An indie title capable of dividing the opinion of the public and critics like few others: let's see what death to die for in the review of Vagante
There are many games capable of dividing public opinion, but despite being at the beginning of February 2024 our hype train headed to Hisui for a review instead he stopped at the station of Wandering. Don't worry: even in this case we are dealing with a title on which no one seems to agree 100%. Judgments on the title fluctuate from recommendations to slating, which is why we tried to ignore as many bells as possible in order to enter the colossal dungeon of the game in mind. You know, in the hope that we can even get out of it alive, of course.
Of course, the intention of the game is clear: to enter the scene by weight roguelike. We cannot fail to underline how much this is a genre already very rich in illustrious exponents, although mostly in the indie scene. The Binding of Isaac, Crypt of the Necrodancer and Dead Cells proved it. However here we are evaluating the game in the context of Nintendo Switch, a console whose manufacturers themselves wanted to experiment with the trend. Examples include Cadence of Hyrule, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, and the entire Kirby Fighters 2 single-player campaign. What can be added to the genre in a post-Hades world?
"Hello, die"
We would very much like to open the review by talking about the narrative ambition of Vagante, but unfortunately we are forced to mention that the history and you can see it all in the title screen. We are travelers belonging to the most disparate classes, starting from an initial selection of three (warrior, magician and brigand), and once we get off our caravan we enter the dungeon. Enough, there is literally nothing else to add. Given the attitude with which the game likes to make us die without warning (sometimes, a game session can last about ten seconds, when a rock falls on our heads from a darkened point), we would hope at least in a "lore" in style Dark Souls.
Instead, all we have left is the freedom of interpretation of the motives that will push us to re-enter the cave whenever the next nefariousness of the game sends us to the Creator. As we have already said, storytelling can be a wise incentive for every game with a difficult title. Not surprisingly, we have described Killer Chambers' humor as one of his strongest qualities at the expense of his flaws. Unfortunately, in the little text (exclusively in English) present in the game, we could only see a stoic and austere atmosphere, without there being a plot to give it substance.
Rudiments of rudeness among the ruins - Vagante Review
Despite this first bitter bite, in this review we also have some good words to say for Vagante when it comes to gameplay. The tutorial, which can later be repeated through a separate cave, instructs us properly on combat, exploration and progress. Although initially not very intuitive, in reality the commands soon prove to be functional. Again: certain traps are petty to say the least, but the gameplay itself has no problem. Each of the front keys performs a basic offensive (or, why not, evasive) function.
A button is therefore relegated to melee attack, another to magic attacks and another to weapons to hit from a distance such as bows or boomerangs. A very “Zeldian” triptych if you like, but it leaves room for jumps. In all this we have not in fact mentioned that the game is predominantly (and apparently) a side scrolling platformer, with elements from Role playing game and roguelike anything but outline. How well things fit together, then, is entirely subjective; from our point of view, however, it was not exactly a (bigamous) marriage of the happiest.
Think Fast - Vagante Review
By pressing the Plus key on your controller you can open a menu with which to manage their skills and equipment, which however does not equal a real break menu. The latter is in fact relegated to the Minus key, which means that no, consulting the inventory does not interrupt the action. This is good to remember before making the mistake of managing your pockets in the most excited moments. The room for maneuver, in each randomly generated cave, is quite small; the same word, "little", which we would use to define how much it matters to the enemies who will be happy to put us on the wall.
There are shortcuts with the backbones, if desired, but that of level design is a problem that goes beyond the context of changing weapons and objects. The fastest and painless way to proceed in the game (and the most recommended, at least in the opening bars) is to look for the open door with which to reach the next cave, allowing us to heal at the nearest bonfire and save. Not that saving the game is of much use: as soon as we die, our progress will perish with us. Or at least, some type of progress it exists, but it is not to be understood in the sense with which we have always known it.
