Vaporum

Vaporum admittedly treads (or crawls :)) in the footsteps of Legend of Grimrock, one of the best of its kind from the (not so) recent years - and it shows, with all the strengths and shortcomings of the grid-based (we can only move on imaginary tiles in 4 directions) 'dungeon crawler' (and not RPG!) genre. It also takes some inspiration from Bioshock - both in regard to visual elements and the whole "experiments-gone-wrong" concept.
While almost reaching the heights of Grimrock, which is no easy accomplishment, there are a few parts where it fails and becomes tedious, namely its more combat-focused nature (which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing at all) at the expense of puzzles, of which some fall under the unintuitive category.
The story is nothing new: our amnesiac hero is swept to the shore of an island with a lone mysterious tower, in the middle of the ocean (sounds familiar?). Upon entering, we learn about the tragic fate of the inhabitants related to Fumium, the mysterious gaseous substance originating from a meteor impact that ocurred near the tower, through notes and audio logs (these can also point at the locations of secret stashes) and find out rather quickly who's moving the strings and who we are in particular. Despite the familiar elements, the plot is well-written and engaging, although quite foreseeable (with an evil twist at the end).
How different is it from the mentioned game and the other famous representatives from the genre?
First of all, the most noticable and unusual thing is that we don't have a party of protagonists, just a single person. Secondly, there's no character generation, we can't pick a class for our character; we can only choose a "rig", an exosuit instead at the beginning, which provides different bonuses and sets a path of progression we should concentrate on with "circuits", which act as skills, or proficiencies - with 5 ranks in each.
Additionally there's no magic, we have "gadgets" instead, which require energy, that slowly regenerates and for progression we absorb the mentioned Fumium instead of experience points. When we gain a level we earn 1 point in each of the 3 main abilities:
- Toughness (affects integrity + evasion)
- Combat (precision + weapon damage)
- Tech (energy + tech damage)
And last, while in others we tend to descend into the depths, here we go to the top of a tower from the bottom - through 12 levels.
Selecting our exoskeleton rig is a permanent choice, however it's not a really tough decision - out of the available 4, there are only 2 that are useful:
- the Combat Rig: improves our precision and weapon damage + deals extra on every 3rd hit
- the Thauma Rig: increases gadget damage + energy regeneration
The other 2 are just simply not worth it, since one of them increases our toughness/integrity/evasion, which would be nice, but in a combat heavy game we won't kill anyone just by having a good defense (even if there's some chance to reflect damage back) and the other one is a jack-of-all-trades with extra resistance and bonus fumium/experience points.
Once we made our choice (it happens AFTER we started the game, right on the 1st level of the tower) we can further improve our rig by equipping body armour, helmets, gloves and boots. The weapons - and pretty much every piece of equipment - are tier based, so we find versions with gradually increasing power and we can usually find a unique, purple coloured version of each kind and tier, with extra magical abilities, like additional poison damage, knockback for example or even one that guarantees a 100% chance to hit...
Supporting our weapon or gadget of choice we can spend points (1 at every new level) on circuits/skills. These come in ranks of 5 and 3 can be maxed out completely (by reaching level 15 + getting 2-3 additional points) by the end of the game. Optimally, these should back each other up: Blunt Weapons (bonus damage against mechanical enemies) goes with Dual Wielding (missing less and performing quicker attacks) and Servo Support (even more precise attacks + more critical hits) for example. At rank 3 and 5 each circuit provides an additional bonus.
The grid-based movement with the standard WASD and Q, E (for turning left and right) controls is similar to the ones we've seen in other games, along with the easy to use map (unless we play the 'old-school' mode, where there's no automap). Here however we get 2 unique options we can enable when starting a new game: 'time-stop' mode, which always pauses the game when we aren't doing anything and 'continuous movement', which produces no effect apparently - it still enables limited movement only and we have to use the same hit-and-run in circles method against monsters. The time-stop mode however is extremely handy and mandatory for some achievements.
Besides the number of puzzles, a handful of these achievements are partially responsible for making the game somewhat tedious. The speedrunning one is simply insane: we have 90 (!) minutes to rush through the otherwise 20 hour long game. Now of course skipping the extra content, the secrets and avoiding as many enemies as we can is fine, but to count the turns we can actually make is crazy... this is NOT how you make a game challenging. Yes, sure it's optional, but still.
Tip: dual-wielded swords are the best for speedrunning, they provide the highest DPS (damage/second).
The Ninja achievement is just as crazy, if we didn't know what save-scumming meant, we sure will after this... to top it all off if we plan on earning all, we need at least 3 (!) FULL (!!) playthroughs :(
Combat can be tough without all these additional aggravations: enemies pop out of previously secluded areas and even from out of thin air in relatively large numbers.
Unfortunately I encountered some bugs as well: during speedrun some enemies locked a door, that was supposed to stay open or when a door kept on poisoning me, after it took a hit from an acid-spitting giant cockroach...
Regarding graphics and especially the aesthetics, the developers did an amazing job. The steampunk/metal-forged industrial environment looks great with the strict combination of metal-glass-stone mixed with some wood, confining to just metal and glass as we get higher in the tower. The levels are different enough to be exciting, ranging from dark, spooky storage areas to well-lit libraries and so on.
Most monsters have a dark mechanical look about them, with robotic spiders but more and more organic enemies as we progress. The Bioshock insipired robots with the gigantic diving helmet are especially scary looking - and they are also responsible for the most irritating soundeffect ever, the inhaling sound our character does, when we are caught by one of these magnet golems... as we encounter each type, we can inspect and read about them in the menu, see how powerful they are, what's best against them and how they were created. It's a nice touch.
Every recording we find isn't just written, but performed by professional voice actors.
While the background sound effects are great with all the creaking and dripping noises, the absence of surround sound makes them less than satisfying. I know a lot of people use just headphones nowadays and aren't very keen when it comes to audio, but in 2017, when the game came out, it should have already been a basic expectation.
Despite the numerous shortcomings I listed and the lack of originality, the game is still very good and should be recommended to the lovers of the genre, if not for anything else, than the unique and unusual atmosphere.
PROS
+ rare industrial, "steampunk" setting
+ a wide variety of enemies
+ lots of secrets
+ well-written audio logs and background info
+ we are able to go back to earlier levels for items (even before the final fight)
CONS
- not an RPG
- more combat-, than puzzle-focused
- no surround sound and some occasional bugs
RATING
7/10

