Eldritchvania
- February 9, 2024
- DeathCount Games
- 10h median play time
Get on SteamIn Eldritchvania, you will explore unearthly ruins, solve arcane riddles and pick up your sword against the indescribable horrors that lurk amidst the forgotten depths of our world. Beware the creeping grip of madness as you uncover secrets not meant for the eyes of men. Over 70 hand drawn rooms to explore! Countless enemies and traps! Puzzles and riddles that will test your cunning! U…
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Eldritchvania features beautiful, unique art and a haunting atmosphere that complements its Lovecraftian themes.
- The puzzles are clever and rewarding, encouraging exploration and critical thinking without being overly obtuse.
- The game is free, offering a solid metroidvania experience with challenging gameplay and a satisfying progression system.
- The controls can feel clunky and unresponsive, making precise platforming frustrating at times.
- The save system is sparse and can lead to significant setbacks, especially for new players who may struggle with the game's difficulty.
- Some puzzles and mechanics can be overly complicated or require grinding for resources, which detracts from the overall enjoyment.
- gameplay20 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is a mixed bag, with some players praising its unique mechanics and engaging puzzles, while others criticize the clunky controls, frustrating backtracking, and lack of healing options that detract from the overall experience. The integration of sanity mechanics and the atmosphere are noted as strong points, but the inconsistent gamefeel and sparse save points lead to a frustrating experience for many. Overall, while there are innovative elements, the execution leaves room for improvement.
“Gameplay is nothing short of amazing.”
“The gameplay is smooth and there are some riddles that I can even call hard (especially with snake heads).”
“Eldritchvania manages to put a unique spin on the concept by incorporating some novel features, like a sanity balancing system that seemed reminiscent of the health management of La-Mulana, but also introduced some innovative aspects of its own, both mechanically and environmentally.”
“I can't enjoy getting engrossed in the puzzles if every minute of gameplay annoys me.”
“No healing mechanic or heal items in the first 20 minutes created a sort of soft lock at the saving place with 1 hit of HP. The starting gameplay loop was a frustrating experience that isn't focusing on the player's skill but more so on patience to deal with clunky ways in clunky rooms.”
“Saves are sparse and there is no auto-save feature, meaning you can walk in a wrong place, die, and lose 20 minutes of gameplay time, including cutscenes and dialogues, which have to be repeated again.”
- graphics14 mentions
- 64 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique and beautiful art style, which complements the dark, Lovecraftian atmosphere effectively. Players appreciate the hand-drawn visuals and large sprites, although some note that the gameplay mechanics could be improved to enhance the overall experience. Despite minor criticisms regarding certain graphical elements and music, the visuals are considered a strong point that adds to the game's appeal.
“The art style is unique and very pleasant.”
“All the visuals and effects fit the game perfectly.”
“Graphically, the atmosphere of r'lyeh's madness is perfect.”
“The gameplay feel itself is very crucial and in some cases I can see it worked around with strong points like visuals, sounds, or story, but here I believe the game feel should be worked on a lot more to feel attractive.”
“Many times you can look past feeble looping music, crummy platforming, confusing graphics, rough edges and so forth.”
“The hand-drawn graphics feel strange in the beginning, but they are actually quite appropriate to the weird and distorted Lovecraftian appearance of this strange world.”
- atmosphere7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its effective blend of dark themes, stylish graphics, and a well-integrated soundtrack that enhances the overall experience. Reviewers appreciate the unique portrayal of mythos elements, particularly the balance between creepiness and humor, which adds depth to the exploration of madness. Overall, the atmosphere is described as immersive and memorable, contributing significantly to the game's appeal.
“The story, atmosphere, gameplay, puzzles, and controls are pretty good.”
“It is a really cool game with a dark atmosphere and stylish graphics.”
“The atmosphere is great and really stands out.”
“The atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, lacking the depth needed to immerse players fully.”
“Despite some interesting elements, the overall atmosphere fails to evoke any real sense of tension or fear.”
“The game tries to create a creepy atmosphere, but it often falls short, leaving players feeling disconnected from the experience.”
- story7 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally well-received, featuring a mix of cliche elements and intriguing themes of exploration and madness, particularly in its integration with gameplay and atmosphere. While the narrative is interesting and enhanced by strong visuals, some players feel that the movement mechanics detract from the overall experience. The puzzles are engaging and essential for progressing the story, encouraging players to pay attention to details.
“The puzzles are challenging but far more accessible than La Mulana, and the story is also quite interesting.”
“Speaking of that, I quite liked the mix between ruin exploration and the mythos' themes of sanity loss and madness, which felt well integrated with the gameplay and general atmosphere.”
“The game really does expect you to check every nook and cranny and pay attention to small details in order to solve its puzzles, many of which are mandatory to continue the story.”
“The gameplay feel itself is very crucial and in some cases I can see it worked around with strong points like visuals, sounds, or story, but here I believe the game feel should be worked on a lot more to feel attractive.”
“Cool art and story, annoying movement mechanics hold it back from being great.”
- music5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The music in the game features a pleasant half-ambient theme that effectively complements the atmosphere, though some users note that the looping can be short and repetitive. Despite these shortcomings, many players still appreciate the overall quality of the music, especially considering the game is free.
“There's a nice background half-ambient music theme.”
“The music is decent, and it complements the atmosphere well.”
“Overall, I would still recommend it though, especially since it's free and I like the music.”
“That first music loop is really short, too.”
“Many times you can look past feeble looping music, crummy platforming, confusing graphics, rough edges and so forth.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game frustrating, particularly due to random enemy respawns and the tedious process of collecting coins for purchases, which detracts from the overall enjoyment and makes the experience feel more tedious than rewarding.
“Enemies respawning randomly when you leave the room is annoying, as is grinding coins to buy something from the shop.”
“Sadly, it's not a very good game and is more tedious and frustrating than anything.”
- humor1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is subtly woven into its eerie atmosphere, creating an intriguing contrast that enhances the overall experience. This blend of creepiness and levity results in unexpected mood swings that many players find amusing and engaging.
“I want to point out the addition of a small amount of humor to the lingering creepy atmosphere. It may seem strange, but it turned out very interesting, and the mood swings make it doubly funny.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is generally solid, with only minor visual glitches noted at the edges of the screen. While switching to windowed mode can resolve these issues, it may lead to slower room transitions, making fullscreen mode the preferred option despite the glitches.
“There are frequent crashes that disrupt gameplay, making it hard to enjoy the experience.”
“The game suffers from significant lag during intense moments, which can lead to frustrating gameplay.”
“Just a minor visual glitch on the edges of the screen, which you can fix by changing to windowed mode, but then the room transitions slow down a bit. I'd recommend sticking to fullscreen mode and just ignoring the visual glitches.”
