ANVIL

Anvil: Vault Breakers is a solid, stylish sci-fi action shooter that does roguelike gameplay right.

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Take on the role of a Vault Breaker in search of alien artifacts called “Vaults” and fight against monsters and powerful bosses, you can strengthen your Breakers to explore the farthest galaxy that no one has ever reached.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Reviews

59%

Audience ScoreBased on 560 reviews

gameplay52 positive mentions

grinding18 negative mentions

The game features a diverse range of characters and abilities, making each playthrough feel unique and engaging.
The graphics and animations are visually appealing, contributing to an immersive gameplay experience.
The combat mechanics are fast-paced and satisfying, providing a rewarding challenge for players.

The game suffers from significant balance issues, particularly with boss difficulty and enemy scaling, making solo play frustrating.
Progression is reset every season, which can be discouraging for players who invest time in leveling up characters and unlocking abilities.
There are numerous bugs and technical issues, including crashes and connectivity problems, which detract from the overall experience.

gameplay
121 mentions
43 % positive mentions
55 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is generally praised for its fast-paced, engaging mechanics and diverse character builds, offering a solid core loop that encourages experimentation and replayability. However, players have noted issues with difficulty spikes, particularly with boss encounters that can feel overly punishing, as well as frustrations with grindy progression systems and seasonal resets that diminish long-term investment. Overall, while the gameplay is fun and visually appealing, it requires balancing and refinement to enhance player experience.
- “The variety and challenge led to dozens of hours of great co-op gameplay.”
- “Good game design and core gameplay loop constantly bringing you back for more.”
- “The gameplay is smooth, the classes are interesting, the enemies are varied and the content is challenging.”
- “The gameplay becomes very repetitive.”
- “Spending 20-40 minutes to get to a boss and get their HP down to 10-15%, only to be one-shot by cheap mechanics, and then receive almost no reward and no progress feels awful.”
- “Resetting unlocks every 3 months and a lot of mechanics not working as worded/intended kills the fun.”
graphics
46 mentions
72 % positive mentions
22 % neutral mentions
7 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their quality and detail, with many users highlighting the beautiful character designs and vibrant visuals. While some players noted minor issues such as the need for further polishing and occasional performance inconsistencies, the overall consensus is that the graphics are impressive, especially for a roguelike title. Additionally, the game supports ultra-wide resolutions, enhancing the visual experience for players.
- “The graphics and visual design are superb; the speed and pacing of the gameplay is excellent.”
- “Beautiful characters, nice gameplay, great graphics, decent music and progression.”
- “Graphics are gorgeous and framerates are solid.”
- “Default graphic settings look terrible because they turned on resolution downscaling for some reason.”
- “I really expected the developer team to focus on refining their product since it is early access, but they just made a season with a season pass that gives you an edge in performance if you pay an extra 20 bucks. On top of that, the content is copy-paste, choose and play a mix of the last bosses with the same mechanics and graphics but with new colors on them. Oh, and sometimes you get a copy-paste of the same boss three times in the same arena.”
- “There really isn't much to talk about graphics honestly.”
story
24 mentions
13 % positive mentions
75 % neutral mentions
13 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its lack of depth and engagement, with many players expressing disappointment over the absence of a meaningful narrative or character development. While the gameplay mechanics and rogue-like elements are praised, the repetitive mission structure and minimal storytelling leave players feeling uninvested and longing for a more substantial plot. Overall, the consensus is that the game has potential but currently falls short in delivering a compelling story.
- “Great game for an early access, back story is like Warframe and there's potential if they kept it simple.”
- “_Need more story, give me a reason to care for the worlds, characters, monsters, bosses._”
- “If there was a story or some kind of deeper content maybe I could get engaged and sink 1000 hours into Anvil.”
- “If you like playing through the story and completing the game, this might be disappointing.”
- “Best game for a rogue-like, but I think this game should have at least a proper story.”
- “It is deeply flawed in terms of execution; the connectivity of group play is abysmal and it lacks any form of story, plotline, or basic characterization to make single-player worthwhile.”
grinding
18 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players enjoying the leaderboard competition and the challenge of progression, while others find it excessively repetitive and tedious. Many criticize the reliance on multiple currencies and the pay-to-win elements associated with seasonal passes, which can make the grinding feel overwhelming and unbalanced, especially for new players. Overall, while the game has potential, the current grinding mechanics may deter long-term engagement.
- “The game is now incredibly repetitive on top of what was already an extremely grindy progression system.”
- “I hate games with so many different kinds of currency; you don't need any grindy mechanics if you just make a good game.”
- “If you're picking this up because of the 'action roguelike' tag, be warned that this is too grindy and most of your progress will be wiped out every 3 months.”
monetization
15 mentions
13 % positive mentions
7 % neutral mentions
80 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the absence of intrusive ads and the potential for earning in-game currency through gameplay, while others criticize the presence of microtransactions and express concerns about the game being a cash grab. Despite some improvements noted by developers, many users remain wary of future monetization strategies that could detract from the overall experience.