The time has finally come to talk about this game. I’ve spent more than 60 hours and completed the game 3 times with a failed 4th+ run trying to get the last achievement. Feelings are mixed and tensions are high.
Firstly, the game is described as a dungeon crawler but it’s more of a dungeon crawler/puzzle game. It’s not a traditional dungeon crawler. It places more emphasis on puzzles and there are many notes to flesh out the story. There are also many secrets hidden (chests) that offer you better equipment or stat boosts. You control one character instead of a party. There are 4 classes, different weapons and magic (called gadgets here) to use. Your stats increase when you level up and you get one skill point to improve a skill from a list. The skill tree usually improves the effectiveness of a chosen class but you’re still given some room to experiment as well. There are 12 levels to clear with no fast travel. It took me over 20 hours to fully explore the areas and read all notes the first time. You can save anywhere whether quick, manual or even auto. The game has one unique gameplay mechanic, pausing everything with real-time gameplay. Normally you use the attack button and you see your hits carried out. Enemies also attack you and will kill you if you don’t do anything. Pausing at any moment gives you the time to think properly. Pausing is also used with certain puzzles to great effect.
This game is incredibly polished. There are no bugs I’ve experienced. It feels like a lot of thought went into creating and balancing it. It looks incredibly atmospheric and just plain gorgeous. Lighting and shadow is so impressive here. I love the steampunk style. The gameplay is very satisfying whether it’s the puzzles, fights or exploration. It is viable to try out different classes. I was also impressed by some of the notes, some are fully voiced with different characters. The devs basically executed the game perfectly in terms of implementing what they wanted to do.
The problems arise with certain design decisions, mainly the achievements and secrets. Some of the worst achievements involve grinding heavily, beating the game without a map, without saving manually/quickly and speedrunning the game within 90 minutes. Even though I managed to beat the game without a map & save, I don’t think it should have been an achievement. Beating the game on the highest difficulty (brutal) and in combination with receiving less than 3000 damage should have been enough. But the absolute worst one is the speedrunning achievement. Putting this in games designed specifically around speedrunning is one thing, short games that can work well like certain platformers is also a possibility, but putting it in a long game that’s best enjoyed by taking your time is just inconceivable. Not only that, speedrunning is incredibly niche. That audience doesn’t need an achievement to speedrun a game. What you’ve done is dragging the completionist community into it and ruining the game for them. I’ve wasted so many hours starting a new run multiple times. I always made it to level 8 and was always around 2 minutes behind compared to others. As for secrets, I normally love secrets as part of finding collectibles, but the way this game does it is mostly horrible. It’s turned into an extreme version of spot the difference. Often times you’re supposed to spot a tiny dot that could have been a dirt or part of the detailed environment. I would waste lots of time examining every wall and I’d still miss secrets. I lost my patience near the end and just decided to look them up. I also have minor issues with the last 2 puzzles (getting lost in the dark and getting out of a teleport maze). The puzzles are generally without obvious hints. You have to figure them out yourself by trying things and it worked for the most part. It just went too far here even with the hints provided. The hints for the teleport maze were too well hidden and could only be viewed from one angle.
It’s hard to recommend the game outright. I got it on sale for €3 and I got tons of hours out of it. There are moments where I absolutely enjoyed the game. But there are moments where I feel like the game is too punishing and it ruined the experience. The speedrunning achievement will haunt me for not getting it. The only reason I’m not giving a personal negative is because the sequel/prequel clearly has better achievements. I’ve also read the secrets are telegraphed better. It seems some of the feedback is already implemented. It shows growth and improvement. So I’m willing to let it slide once. I still caution completionists from playing this game though. Get it only if the issues mentioned don’t bother you.

