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 exokeleton 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

Steam User 8

Reviewed last year

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 exokeleton 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
Steam User 6

Reviewed last year

Good dungeon crawler. Nice story and music. Only drawback was that 80% of the game consists of:
1. Open door
2. Walk into room
3. Door closes behind you
4. Monsters spawn in room
5. Kill monsters
6. Doors reopen again
Rest of the game was chasing down keys and other quest objects with a couple puzzles sprinkled in. Fun overall but very shallow.
Steam User 3

Reviewed 03.2023

Quite good dungeon crawler in Steampunk setup.
Very strong Bioshock vibes from undersea base.
Story is not the best but good enough for single gameplay at least, the game is nto super long (15 hours including finding all secrets and explore every corner) was quite enjoyable.
Already looking on a Sequel!
Steam User 1

Reviewed last year

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.
Steam User 1

Reviewed last year

Great dungeon crawler, I'm nearing the end. The puzzles were mostly fair, there were a few that were annoying and obtuse but overall pretty clever. I enjoyed the combat but wish it was party-based instead of having just one main dude. It has quite a few fun easter eggs in it too. It's no Grimrock, but it's quite enjoyable. 7.5/10
Steam User 1

Reviewed 03.2023

Very nice blobber. If you liked Legend of Grimrock then I think you will enjoy this one. A bit simpler but still solid.

Vaporum

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