When gamers think of a FantasyRPG, they think of swords, spells, the charming rogue with daggers and a bow, and a world full of glimmering loot. Throw in a few traps, bosses, permadeath, and local cooperative play, and what you have is a Castlevania-inspired, roguelike, game called Vagante.
While still in the early stages of Alpha, Vagante is a randomly generated dungeon crawler with a moderate-to-high difficulty rate. The game begins with a weathered caravan slowly travelling down a meadow; mountainous landscapes can be seen in the background, and a full moon is tucked above the trees. From the title screen alone Vagante shows off some fantastic music, and an art style that will make gamers reminisce of the Final Fantasy Tactics days. While it plays similar to the 2D styled Castlevania games, Vagante doesn’t take influence in its dark elements, but instead crafts its own blend of dark fantasy – which leaves players intrigued and wanton.
This is because Vagante doesn’t offer much in terms of story. As soon as a player starts the game, the caravan comes to a halt, the music seizes, and one is able to pick their class and backstory (if one unlocks this feature by acquiring certain achievements), and sets off on their adventure. Vagante’s story is what you, the player, make of it. Is the knight you chose there for glory? The rogue for fame and fortune? Or the mage for power? Does the cave we are about to enter offer all of these? While these questions do come to mind, there is little available to answer them, but Vagante’s rich playstyle eliminates the need for an answer.
Staying true to its roguelike roots, a player can either do a brief tutorial, or go straight into the cave where the fun really begins. The game is a platformer and it goes to great lengths to test players’ skills and reaction times. For instance, one level of Vagante could have multiple traps: flying arrows that will knock you away, plant-like creatures that will spring from the ground and damage players, spikes that are cleverly placed on the ground, and a cement block that will fall onto players and kill them in one hit. Meanwhile, another level could have minimal traps, but a broad number of monsters.
Knowing your environment is key. Very similar to Dark Souls, Vagante rewards players with patience, and who have a keen eye for detail. Spotting traps is not an easy task, as the map is blotched out, and will fill out as players venture forward. There are times where the various traps will work in the favor of the player, and they will eliminate monsters before they are even threats. Again, showcasing how it pays to be patient and observant.
One of the most interesting things about Vagante is that every encounter is optional. RPG’s are known for their tedious level grinds, and stick to a very static formula: defeat enemies, gain money, buy equipment, defeat stronger enemies, progress story. While Vagante offers that to players, it also gives them the option to skip the grind, try their hand at the boss, or run away. The goal of the game is to reach the final stage, or ‘act’ as they are called, by reaching a doorway that is placed randomly within the dungeon. How ever a player achieves that is entirely up to them.
If players decide to take a more tactful approach when attempting to conquer the dungeon, Vagante does offer a few ways for your avatar of choice to grow in strength. Leveling is a pretty straight forward experience. Kill monsters and an orange meter will fill at the bottom, once filled it will grant players an affinity point that can be spent on a new ability or skill. Every class has specific abilities granted to them, so play styles vary between classes. Gathering equipment is another way, however, it can be a double edged sword. Items and equipment in Vagante are usually unidentified, which means it can either help a player by buffing them, or cause a de-buff that will bring about their demise. For instance, some equipment can be cursed, causing massive losses to their ability points, but a player wouldn’t know until they had equipped it, and once a cursed item is equipped it cannot be unequipped. This happens with items such as potions and scrolls. Their effects aren’t shown in the flavor text until used, so players have to take a risky gamble when using them. While these features add nothing new to the RPG experience, they give Vagante a classic simplistic play style which won’t turn gamers away.
Players don’t have to face the dungeon alone, Vagante currently offers 4 player cooperative player – which goes quite well with their full-controller support. With plans for online multiplayer in the near future, Vagante offers a solid couch co-op experience in which players aren’t bound to one another. One player dive head on into the dungeon while the other takes their time.
Despite being in the early stages of Alpha, Vagante offers a fun experience for players that should be kept an eye on.
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