Vagrant Hearts
- February 26, 2015
- Warfare Studios
- 1h median play time
Get on SteamIn Vagrant Hearts, lead a group of vagrant soldiers across a war-torn continent, making decisions that impact their lives and the fate of the world. Engage in strategic battles, utilizing elemental magic and party-based tactics. Experience a rich, character-driven story filled with intrigue, betrayal, and the struggle for freedom in this indie turn-based RPG.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features an engaging story centered around two sisters, which keeps players invested and curious about the outcome.
- The character designs and artwork are unique and visually appealing, setting it apart from typical RPG Maker games.
- The Crest system adds an interesting layer of strategy to battles, allowing for customization of spells and abilities.
- The game is plagued by numerous bugs, including glitches that allow characters to walk through walls and issues with enemy encounters.
- Combat can feel grindy and unbalanced, with many bosses acting as damage sponges, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
- The overall design is linear and lacks variety, making exploration feel tedious and limiting player engagement.
- story61 mentions
- 34 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The story of "Vagrant Hearts" centers on two sisters, Scarlett and Beatrice, with one possessing healing powers, and explores their journey amidst various factions vying for that power. While some players found the narrative engaging and well-developed, others criticized it for plot holes and a lack of depth, suggesting that the overall execution could be improved. Despite mixed reviews, many agree that the story is a significant aspect of the game, with its emotional themes and character dynamics keeping players invested.
“The story is interesting, as are the characters.”
“Vagrant Hearts follows the story of Beatrice and Scarlett as they journey to the Brotherhood.”
“This one's focus is the story, and it's nicely done with interesting characters that will keep you going for hours.”
“The story is full of plot holes straight from the beginning.”
“Unfortunately, the story is not good enough to compensate for the lack of challenge in combat.”
“I'm sorry, but an RPG with 'meh' level combat and a drool-inducing story is not worth it by a long shot.”
- music18 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its pleasant and unobtrusive nature that complements the gameplay, while others criticize the lack of variety and issues with volume balance. Notably, some areas feature repetitive tracks that can disrupt the experience, and the absence of separate audio options is seen as a drawback. Overall, while the soundtrack is described as good, it lacks the uniqueness and customization expected in a game of this genre.
“I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
“Pros: good characters, good music that changes per area, has a well-involved story with drama, original art, simplicity, gameplay that moves forward at an even pace.”
“Artwork is very nicely done, and the music is pleasant and stays in the background, where it should be.”
“But the large amount of bugs, lack of balance, and the horrible mismatched music volumes make this game almost unplayable.”
“Horrible level design, the most godawfully boring and unsatisfying stories, tons of HUD problems, and a single goddamn music track for each game.”
“The music in this game is terrible, especially the default battle theme.”
- graphics13 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are a mixed bag; while the character portraits and artwork are praised for their quality, the overall visuals suffer from the limitations of the RPG Maker engine, lacking full HD support and graphical variety. Players noted issues such as glitches and a lack of polish, which detracts from the experience, especially for those accustomed to higher-quality graphics in modern games. Despite these shortcomings, some found the visuals charming in a retro context, particularly appreciating the battle artwork.
“The visuals are absolutely stunning, too.”
“The character portraits are very nice, quite a bit better than the graphics in the rest of the game.”
“Nice artwork.”
“As with all RPG Maker games, the poor quality engine displays badly in fullscreen and doesn't have full HD support or any graphics tweaking options, making this unacceptable for any dedicated modern PC gamer.”
“While the graphics and sounds might be fine in a vacuum, they quickly lose their charm in Vagrant Hearts.”
“There's a number of graphical glitches or oddities.”
- stability9 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including numerous bugs, graphical glitches, and problematic hit detection, leading to a frustrating experience for players. While some enjoy the gameplay, the overall execution is marred by these persistent technical problems.
“As with all RPG Maker asset flips from this developer, it's badly written, buggy as all hell, and poorly designed in terms of encounters and mechanics. It's just a pointless, painful experience, but this is to be expected from this kind of RPG Maker asset flip.”
“Pretty but buggy.”
“There are a few glitches such as being able to go through walls, and some characters seem to have been copied and pasted into the game.”
- gameplay8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally criticized for being poorly designed, buggy, and simplistic, typical of RPG Maker asset flips, leading to a frustrating experience. However, some players appreciate the engaging story, good character development, and the presence of secrets to discover, suggesting that while the mechanics may be lacking, there are redeeming qualities in the overall experience.
“Fun gameplay!”
“Pros: good characters, good music that changes per area, has a well-involved story with drama, original art (albeit not tons of it), simplicity, gameplay that moves forward at an even pace.”
“Gameplay is pretty straightforward, but there are many secrets to discover along the way, so a careful inspection of all areas is advisable.”
“As with all RPG Maker asset flips from this developer, it's badly written, buggy as all hell, and poorly designed in terms of encounters and mechanics. It's just a pointless, painful experience, but this is to be expected from this kind of RPG Maker asset flip.”
“Like most RPG Maker shovelware and asset flips, the game features extremely low-quality, copy-pasted 2D retro pixel art, looks awful, and has even worse gameplay.”
“Unfortunately, the gameplay is pretty poor.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the game to be quite grindy, particularly in combat, with some items, like ancient fruits, requiring extensive farming—up to four days—to obtain. This grind can make progression challenging and may deter some players.
“The game is a grindy experience.”
“Luckily, you can obtain an item that took me about 4 days of farming to collect enough to beat the game, called ancient fruits.”
“Combat, in particular, feels excessively grindy.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the games is noted as a redeeming quality, with some players appreciating its presence alongside the art. While one game features well-executed humor that enhances its storytelling, others may fall short if players are not particularly invested in the character designs.
“A very well told tale indeed with twists, turns, good humor, and emotion.”
“Sounds funny, huh?”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express frustration with the emotional impact of battles, noting that the inability to escape without consequences can lead to a sense of helplessness and tension, as the sprites remain connected and the conflict resumes.
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game's writing has been criticized, with users noting that the dialogue often resembles a middle-school drama performance, indicating a lack of polish and depth.