Industry Experience - Vagante Review
Dying brings with it the loss of everything. No, let's not joke, and it's not hyperbole on our part. Items obtained, money suffered, weapons coveted, everything goes away when our health point count touches the threshold of zero split. If we're not allowed to keep our money honestly stolen from the monsters who want us dead, what's the point of starting over? The answer is provided by i experience points, which in addition to being the only thing that remains at each of our passing, also transcends the individual classes. Which is good, because at the first level up we will already be reduced to stealing items from shopkeepers by force.
It's not just the new classes to be unlocked by leveling up, but also other benefits: an increase in health recovered at each bonfire, a permanent increase of a stat and so on. Unfortunately, this doesn't do much for all newbies who go from being encouraged to explore as much as possible to finding themselves perpetually on the run in order not to lose the little progress made up to that point. This happens despite defeating the boss of a cave rewards the winner with the key to the large chest which, in a similar way, is found in each of the caverns to be explored.
Multiprayer - Vagante Review
There is no way to deny that this title, to the detriment of all the love evidently poured out in its most peculiar aspects (we will talk about it very shortly), is a true turnabout on all the progress made by the genre towards the general public. For the latter, in fact, the roguelike trend was (and in part still is) something excessively punitive, but while other exponents like Hades have been able to be rewarded by critics, it seems that Vagante remains intent on wink only and only at a masochistic niche beyond which the genre has been expanding for several years now.
We would love to find in the modalities multiplayer a pretext for us to turn around on what has been said so far, but unfortunately we have not found anyone with whom to face the dungeons. Or, to be precise, no one willing to do it. We would not like to be too ironic about the situation, despite the joke served to us on a silver platter, but it is inevitable. Everything, in the game, seems to be artfully orchestrated to translate into an experience as less enjoyable as possible. The boundary between “here's what everyone (those few) loved about roguelikes” and “what everyone (who) hates” is already blurred, but the development team has tried to muddy the waters even more. On purpose, it seems.
There is art in this slaughterhouse - Vagante Review
We are on the home straight, and with our last remaining energy after 999 boulder damage we want to talk about the technical aspect of the game starting from graphics. The development team Nuke Nine and the publisher BlitWorks they have held the game in gestation for ten years, and the results of that commendable dedication are evident. The pixel art of the title is excellent, despite the contrast between the very small sprites for the playable characters and the enemies and the extraordinary backdrops. Too bad only for the lack of variety of settings, which inevitably amplifies the sense of repetitiveness (especially with some similar scenarios).
A similar applause also deserves the sound compartment. Contrary to the "easy way" with which many, too many indie titles opting for the combo between retro graphics and high difficulty, the music opts for well-crafted songs with an undoubted atmosphere. From the anxious effect of the melody of the bosses of each cave to the seraphic calm of the bonfire room, the developers have certainly not opted for cheap nostalgia. A real shame, given that in the vast majority of cases the player (if he is not a veteran, at least) will find himself feeling the theme of the first cave ad nauseam.
Final considerations
"Brilliant, but lazy”: This is the expression with which we would conclude our review of Vagante. At every step, the aftertaste of this experience is one of the worst feelings of bitterness. It is a bitterness in the mouth that only something as impressive as half-successful can leave. To be fair, we didn't get to try it before the day one patch. There are several horror stories about the game's performance at launch, but based on our experience at least on the technical front we have not found any problems whatsoever. If anything, the game's shortcomings are all inherent in its design itself.
It is said that in show business, the "eight deadly words" are a sign of the audience's total apathy towards the characters ("I don't care what happens to them"). Because the game loves torturing us with traps that we barely have time to react to and limiting our options to heal ourselves, as there is nothing capable of connecting us to the game world, the incentives to try again also fail. There is no worse misfortune than this for any work: to arouse the disinterest of those on the other side of the pages, headphones or the screen. And we don't think you need to spend fourteen euros just to shrug.
This was what we thought. But what is your opinion? Tell us below, and as always do not forget to stay on {marca_origen} to read other reviews and get all the most important news on the gaming sphere and beyond. For your gamer needs, you can instead find the best discounts in digital format on Instant Gaming.
5.5 For such fans (with a good mouth)Points in favor
- Artistically excellent
- Encourage to experiment
Points against
- Little variety
- Hostility to the player even where it is not needed
- No narrative pretext
