The Vagabond Emperor

About

The Vagabond Emperor is a single player open world role playing game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by WigglingEyebrows and was released on July 29, 2021. It received positive reviews from players.

"The Vagabond Emperor" is a 2D RPG set in a fictional Middle Ages with a spreading curse. Begin as a vagabond and make decisions to become emperor, build relationships, fight enemies, and establish factories, towns, and kingdoms. Create a family, continue playing as an heir, and explore dungeons to find artifacts and treasures. Your character's actions and choices will determine your path to the throne.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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82%

Audience ScoreBased on 22 reviews

humor9 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

The game offers a vast amount of content and customization options, allowing players to start from various scenarios and build their character's journey.
The gameplay features two combat modes (manual and turn-based), providing players with different strategies to engage in battles.
The developer is responsive and actively improving the game, showing promise for future updates and enhancements.

The game suffers from balance issues, particularly with slow turn-based combat and the random deaths of characters, including children.
Some mechanics, such as inventory management and vendor quality, are frustrating and can hinder progression.
The game feels incomplete and buggy, with many aspects needing refinement before it can be considered fully polished.

gameplay
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
64%
18%
The gameplay centers around ascending social ranks to become an emperor, featuring unique mechanics like continuing play after character death, which adds depth and humor. While the game offers entertaining elements and a great soundtrack, it is currently in early access with notable bugs and poorly explained mechanics, suggesting that it may require further refinement. Overall, it appeals to players who enjoy complex gameplay and exploration of various options.
- “The main gameplay is focused on you trying to rise up in social ranks to become an emperor.”
- “The vagabond emperor has a lot of funny references, has an absolutely great soundtrack featuring some nice medieval and tavern music, and can offer you hours of entertaining gameplay.”
- “The idea of continuing to play past the death of your player character is a mechanic that not many games have attempted, but I personally love it.”
- “It has some issues with the gameplay; you lose respect by working as a beggar or due to events, earn or lose karma, and you will get lords as enemies.”
- “Great premise, which is why I purchased it, but not ironed out and with some really odd mechanics.”
- “Having just been released into early access, this is an incredibly rough draft; bugs and poorly described mechanics abound, and a lot of the graphics seem like placeholders (particularly dungeons, which I hope will see a substantial rework at some point).”
story
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
69%
23%
The game's story revolves around a character's rise to power as a vagabond emperor in a fictional medieval world plagued by a spreading curse. Players can engage in political intrigue, including assassination plots, which can lead to unexpected and fatal consequences, adding depth and humor to the narrative. Overall, the storyline is rich with detail and offers a dark yet engaging experience.
- “There's also so many little details and humor in the story which makes it easier to follow through.”
- “The vagabond emperor tells the story of one rising through the social ranks to become, well... an emperor.”
- “They will have better stats than you, leading to a plot against you that you can't protect yourself against. This will lead to you getting murdered with no way to stop it other than loading an earlier save and tracking down the murderer to kill him, which leads to a death spiral and you get killed in the end anyway.”
- “The story takes place in a fictional medieval world, which is haunted by a spreading curse and has already cost many their lives.”
humor
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is consistently praised, with players finding it funny and filled with clever references, particularly in the dialogue and story details. The comedic elements enhance the gameplay experience, although some feel that the humor can become repetitive over time. Overall, the game successfully combines humor with engaging gameplay and a captivating soundtrack.
- “Funny thing is… you never do any farming as a farmer.”
- “The vagabond emperor has a lot of funny references, has an absolutely great soundtrack featuring some nice medieval and tavern music, and can offer you hours of entertaining gameplay.”
- “There's also so many little details & humor in the story which makes it easier to follow through.”
graphics
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
43%
43%
The graphics are generally described as simple and somewhat underwhelming, with many users noting that they appear to be placeholders, particularly in dungeon designs. While there are some issues with bugs and poor descriptions, the overall art style is considered to match well with the game's background music.
- “+ matching graphic style and background music”
- “The art style is simple.”
- “Overall, the graphics are meh; the English is horrible, and there are some bugs that get fairly annoying.”
- “Having just been released into early access, this is an incredibly rough draft. Bugs and poorly described mechanics abound, and a lot of the graphics seem like placeholders, particularly dungeons, which I hope will see a substantial rework at some point.”
music
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
60%
The music in the game is generally described as decent, with some standout moments, particularly in "The Vagabond Emperor," which features an engaging soundtrack filled with medieval and tavern tunes that enhance the gameplay experience. Overall, while some tracks are noted as merely okay, others are praised for their humor and thematic relevance.
- “The vagabond emperor has a lot of funny references, has an absolutely great soundtrack featuring some nice medieval and tavern music, for which I also have a video right [url=https://youtu.be/z4twe0byexk]here[/url] by the way, and can offer you hours of entertaining gameplay.”
- “+ matching graphic style and background music”
- “So your personal objective then is to improve your character each time and try to pass on as much wealth and power to your heir, so that they can become the all-powerful emperor *queue sith music*”
- “The soundtracks are okay.”
- “So your personal objective then is to improve your character each time and try to pass on as much wealth and power to your heir, so that they can become the all-powerful emperor *cue Sith music*.”
- “+ matching graphic style and background music.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by users' caution against engaging with unfamiliar elements, suggesting that certain experiences may evoke strong feelings or reactions that could be overwhelming or impactful.
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and unenjoyable, particularly in the early stages where repetitive button pressing is required to earn enough money for expeditions. The lack of engaging farming mechanics for a farming-themed game further exacerbates the frustration, leading to a cycle of begging and failure.
- “The early game is extremely grindy in a non-fun way; you'll be doing a ton of begging, which entails pressing three buttons over and over just to scrape together the money for your first expedition, where you'll probably get clobbered by the guardians and left penniless again.”
- “Funny thing is… you never do any farming as a farmer.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players commend the game for its high replayability, indicating that it offers engaging content and experiences that encourage multiple playthroughs.
- “So, kudos for the high replayability here.”
- “The game offers a wealth of choices that make each playthrough feel unique.”
- “I love how different strategies can lead to entirely new experiences every time I play.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Reviewers generally find the optimization of the game to be satisfactory, noting a good price-to-performance ratio that enhances the overall experience.
- “The price-to-performance ratio is excellent.”
- “The optimization in this game allows for smooth gameplay even on lower-end systems.”
- “I appreciate how well the game runs; it feels polished and well-optimized.”