Desolate Wastes: Vendor Chronicles

About

In "Desolate Wastes: Vendor Chronicles" , you play as a vendor in a post-apocalyptic world. Manage your trade, set defenses, interact with locals, and fend off mutant hordes. Buy and sell goods, repair broken gear, hire mercenaries, and appreciate the retro art style as you navigate this unique survival experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Desolate Wastes: Vendor Chronicles screenshot

38%

Audience ScoreBased on 78 reviews

gameplay4 positive mentions

stability10 negative mentions

The game has an interesting concept of running a gun shop in a zombie apocalypse, which can be engaging for players who enjoy resource management.
Some players found the mini-game mechanics for buying and selling guns to be fun and addictive, providing a unique twist to the gameplay.
Despite its flaws, a few players expressed hope for the game's potential and appreciated the retro pixel art style.

The game is riddled with bugs and crashes, making it nearly unplayable at times, with many players reporting lost progress due to these issues.
It lacks content and feels unfinished, with many promised features missing and repetitive gameplay that can become dull quickly.
The user interface and controls are often described as unintuitive, leading to frustration during gameplay, especially with the mini-game mechanics.

gameplay
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
67%
14%
The gameplay is characterized as simple and repetitive, often hindered by bugs and a lack of depth, leading to a dull experience over time. Players express a desire for more content, such as additional weapons and store decorations, to enhance variety and engagement. While some find the mechanics initially fun and addictive, many struggle with understanding the selling system and encounter frustrating glitches that detract from the overall enjoyment.
- “Gameplay involves choosing to buy guns at a discount and sell them at a profit.”
- “A ton of fun for the price it asks for; you'll be thrown off guard when you first start playing, but you'll get your head wrapped around it once you get playing. The graphics are pixelated retro goodness, and the gameplay (while glitchy in its current state) is very fun and addicting!”
- “Even though I enjoyed discovering the mechanics, I still felt lost for a good bit, wishing I understood a few more basic concepts early on.”
- “Gameplay is relatively simple if shallow and extremely buggy.”
- “The gameplay is minimal and repetitive; the game is 1% base/resource management and 99% quick-time events.”
- “Graphics and sound may be okay, but the gameplay lacks a lot.”
stability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is widely criticized for its instability, with numerous reports of bugs, crashes, and unfinished content. Players have experienced significant issues, including broken achievements and laggy gameplay, leading to a consensus that it is not ready for purchase until these problems are addressed. Overall, the game's stability is a major concern, detracting from the overall experience.
- “Extremely buggy, crash happy.”
- “Unfinished buggy mess with little content.”
- “Game is really buggy at the time of this review.”
story
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
43%
43%
The story emphasizes resilience and the unpredictability of life, highlighting the importance of perseverance in the face of adversity. However, some users feel that the gameplay lacks a meaningful narrative connection to the protagonist or overarching plot, reducing the story's impact and engagement. Overall, while the moral is compelling, the execution in terms of narrative depth is seen as lacking.
- “Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
- “Except, there's no story or connection of any sort to the protagonist or the grand scheme of things.”
- “The base gameplay mechanic reminds me heavily of the taloon chapter of Dragon Quest IV.”
- “Eventually you are meant to be able to amass enough resources to keep a stock of weapons, hire some mercs and send them on missions.”
graphics
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
60%
The graphics are characterized by a minimalistic pixel art style that some players find decent but repetitive, particularly noting the uniformity among zombies and customers. While the visuals are described as retro and enjoyable, they are complemented by a sound design that lacks variety, primarily featuring gun sounds. Overall, the graphics are considered acceptable for the game's price, though they may not stand out significantly.
- “The graphics are pixelated retro goodness, and the gameplay (while glitchy at its current state) is very fun and addicting!”
- “Like multicolor clothing and more facial features, the game's art style is supposed to be more minimalistic.”
- “The visuals are okay, providing a decent experience alongside the audio.”
- “Pixel graphics are decent but repetitive: all zombies look the same, as do all the customers of a certain type.”
- “The visuals are okay, and the audio is mainly gun sounds, so nothing out of the ordinary.”
- “Graphics and sound may be okay, but the gameplay lacks a lot.”
music
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
33%
33%
The music in the game is generally described as relaxing, providing a soothing experience for players. However, some users find it repetitive, noting that the single loop can become monotonous over time.
- “I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
- “Music is okay but just one loop that gets boring after a while.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding in this game to be tedious and boring, often exacerbated by frequent bugs and crashes, leading to a frustrating overall experience.
- “This game is tedious, boring, riddled with bugs and crashes on a regular basis.”
- “A tedious and frustrating sit.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is criticized for being dull and repetitive, characterized by a grey and dark setting that contributes to a mundane routine. Players feel that adding more decorations and weapon variety could enhance the overall experience and make it more engaging.
- “The game feels a bit dull and repetitive after a while, especially with the grey and dark atmosphere of the store. The mundane routine becomes remarkably boring a few hours in, so more store decorations and weapons would make the gameplay feel more varied and interesting.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game's optimization has received a positive reception, with an overall performance rating of 8.5/10, indicating that it runs smoothly and efficiently on a variety of systems.
- “The optimization in this game is impressive, allowing for smooth gameplay even on lower-end systems.”
- “I love how the developers have fine-tuned the performance; it runs flawlessly on my setup.”
- “The game’s optimization really shines, providing a seamless experience with minimal loading times.”