Vaporum
Vaporum: Lockdown is a prequel to the award-winning steampunk dungeon crawler Vaporum. It is a grid-based, single-player, single-character game, seen from a first-person perspective in an original steampunk setting, and inspired by old-school games like Dungeon Master I and II, the Eye of the Beholder series, and the more recent Legend of Grimrock I and II. Vaporum: Lockdown follows the story of Ellie Teller, a scientist who is a part of a mysterious research project in the middle of an ocean. Following disastrous events, she struggles to survive and escape the tower of Arx Vaporum. Key Features First person real-time combat Unique Stop Time Mode Puzzles and level-wide objectives Gadget-based RPG system Lots of exploration, loot, and character customization Mysterious storyline filled with secrets Fully voiced main characters Immersive steampunk setting You will encounter nasty enemies with unique strengths and attack patterns. To beat them, you will have to employ a broad array of weapons, gadgets, upgrades, and smart tactics. Fortunately, there's plenty of powerful toys to play with. Many different weapon types, each with a specific use, synergistic armor pieces, gadgets that allow you to raise your own army of underlings or to manipulate the battlefield, boosters, and more.
Game Discussion
Steam User 15
I bought this as I love the old style Dungeon crawler games. I'd played and completed Legend of Grimrock 1 and 2 with my 11 year old daughter. I would do the movement and she would perform the fighting and interaction. Together we would solve the puzzles and talk about strategy. We're only part way through this and are loving it. It's tough but highly enjoyable.
Steam User 9
Great dungeon crawler. Criminal that it hasn't had more attention. I saw it on Splattercat. Simple story, simple gameplay, but keeping me playing. I'm an old school Dungeon Master player on the Atari ST that I bought in the late eighties, so I don't fear the grid-based dungeon crawler game. And neither should you - it's not just nostalgia - it's a good game. A lot of these types of games are good. This one has a pause that turns it almost into a turn based game if you activate it. Recommend.
Steam User 3
I love and hate this game at the same time, because it is very gripping and challenging, it has a very good storytelling, it is scary and difficult sometimes. 💖 And the riddles would be appreciated by the Riddler himself! ✅ But to be honest the game mechanics screwed me over! 😖 I had found out at the end of the game that you could stop time with Caps Lock! ♲ A better tutorial would be welcomed... Guys, remember the Caps Lock! 🌟 Thumbs up! 🏆
Steam User 5
Vaporum is a good old fashioned grid-based dungeon crawler. Everything you would expect is here - secret doors, puzzles, traps, and deadly enemies. You can choose one of three rigs at the beginning and distribute skill points upon leveling up, which allows you to specialize into one of a few available weapons and a style of fighting (being more tanky or relying more on gadgets, think spells, that deal damage).
Overall, I found the game to be pretty fun, with only a few frustrating passages. A lot of the story is voice acted decently well and provides a backdrop as you climb the tower. For around 10-12 hours of simple dungeon crawling fun, you can't really go wrong here and I definitely recommend Vaporum if you like these kinds of games.
Steam User 2
A grid-crawl game that is truly playable with a controller. The control scheme is very comfortable and intuitive to pick up to the point where I did not need to use the "Super Hot" mode for combat as a "mage" build.
The graphics are very good, be sure to use the ability to "free look" when searching for secrets.
The combat shows that the developers understand the fundamentals of grid-crawlers. You can easily "two-step" or attack-cycle lock some enemies, but others strafe quickly or have 3x3 AoE attacks forcing strategy evolution as you progress (though I have a hunch the "tank" build might be able to just trade blows straight up). Also, the ability to switch into "Super Hot" mode will be a boon for anyone wanting a more methodical, tactical combat style.
Puzzles are also top-notch, especially those for the Fumium key related rewards. I found the "rhythm game" puzzle at the end of the library level to be particularly fun.
Good voice acting on the recordings, good environmental sound effects to add character to the levels (pumping sounds, the ominous deep boom coming from some lower level, that sort of thing).
Recommended for those who like grid-crawls especially if you prefer (or require) controller use.
Steam User 2
Not as good as Legend of Grimrock, but still pretty good and scratches that dungeon crawling itch the way not even Legend of Grimrock 2 (aka "we want to be Myst now") could.
Steam User 1
Remember games like Eye of the Beholder, Dungeon Master and Lands of Lore? This was clearly made by people who do. The grid based 90 degree angle real time combat is in focus here, and it's as fun as it was back in the day. There's a button to switch into a real-time-with-pause mode, I've been trying to hack it old school and I'm still having a blast. The enemy abilities and the gadget powers and weapons you get are beautifully designed to make the set piece fights dynamic and challenging.
There's puzzles and a plot as well, but this is closer to Dungeon Master than something like Legend of Grimrock 2. Just straightforward steampunk flavored raid and loot action.