, side-scrolling action and detailed environments. At the same time, the game incorporates more contemporary gameplay influences, including the exploration and interconnected-world design of Hollow Knight. Visually, however, Away’s artwork remains the strongest inspiration. I wanted to imagine what a classic action-platformer might look like if it were based on Voivod’s album covers.”

Why does the demo have two modes, Story Path and Combat Trial? Which should players try first?

“We wanted to accommodate different players, especially during Steam Next Fest, when people might be trying dozens of demos. Story Path offers approximately the first hour of the adventure, gradually introducing the narrative, exploration and gameplay mechanics. It’s my recommended starting point. Combat Trial is shorter and more immediate, with around 20 minutes of action, more weapons and abilities, several enemies and a boss fight. Both modes also offer three difficulty settings.”

What did filmmaking, ENCODYA and Clunky Hero teach you?

“My filmmaking background strongly influences my storytelling and the attention I dedicate to the audiovisual experience: how graphics, animation, sound and music work together to create atmosphere. ENCODYA helped me explore narrative-driven science fiction, while Clunky Hero taught me a lot about action-platformer mechanics, exploration and combat. Both projects also taught me how to balance creative ambition with what a small independent team can realistically achieve.”

How big is the team, and which engine are you using?

“The project is largely developed by me, using Unity. I handle practically everything inside the game engine: programming, level design, writing, game design, art direction, lighting and putting all the elements together. But there’s also an international network of talented freelancers behind the game! Various artists in Tallinn contributed pixel art and animations, while our main animators are based in Turkey. Yann, our composer, is in Canada; Phil, who handles sound design, is in Montenegro; and our playtesters, who also contributed valuable game design feedback, are spread around the world.”

Why add Brazilian Portuguese, and what do you expect from Brazilian players?

“Brazil has an incredible metal community, and Voivod has a dedicated fanbase there. Brazilian gamers are also very passionate, making localization into Brazilian Portuguese a natural choice, despite the additional resources it requires. I’m particularly happy with the interest we’re already receiving from Brazil during our promotional campaign, and I’m looking forward to hearing what Brazilian players think of the demo!”

What happens after Next Fest, on the road to the early 2027 launch?

“After Next Fest, we’ll focus on player feedback, fixing issues, balancing gameplay and polishing the overall experience. The full adventure is already playable internally, so our priorities are refining combat, enemy behavior, level design and technical stability. We’re targeting early 2027 for PC and consoles, including PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo platforms.”

Anything you’d like to say to Brazilian metalheads and players?

“First of all, thank you for the support! Voivod: The Nuclear Warrior is a passion project made by a longtime fan of the band, and I’ve worked very hard to do justice to its extraordinary universe. You don’t need to know Voivod to enjoy the game, but longtime fans will discover plenty of references to their music, artwork and mythology. The free demo is available on Steam during Next Fest, so give it a try, share your impressions and wishlist the full game if you enjoy it.”

Answers lightly edited for length.

Source: SavePoint email interview with Nicola Piovesan (Chaosmonger Studio).