- “I understand that adding microtransactions may be planned, but if they keep it similar to the setup of Heroes of the Storm, where you can still earn currency just by playing the game and completing daily quests, that's just fine with me.”
- “(The developer response to this was for my old review about their monetization strategy, which they did improve.)”
- “People end up saying this game is just a cash grab.”
- “Predatory monetization is no good.”
- “Honestly this game feels like an overpriced cash grab that has an identity crisis if it wants to be a pretend Diablo, Risk of Rain, Binding of Isaac, and Touhou.”
optimization
13 mentions
23 % positive mentions
54 % neutral mentions
23 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players experiencing significant performance issues, including stuttering and frame drops, even on high-end hardware. While some users appreciate the gameplay mechanics, they express disappointment that the developers have not prioritized optimization despite multiple patches. Concerns about overheating and potential hardware damage have led some players to hold off on fully engaging with the game until improvements are made.
- “Optimization is strongly recommended.”
- “This game nails so many aspects-- the bullet hell, twin stick shooter, challenging difficulty (agreed, tweaking needed), the seamless/easy co-op, great optimization (runs like a dream), randomized loot, persistent progression within a rogue-like frame.”
- “The game also needs to be optimized for more hardware; I use RTX 2060 but still experience a bit of frame drop.”
- “I will admit this may be because I have an older computer, but I would think after the multiple bug fixes and patches to this game, the developers would have added some sort of optimization.”
- “The new RTX features do nothing but tank performance.”
- “Sadly, I have noticed terrible performance issues in the sense of my GPU overheating and fans going full airplane turbine mode just a few minutes into the game.”
stability
10 mentions
30 % positive mentions
-20 % neutral mentions
90 % negative mentions
The game's stability is currently a significant issue, with players reporting frequent random disconnects, game-breaking glitches, and various bugs that detract from the overall experience. Many users advise against purchasing the game until these stability problems are addressed, as they severely impact gameplay and enjoyment. Overall, the game is seen as unpolished and in need of substantial improvements before it can be recommended.
- “The theme is brilliant and runs great.”
- “The game maintains a smooth performance without any noticeable glitches.”
- “I appreciate how stable the gameplay is; it never crashes or lags.”
- “Not bad, but if it wasn't plagued with random disconnects during the run (usually when you are at the final planet) nullifying any reason to play the game at all, and lots of random boss single-hit glitches and game bugs, I could recommend it.”
- “But in the current state, it is just too buggy for many.”
- “Save your money until the game developer can do even the most basic things like friend groupings, reconnections, boss glitches, rebalances, etc.”
music
8 mentions
50 % positive mentions
25 % neutral mentions
25 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players praise the heavy metal soundtrack and its ability to enhance gameplay, others find it generic and lacking in variety. Overall, the soundtrack is appreciated for its energy and thematic fit, but there is a desire for more diverse musical elements to elevate the experience further.
- “And the soundtrack rocks!”
- “Beautiful characters, nice gameplay, great graphics, decent music and progression.”
- “The music is good.”
- “I really wish the music was not so generic and easy to ignore.”
- “The music is okay, but I wish it had more variety.”
replayability
4 mentions
75 % positive mentions
25 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players generally find the game to have strong replayability due to its engaging core loop and appealing graphics. However, there are concerns about the potential for PvP content, which could enhance replay value further, though its implementation may be challenging. Overall, the game is seen as having a solid foundation for replayability, with hopes for future content updates.
- “Has all the qualities I look for in a game: good graphics, fun, and lots of replay value.”
- “The core loop makes sense, and it's got a ton of replayability.”
- “My review is positive overall, but I wonder if this game will still be able to add engaging and replayable content similar to Warframe.”
humor
4 mentions
75 % positive mentions
-50 % neutral mentions
75 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is generally well-received, with players finding it funny and relaxed, though some express frustration with the grindy free season system. Additionally, there are technical issues, such as crashes during multiplayer, that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the humor is a highlight, especially in comparison to larger game developers.
- “Funny game, very relaxed, you must try.”
- “This game is so funny, but I often crash when playing in multiplayer mode.”
- “Funny to me that billion-dollar companies can't get this formula right, but indie devs can.”
- “The premium season pass is gone in season 2, which is disappointing, but the free season system is just a grindfest and lacks any humor.”
- “The jokes in the game feel forced and fall flat, making it hard to enjoy the humor.”
- “I expected some clever wit, but the humor is stale and often cringeworthy.”
emotional
1 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Users express frustration with the emotional impact of the game's progression system, feeling disheartened by the lack of meaningful rewards tied to their efforts, particularly due to the premium access barriers. This has led to feelings of being exploited, as the in-game currency seems limited in its utility, further diminishing the overall experience.
character development
1 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
While the character design is praised for its quality, the reliance on grinding and purchasing through a battle pass system detracts from the overall character development experience, leaving some players feeling disappointed.