Players are stuck in Ellie’s boots from start to finish. However, unlike most other dungeon-crawling RPGs (including Grimrock), V:L is a strictly single-party experience. There is nothing wrong with cribbing from the greats. Note that this is not a criticism of the game so much as a general observation. It is basically what you would get if Legend of Grimrock, Dead Space, and Bioshock all got locked in Jeff Goldblum’s teleporter from The Fly right as it was activated. Very few games have a unique concept anymore, and V:L is no different. Under the strict control of the Supreme Bureau, a quasi-scientific organization with questionable motives, workers like Ellie have been shipped in to study the technologies and reverse-engineer them when possible.īut, shortly after her arrival, things go horribly wrong, and Ellie must use her wits to survive the tower and its deadly designs. The gigantic Arx houses untold wonders and amazing technologies far beyond what society has created. The story follows Ellie Teller, a mechanical technician sent to perform maintenance on the Arx Vaporum, a mysterious tower of unknown origin that resides in the middle of a vast ocean. Though Vaporum: Lockdown (V:L) is their sophomore effort, it is actually a prequel to Vaporum, which was released in 2017. Despite having only two titles to their name, they have managed to stand out in a growing crowd. This includes Fatbot Games, an independent outfit based out of Slovakia. From 8-bit throwbacks to Metroidvania clones, many smaller developers are looking backward for their latest offerings.Īnd why not? Development costs on retro-style games are cheaper, they can be produced quickly, and the finished products generally end up tickling the nostalgia factor for many gamers (myself included).Īnd although the first-person, grid-based RPG might have reached its pinnacle 30-ish years ago, nobody seems to have told that to a few modern game developers. Physical games like Dungeons & Dragons have seen an increase in popularity, and retro games are all the rage on PCs and consoles. There has been quite the renaissance happening in the gaming community these past few years, both in the digital realm as well as on tabletops. What goes around comes around, and what was old is new again. “Vaporum: Lockdown” for PC and Switch is a surprisingly deep mashup of old-school RPG mechanics and horror/steampunk stylings.
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