Vaporum

A dungeon of brass and steam
Dungeon Crawler is a different take on classic pen&paper RPG. Playing out in a highly restricted place (say, a dungeon) it puts emphasis on combat and solving puzzles rather than the story. In the classic software adaptations, dungeons are viewed from the first perspective and the player controls a team of adventurers who slowly traverse the map, one field at a time. While Dungeon Crawlers have a venerable history in gaming, dating all the way back to the early ‘90s, they were at large forgotten. That is until Legends of Grimrock brought the genre back to the attention of modern gamers in 2012. Vaporum is up to the very same task. The game aims to deliver a modern take on an old-school formula, but at the same time, it squarely sets itself apart from the competition – with a steampunk setting.
The game takes place in Arx Vaporum, a gigantic tower that reaches high above the clouds, risen in the middle of the sea. The protagonist is a lost man devoid of memory, who somehow happened upon the structure’s front door. With a choice between a bare rock amidst the waves and slowly opening doors to the behemoth ahead, it would be a very short game if the main character didn’t choose the latter. The story starts off as very mysterious and slowly gains, err, steam as the player slowly pieces together the events that took place within the tower. Without getting into details, the story is okay at best, as once it starts spilling the beans things get highly predictable.
Fear not though, as the setting is the true meat of the game after all. Vaporum is easily the best looking game made with Unity engine I have seen thus far. Visuals of the inside of the tower along with enemy designs are what really drive the steampunk home. Brass and wood, cogwheels and valves, a maze of pipes delivering steam to power the curious machinery, every section of the game has a different visual theme, and it’s great. The atmosphere is completed by all kinds of automatons that roam the tower – helicopter drones, spider walkers or steam golems, all nail the steampunk feel of the game. For diversity’s sake, there is also a selection of organic enemies who while don’t fit the aesthetic so well, are a vital addition to the game’s mechanics and have a solid grounding in the story.
Dance with me
The gameplay of Vaporum is quite something else. Curiously, it manages to be sluggish and frantically arcade at the same time. Movement in the game is highly restricted – in a turn-like fashion your character moves one field at a time, and even simple turning your character is a separate action. The same rules apply to all the enemies, and each one of them has a specific pattern to their movement and attacks. Learning those is absolutely vital, as the only effective way to fight the opposition is to outmanoeuvre it. One field at a time you circle, sidestep, and lunge forward – everything to avoid getting cornered. It is no easy feat, as often you will face entire groups of enemies while having a very limited space to work with. Bear in mind, that even a single foe can handout a serious punishment when fought face-to-face. Vaporum features a tactical mode that lets you freeze the time, allowing for a breather and more thought-through play, but even then to survive is to dance, dance away for your life.
Of flintlocks and pressure plates
While nimble footwork is a crucial skill, it won’t get you too far unless you squeeze a warhammer-sized bash over the head between the dodges. The arsenal is acceptably diverse - there are blunt and bladed melee weapons followed by one- and two-handed flintlock firearms. Those are complemented by gadgets – absolutely-not-magic as it doesn’t exactly fit into steampunk. Regardless of the principle behind it, those technological marvels allow you to spew fire and cast lightning. Admittedly though, there is a wide variety of utility ones as well. They range anywhere from temporary stat boosts and shields to tricky ones, such as decoy or swapping places with an enemy.
On the very start of the game, you will get to choose 1 out of 4 rigs - highly advanced exoskeletons that will turn a squishy human being of a protagonist into a killing machine that can face the dangers of Arx Vaporum. Said rig is essentially a character class. While each rig has a uniform skill tree available, they come with specific passive effects that encourage developing certain skills over the others. Alas, there is a bulky Tank, a hard-hitting skirmisher, a thaumaturge (not-mage) and a jack of all trades. Choose wisely, as during a full run you can only max out 3 skill trees and there are 12 available.
True to dungeon crawling roots, the game is as much about combat as it is about the puzzles. Making up roughly half of the game time, the player is facing all sorts of brain teasers of varied complexity. Many of them are environmental, pushing crates around to access a hidden button, toying with pressure plates or careful observation to figure out inner workings of a mechanism are commonplace in Vaporum. The game does get a little bit more combat-oriented towards the end, nonetheless, there is a unique riddle on every level. On top of that, there are many secrets in the game, most of them are opened by pressing a hidden switch, and some are hidden in truly ingenious places. Being on the lookout is exceptionally worthwhile, as many of the best items in Vaporum are in secret chests.
A cracked pipe
For all its old-school goodness there are a few grains of salt Vaporum has to be taken with. The developers gained intimate knowledge of how to use the game’s restricted movement as an advantage. Vaporum is a difficult game, a meticulously built maze designed to allow the enemies to approach you from an unexpected angle and at an adverse moment. The creators know very well how to make the game as much of a pain as humanly possible, and at times, it really shows. Some of the puzzles and fights can be exceedingly frustrating and really get you stuck indefinitely. Exactly at third of the game is a level that makes for a turning point in that regard. Up until there, Vaporum teaches you that secrets yield optional extra rewards. On level 4 you need to find secrets to simply progress the game, including shoving your face into a blatant death-trap to try poking on the inside of it. The game doesn’t ever go this batshit crazy again, but if you were ever to drop this title, this is the moment.
Addmitedly though, it’s about the only major complaint I have. Vaporum is otherwise a brilliant indie title that tackles an obscure genre and looks good while doing it. True to the old-school design, the game is unrelenting in its difficulty, so use that quick save as you will be dying, a lot. Based on your skill, Vaporum takes about 12 hours to beat. The game encourages you to do several runs, though the replayability isn’t so great. Nothing in Arx Vaporum is randomly generated and the puzzles can be solved only once, then they are just roadblocks. You might be tempted to try other rig or build, and there are options to make the next run extra spicy. No map? Only a single save at the beginning of the level? Brutal difficulty to make the weakest of enemies hit like a truck? If you enjoy your games hardcore, Vaporum will gladly provide. Ultimately, I highly recommend this title to any fan of steampunk aesthetic, and should you happen to enjoy indie games at the same time, Vaporum easily becomes a must-play.