Vaporum is a dungeon crawler with grid-based gameplay that takes inspiration from classics like Eye of the Beholder and more contemporary titles such as Legend of Grimrock. Stylistically and artistically, it heavily draws from the aesthetics of Bioshock. The game features approximately 11 floors to explore, each filled with environmental puzzles involving elements like pressure pads, moving crates, angled beams of light, and the traditional colored keys. Combat in Vaporum can be unforgiving and challenging, focusing on resource management (health and energy potions) and strategic evasion of enemy attacks by maneuvering around them.
While Vaporum has its merits, including appealing art and style reminiscent of Bioshock, a diverse range of enemies, and intriguing environmental design, it falls short in certain aspects. The narrative, centered around a power-hungry antagonist, fails to stand out, and the combat lacks a distinctive appeal, often devolving into button-mashing. Additionally, some puzzles lack clear guidance, leading to moments of frustration for players attempting to solve them. Overall, Vaporum is not without its strengths, but it may leave players wanting more depth in story and combat innovation.

Steampunk RPG heavily inspired/influenced by Legend of Grimrock, although it doesn´t reach the same level of quality as LOG does. The story is decent, often presented to the player in form of diary entries and voice messages. The graphics is decent. RPG skill trees as well. These are however the only things FatBot did better than Almost Human in LOG I.
Level design is average, secrets are very difficult to find - usually it´s some small, hard to spot button hidden in the shadows or in a corner of a wall part. The puzzles quite simple and not very fun. The worst part for me is the combat - the game feels like it was designed as an fps with a grid movement system thrown into it at the last minute. The enemies are quite tough and there´s a lot of them. There is a lot of closed arena fights too - in Serious Sam/Doom 2016 style, the player can´t leave the room until all enemies are dead. Sometimes these fights are accompanied by a metal music.... Overall I don´t think Fatbot fully understood how a proper dungeon crawler should have looked like.
6/10

Somewhat linear dungeon crawler with cool environments, fun puzzles, easy gameplay. If you die, just retry. If you die again, log off and go pass an IQ test

This game is great. There is not exactly many Steampunk Dungeon Crawlers, but even considering Dungeon Crawler games globally this one is probably near top. I like the upgrade system, which offers numerous playstyles (tried Thauma and Tank, now will do Ninja build). Even on hardest difficulty (played as tank) the game is fair except maybe towards the end, where having 4 enemies at tail at all the time is just ridiculous (took like 2h to defeaf final element of this game on hardest difficulty with Tank build).

Pros:
- Leveling system: Enough rigs and enough skills (with just right amount of skill points) to try to play this game multiple times.
- Level design: I like the diversity of floors. This is what I didn't like much about first Legend of Grimrock, where it was all "stone corridors" and "different stone corridors" until the end, where it was "metal corridors".
- Enemy variety: Just enough enemy types and they differ enough to warrant different approach. Even Shock Spider and Acid Spider require different strategy, because Acid stays for some time on those 9 tiles.
- Puzzles: Could be more difficult, but otherwise okay, I liked the one with lamp in dark room, you know which one. ''Lockdown'' put too much puzzles in game IMHO, which reduces desire to replay the game as you already know the solution and it's just a padding afterwards.
- Story: Cliche Storm but oddly enticing.
- Voicing: I like this game is voiced. I like banter between party, for this reason I like Wizardry 8 a lot.

Cons:
- You need to pull item from inventory to use it, instead of just clicking on object it interacts with. I know that this was solved in "Lockdown".
- Can't reset skill distribution, but that's the one I can live with.
- Most secrets are accessed by super hidden buttons, some of which person virtually can't spot unless they already know they're there. ''Lockdown'' solves this better by making secret rooms partially visible and mostly accessible by solving extra puzzle than finding hidden switches.

I wonder how that Ninja Elemental Warrior build will go, anyway. ;-)

I found this to be a very fun real-time grid-based dungeon crawler ARPG and particularly a great successor to the Legend of Grimrock series, so if you're a fan of that, as well as the steampunk aesthetic and melee/ranged/plasmid combat of the Bioshock series, definitely give this a go!
If i were to voice any concerns about this game, it's that it can be overwhelmingly combat-focused, and challenging combat at that. Right out of the gate, you'll be facing some very tricky enemies and constant ambushes that lock you into these deadly arenas, and it will only escalate from there. Heck, if it wasn't for the occasional puzzle, I'd swear I'm playing some sort of grid-based version of Doom!
Now for me, both an enjoyer of combat and coming fresh off of playing Grimrock 2, the escalation and evolution of the gameplay systems was a very welcome challenge. All I'm saying is that perhaps don't make Vaporum your introduction to the dungeon-crawler genre: it might be best as the game you play after Grimrock if you're hungry for more.
That said, the game does have adjustable difficulty and a time-stop mode toggle that serves to slow down combat and make it almost turn-based and give you time to think, so if you do want to give it a go, it could certainly work!
As a cherry on top, it's also got the smooth dulcet tones of Sebastian Ruiz, aka Frost of Second Wind and the Cold Take series, as the main character!