Vaporum

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! 🏆

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.

Second best dungeon crawler around (beaten only by Grimrock 1) with a innovative "time-freeze" mechanic, allowing you to play the game at your pace, open inventory and switch gear and plan mid-combat. Time only starts moving when you choose to or when you perform an action like attacking or turning.

+++Time-freeze (very original and welcome mechanic)
++Atmosphere (I like the steampunk-esque setting)
+Pacing (felt the game dolled out variations in both layouts, enemies and items at a good pace, also not to long of a game)
+Sound/Music (both felt above average)
+Playstyles (playing on anything lower then Brutal, you can play pretty much any build you want)

=Story (not bad... but nothing spectacular either)
=Voiceacting (When it was good, it was good, when it was bad it was bad)

--Ambushes (90% of the challenges in the game are due to you being locked inside an ambush room, with no other recourse then to fight your way out)
-Hidden buttons (they were a bit too hidden in this one, I used a guide to find all those secrets)
-Higher difficulty balance (if you push the difficulty the balancing starts to crack and the main difficulty is the humongous health pools enemies get)

Pretty fun game, but some of the puzzles and secrets can get really easy to miss on the late game, which got a little frustrating.

Solid dungeoneering, decent combat and customization, stupid story.
A somewhat interesting and decently executed game, with a decent selection of puzzles. It's decent! I concur with others who say that this is a great entry point for those interested in the grid-based dungeon crawler, with some caveats.
You are not going to find the majority of secrets without a guide, guaranteed, and it is in your best interest to do so as the most useful gear is hidden inside them. To Vaporum's credit, you need every advantage you can get. You will periodically get your butt swamped by ambushes, so the optional time-freeze can at times become a lifesaver. Health items are rare, and items that provide health are even rarer, and most of these stated items are hidden away in those aforementioned secrets so be sure to buy yourself the advantage.
I was quite surprised by how the perk tree was so extensive, yet the actual levels gained were so limited. I only levelled up about 15 times in my entire playthrough, so maybe 18 perk points in total after considering the rare perk consumables. I went for a "thauma" build, which is this games version of magic, and even then had only just enough to scratch the surface of what was available. Given how rare healing items are, I would imagine it would be easy to play sloppy and get softlocked due to poor build optimization and one too many brutal ambushes, but at least in my case I never quite found myself in that position. There is healing magic, but its deep into the game before you see it (secret chest only i'm pretty sure) and depending on your build probably not super viable either.
The worst part about combat is how the enemy's health inflates to a comical degree by the end of the game. Even after finding just about everything and optimising my gear as much as possible, each combat encounter by the last few hours were just mindless slogs of repetition and minding your positioning. It never really felt like I was getting all that more powerful because of this, and when multiples of former boss enemy are stomping around and chucking you around the map like a chew toy you can't help but get annoyed. You will absolutely sidestep into a deathpit mid-fight a few times, if not outright kicked into one. I'm personally glad I specced into magic as the AOE abilities feel essential in the second half of the game, with which each enemy encounter is just swarms of tanky, status causing enemies. While it never felt tense per se, I definitely got into a routine of saving before any sizeable room because you KNOW a boatload of enemies are gonna pop out of the walls and floor. These ganking groups sometimes play out like a puzzle, which I liked, but usually you'll just get stuck in a corner with swing and a prayer you're not careful. Because of those healthpools however, its often in your better interest to play a bit of cat and mouse as much as possible as you whittle them down--which can take a long, long time.
The enemies themselves are a bit too thin; you will see the first enemies you encounter all the way to the end of the game, with only a few new faces at the end. Each base enemy type has at least 3 variations (at LEAST) but to their credit, they all provide interesting challenges...the first few times. You WILL get ganked on by a hoarde of mutant cockroaches every 5-10 minutes until the credits role. Even the final boss summons them. Accept your new reality and make peace with it.
One of the biggest annoyances with the magic build I had was how magic was treated like a physical object that takes up space in your fairly limited inventory. As you find better spells, you're effectively encouraged to upgrade to the better version--but beware, because the increased effectiveness comes at increased cost, and I regretted trading up to the final versions by the end because of how little the gains are. Another annoyance I had was the fact that there is a whole dedicated quick swap for gear, but for whatever reason wasn't applicable to armor or magic, just weapons. This made things doubly irritating as there are a ton of spells i would have liked to use more, but got shafted for the most utilitarian options just for survival's sake. This goes for armor too, which have a whole slew of unique effects that would have been useful in a pinch. The quick swap feature ended up for me as an alternation from melee to gun, and that's fine, but felt like a missed opportunity and further nerfed "thauma" for me.
I didn't really like the story, as it felt like it was written by a Bioshock fan that was going through a nasty divorce and custody battle. The voice acting was alright at first but I muted it as I got sick of the main character's constant narration. Finished the game with subtitles only and don't regret a thing--I generally play dungeon crawlers for atmosphere first anyway and the constant interruptions didn't feel like I missed anything. Maybe you enjoy amnesiac John Everyman monologuing, who knows. Your mileage may vary.
The puzzles...the puzzles baffle. By far THE HARDEST PUZZLE happens about 2-3 hours in, is completely mandatory, and a box puzzle. I hate box puzzles. There are a lot of box puzzles. Nearly dropped the game because of this and will probably be the filter for most people. It's a total lark then that beyond this first puzzle, the rest are all a mixture of nothing and fair, with the optional puzzles operating as fun brain teasers that never even come close to that first. There is some obtuseness with direction and puzzle structure near the end, but I guess that's why the main character talks to himself out loud, for idiots like me. The game is fairly linear all told, but for your sake and mine, swallow your pride and use a guide if you get stumped. I sure did!
The environments are occasionally compelling, but while there is a lot steam and a lot of metal and pipes and things, it never really felt "steampunk" to me. There are some visually very cool rooms and halls that are sparse throughout, but the general vibe per floor is "shiny metal walls but blueish" or "metal walls but redish" or greenish and so forth. Save for maybe the last pairing of levels, the majority of the experience is just one big shiny metal blur in my memory.
In all, I enjoyed my time with it but not enough to where I want to revisit it. Still undecided on whether I want to bother with the pre-sequel, which seems more of the same with some improvements. It didn't offer enough for an oldhead like me to be wowed by, but it do did what it done do and I don't regret do doneing it. Maybe it will be your speed. Check it out!

I bought this game after hearing that it was similar to Legend of Grimrock 2 (one of my favorite game) and while it's not quite at that level, Vaporum is still an enjoyable game. It's more combat focused than LOG2 and while it still has puzzle most of them revolve around pushing boxes. Overall I think it is worth the purchase.

couldnt make it work on my pc so i bought it back on my switch.
i was looking for something different to play and i found it with this game !
a grid crawling game with puzzle. worked great with a controller but i wished it would have worked on my pc because i think this is the way to go with keyboard.
great game.