Vagante Review: Not for the Faint-Hearted
In a time where a lot of indie games overshoot or come up short on release, Vagante paints a different picture. Still in development and available through Steam Early Access, Vagante is a platformer, rogue-like featuring permadeath, co-op and randomly generated levels. The plot of the game is that you are an adventurer coming to explore a dungeon in search of treasures. However, everyone that enters never comes out…
One thing above all, Vagante is gruelingly difficult. Not for the faint of heart, it is expected for one to die the first ten times you try playing it. There are numerous traps, enemies and hazards that can lead to an unexpected end, and the random nature of the levels means there will always be something to surprise you. Thus, it is ultimately skill, patience and strategic thinking that will determine if you survive or not. Weapons and armor are randomly generated, with unique stats and benefits, as well as demerits. This allows for varied gameplay and an element of risk and reward since certain items might be beneficial for the situation at hand but leave you open to dying from another. Another caveat sometimes items are cursed, forcing you to be cautious with how you approach new equipment, and making you seek out a way to undo the curse or be left with a permanent disadvantage.
Fighting a Dragon Boss
Another big plus about Vagante is the level generation. In Vagante, level progression is made up of three levels of the same environment, beginning with cave levels and progressing to forest, crypt, etc. As the levels progress, the dangers and hazards you face change as well, and strategies you used before may no longer be effective, but you may be capable of trying something else that wasn’t feasible previously. With a set of different bosses per biome, you are sometimes forced to make a choice of whether or not you wish to risk fighting the boss. Fighting a boss is the only way to get a key, which in turn is the only way to open up chests for valuable loot that will be vital in later levels. Once you progress further in the game, you’ll realize that both equipment and health are incredibly valuable, but scarce. Depending on how skilled and confident you are, you might be able to get both without much problem, but most players will lose out on one in order to get the other. This type of risk and reward makes it so that one has to be tactical in how they do things, as even the first few levels can kill or hurt you very easily and it might seem better to avoid fighting, but later levels become even harder if you aren’t properly equipped.
Bat killed via an arrow trap.
Finally, the best thing about Vagante is that, like a game such as Dark Souls or the Momodora Series, Vagante is brutal but also very fair. You can have games that only last seconds before you die, but if you pay attention to your surroundings and take things slowly, your chances of survival are boosted immensely. Although some things can be attributed to bad luck, ultimately a lot is determined by your raw skill, and if you are smart enough,you can make the game work for you. The amount of things you can actually do with the environment is quite large, and things can very dynamically be used to fish you out of bad situations and into better ones.
Battling a crazy goblin boss.
Ultimately, Vagante is an indie game that packs a lot of bang per buck, and has content that manages to stay fresh. Not only that, but it can be enjoyed with multiple friends or alone, and it will always guarantee a new experience each time. To add to that, the very talented Sam English has done a great job on the OST, which calls to memory the mood of older games, and the graphics and atmosphere are all very well executed. The kicker to all of this is that, despite still being in development, Vagante gives a lot more content and enjoyment than many similarly priced games, and even more expensive ones. I wholeheartedly recommend it, even to those that aren’t into roguelikes but do enjoy a challenge. It is priced at $16.99 and can be bought on Steam or through the Humble Bundle.
Intermission between levels: Calm before the storm. Bonfire where you can heal up before moving on to the next level.