"What if we took the atmospheric, horror-focused narrative of System Shock with the gameplay of Legends of Grimrock?"
Well Jimmy you get Vaporum out of that gaming amalgamation. Unlike the Shock series the writing falls flat and the narrative that trys so hard to follow in its inspirations footsteps falls short. Even the gameplay is shallow simply due to the fact that there's no party building; it's just you and whatever suit you picked at the beginning. It almost feels like Vaporum's design influence was taken at face value, and now we're left with a game thats just "meh" in every facet. Still it's a fun game with some fun puzzles, a great aesthetic, and is actually decently difficult on the higher difficulties.
It is, by all accounts, a decent game, and if you're looking for a new blobber to give a go then Vaporum is it.

This game is ripoff of LoG (Legend of Grimrock). And that`s a good thing! It`s indeed the same team... i think.. i guess...
Anyway! The menu layout is the same, the secret and hints "beep" is the same as LoG.
Since LoG is the masterpiece of the genre, it`s a good stuff. It`s a LoG inside of a steampunk building.
After 27 hours I finally beat the game (where around 20 hours I`ve spentstaring at walls for secrets), and I must say: The story is good (from the log files you find along the way), the ending is... not crappy, just not very good. The fighting system has a "stop time" feature, which can make the fighting way easier if you get used to it. The secrets are hard as LoG to find... it`s a worth to play game. I MAY try harder levels later.
If you`re looking for "a game like LoG", this is the one! All the other`s I`ve been looking in steam seem like crap.
Even though I like finding things by myself, there are 2 things I would like to know beforehand and I will tell these 2 hints (NOT SPOILERS) that may help (you can stop reading here if you don`t want to know)

in LoG you used to fall on every trap door, because even hurting yourself, it could lead to secrets or even game playthrough. In Vaporium ALL HOLES ARE DEADLY. So don`t even try (ok, except for just one, which will be VERY specified that you need to go there, so don`t worry). Also, while searching for secrets, pay also attention to the corner pillars, not the walls itself.

Vaporum does justice to dungeon crawlers showcasing to a younger audience the beauty of a now dying subgenre. I definitely recommend this to everyone who is looking for this kind of gameplay experience in preparation for a prequel that seems even more ambitious.
Pros:
+ Well paced albeit predictable story
+ The graphics hold up
+ Great atmosphere
+ Intricate level design full of cool puzzles and deadly traps
+ Solid progression system
+ Engaging combat

Cons:
– Overreliance on ambushes
– Pixel hunting
– No health bar for enemies
Read the full review at:

If you like legend of grimrock 1 and 2 you'll enjoy Vaporium. Having more audio narration really helps one feel more immersed in a story.

The comparison has to be made: Grimrock. Except it isn't Grimrock. While it has the same grid-based movement as many old-style RPGs and shares this with Grimrock, it's a lot like System Shock 2 as well. A sadistic mix of both types of games.
And I do mean sadistic. This game is painfully difficult at times, completely unfair to players, and has puzzles far above and beyond anything Grimrock could ever throw at you. Even the secrets are downright mean-spirited to find. The game will do everything it can to screw you over, over and over again. It constantly lies to you, too. "Hey, do this! You learned it? Alright! Forget what I just said, it's wrong, HAH sucker!" moments are plentiful. "Hey there! Here's some unavoidable damage and/or immediate death trap, because we hate you" shows up a few times as well. Vaporum is not kind to you. It will put enemies in strategic places where you can't hurt them who will kick you unavoidably into a bottomless pit. There's a boss fight that begins with you getting punched in the face. Hope you had enough health to survive the hit, because it's not a cinematic.
It's a mixed bag of dick moves and devious dirty tricks. Those two words, "sadistic" and "mix"? They're a theme. It's so bad, in fact, that the game has to have a time-stop mode just to give you a chance. But despite that, it's not all bad, not at all. There are a lot of small moments like that that stand out, and you notice them, but the game is full of really good quality content. The story's great, and unlike so many games these days it doesn't assume you're a drooling troglodyte. The puzzles are hard, and it's a refreshing change. You need to use your head and check everything to get through this monster. I even had trouble starting the game because the first weapon is stored in something that looks like background decor. (In my defense, I'm half blind, but I'm also not the only person who had that problem)
Ultimately, if you've had misgivings about getting this because you think it's 'more of the Grimrock same'? Forget that. This feels like a completely different game. Because it is.

I like grid-based dungeon crawlers. I like Steampunk. I like finding secrets and solving puzzles. It should come as no great surprise that I really like this game.
There are parts that I didn't like as much. The frequency of 'enter room, doors shut, commence getting attacked' was too common. Some of the aforementioned puzzles/secrets had pretty awful triggers, but thankfully there was the Stop Time effect that could make at least SOME of them less head-explosively-aggravating. These issues weren't nearly enough to diminish my overall enjoyment at exploring and using all the tricks the game gives you in creating your character build and using gadgets and skills.
I look forward to Fatbot Games improving on their dungeon crawl creations, as it astonishes me that this is their first attempt at any game seeing as how well it was put together. I will certainly be buying their future games if they keep this up.