Goggles – World of Vaporia
Goggles is an online coop arena shooter for up to four players. You can play as one of four different characters, namely Quentin, Frank, Tesla or Jerne. Each character comes with a unique set of weapons, vehicle and special abilities.
Story
The story of Goggles takes place in the world of Vaporia, a steampunk society that is run by the global company Fumare Tech.
Almost every aspect of life in Vaporia is mechanized. You can find automatons everywhere. Some of them are very small and just roam the streets to keep them clean, others are bigger than houses and are used to build and construct the ever growing cities of Vaporia.
Next to those everyday automatons from Fumare Tech, there are also free inventor workshops. One of the best known workshops is the one of Master Vules Jerne. It is the night before the big reveal of Master Jernes new discovery: the existence of parallel universes!
Next to his discovery, he and his apprentice Quentin have been working on some special lenses, which they placed in various Goggles, that allow the wearer to have a look into those universes!
In the morning the Goggles will be presented to the public and Master Jerne is just finishing his final tests when something terrible happens: one dimension after another turns black…
Jerne immediately starts to check for the alleged error in his Goggles when suddenly a dimension crack opens directly in front of him!
While Jerne is watching in disbelieve a mucous black shadow enters the world. As the shadow realizes that Jerne can see him, he immediately goes for the Goggles.
The Goggles are lost in the attack and dimension cracks open all over Vaporia. It is up to you and three other players in the roles of Master Vules Jerne, his apprentice Quentin Quaint, the mysterious Fumare Tech trader Tesla o’ Tool or the lovable steamworker Frank Frankson, the get the Goggles back by traveling all over Vaporia, and stop the black shadows.
Gameplay
Goggles is an online coop arena shooter for up to four player. You can play as one of four different characters, namely Quentin, Frank, Tesla or Jerne. Each character comes with a unique set of weapons, vehicle and special abilities.
The main goal in Goggles is to retrieve all goggles that have been lost at the beginning of the game. In order to do so you have to close black shadow rifts which are guarded by hordes of possessed automatons. While closing rifts more and more areas in each district are opening up for you to explore.
Once all areas in a district are opened you can either try to close all remaining rifts or fight the endboss before the time runs out to get the lost Goggles back. There are special events in each area that will be triggered at random. These events range from simple collect-missions to convoy- and hunt-missions.
When you complete those additional missions you gain bonus time and items to help you in your main fight. The positions of the shadow rifts and events are random generated, so each playthtough will be unique.
Game Discussion
Steam User 16
Truth be told, "Goggles - World of Vaporia" is not your new "100 Metascore" - game. It has its Flaws.
For instance:
Sometimes I keep getting lost in the different districts, especially in the inventors district (... well, to be fair: even if you're new to that game your only possibility to get lost is the inventors district. The other maps are quite easy to remember and manuever through as there is more open space). Furthermore I sometimes do not recognize that an enemy hit me.
For example when Mr. King (I believe his name was) punches the floor, causing something like an earthquake in progress, which damages your character. I took me some time to realize that (but to be fair, it just could have been me who wasn't paying attention).
....
To be honest here, these are the major things that could "annoy" me. There are more things I like about this game than I "hate". I like the way it looks and how the different characters play differently (It's the same with the boss battles, btw). E.g. Quentin and Tesla do not play the same way. With Quentin I can kill my opponents from a distance (which is a wise thing to do by the way) while I have to rush at my enemies with Tesla. Frank is a more tanky character which can be usefull when you're playing with friends. Haven't touched Vules yet, though...
In addition I have to admit that I love the dialogues between the characters (ingame as well as in cutscenes). They really do make me smirk. The voice acting is not bad, too, as it fits the "Steam punk and industrialization" setting well. Also, the Soundtrack, especially the menu Song, is very catchy ~
So, although it has its flaws and mistakes it is a good game you can play with your friends as well as all alone. (It's better with friends, though)
Steam User 25
Interesting game, feels a bit like Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts, minus the crafting/quests.
All 4 characters are available from the start, each have alternate vehicles, weapons and overdrive powers. Combining these together means multiplayer should work well, though unfortunately I was unable to find players. Initially one arena is available with more available through game progression. Restricted by a global timer and locked gates, each level has 3 areas filled with enemies. Clearing out 'voids' raises a percentage and hitting certain targets rewards further access to the map. Once all 3 were cleared a boss spawns that requires killing to complete the level.
Graphically it looks quite beautiful but I do feel the gameplay becomes a bit rinse repeat. While a few different 'mini games' were available that decreased the global timer, still ultimately killing enemy XYZ or collecting random items. Story was all voiced, most characters sounded okay while some were a little rough. Game runs on unity, supports screen resolutions of 4k+ along with full controller remapping in-game. Few framedrops on a single 970 though it was nothing gamebreaking.
Overall a fun game in short bursts, just feel like it could have offered much more. Maybe some more meaningful quests, clearing voids and reducing global timers through group and mini-boss fights does get a little stale. If it were $15 or less, would be a solid recommend. With all the above mentioned and nobody yet playing multiplayer, it might be worth wishlisting instead if funds are a tight. Copy was provided by developer, doesn't change my thoughts. Cheers.
Steam User 7
First impression: Goggles - World of Vaporia is a fun light harted game with lots of charm and unique ideas. The story brings you to the steampunk planet Vaporia where evertything's run by machines. After an incident all machines become possessed and start attacking everything. The levels, while a bit difficult to navigate at times, are a joy to look at and the art style overall fits the setting nicely. Nothing in this game looks generic.
The four characters seem to be specialized for specific tasks in the game which makes me think that the focus of the game is more on multiplayer co-op. That said, single player is still fun, just a bit harder when playing Tesla or Vules Jerne. The weapons you can use reach from rocket launcher and steam hammer to cannons and a zapper gun just to mention some of them.
The dialogues between the characters, which are all voiced btw, are funny and continue telling the story during gameplay and in comic cutscenes between the levels. The cutscenes themselves are all hand drawn and really add to the overall atmosphere of the game. Speaking of atmosphere: the colors and light effects change the more dangerous the level gets, which looks pretty cool.
Also, the soundtrack deserves a mention: It sounds great and I've had it stuck in my head for days now. Especially since I found out the Wise Guys are featured in the title track!!
Steam User 5
I played the game for several times and I have to say, I really like the artstyle of this game. For an Indiegame (in 3D) it has beautiful designed characters and landscapes. The controls were a little bit clumsy in the beginning, but with the updates and a short training I get used to it. I will try to post some Let's Play Videos.
One is allready done:
I'm looking forward to unlock all achivements time by time and hope that there will be more players to get used to the Multiplayer Mode and see you on the Battlegrounds of Vaporia.
I wish every succes for this little Indiestudio for their first working title.