Vaporum

86%
Game Brain Score Based on 515 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Vaporum Game Cover
Vaporum is a “Steampunk Dungeon Crawler” with a hidden mystery lying underneath the strange laboratory of mechanical creatures out to destroy you. I recommend this game to anyone looking to play a game with collecting, puzzle solving, and combat.
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"Vaporum" is a single-player, science fiction RPG with a gripping story and masterful mechanics, played from a first-person perspective in a unique steampunk setting. Experience real-time combat with distinct enemies, each requiring tactical approaches, and discover the depth of the gadget-based RPG system. Explore, customize your character, and unravel the mysteries of the tower while enjoying the phenomenal soundtrack and immersive atmosphere. However, be prepared for a lot of grinding.

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Reviews

86%
Audience ScoreBased on 515 reviews
story87 positive mentions
grinding23 negative mentions
  • Engaging steampunk atmosphere with impressive graphics and sound design.
  • Challenging combat that requires strategic thinking and quick reflexes, enhanced by the time-stop mechanic.
  • Well-designed puzzles and secrets that encourage exploration and problem-solving.
  • Combat can feel tedious due to damage sponge enemies and frequent ambushes.
  • Some puzzles are overly obscure or frustrating, leading to reliance on guides.
  • The story and voice acting are often criticized for being cliché and lacking depth.
  • story222 mentions

    The story of *Vaporum* is generally described as decent but somewhat cliché, often drawing comparisons to *Bioshock* with its amnesia-driven plot and steampunk setting. Players appreciate the narrative's delivery through diary entries and audio logs, which add depth to the experience, though some criticize the voice acting and predictability of the plot twists. Overall, while the story may not be groundbreaking, it effectively engages players and complements the gameplay, making it a solid aspect of the game.

    • “The plot is engaging, if a bit familiar, the voice acting is quite good.”
    • “The story is intriguing and I still want to know how it ends (I'll probably check on YouTube) but the exploration is mediocre.”
    • “The story kept me engaged.”
    • “There's absolutely nothing 'punk' about this game; it has an utterly generic haunted house setting and a passive linear story.”
    • “The much more explicit and wordy story just kind of flops in trying to ape Bioshock and is almost purely conveyed through poorly written text notes and worse acted audio logs, all to get across something very generic.”
    • “The story is extremely predictable and done a thousand times.”
  • gameplay140 mentions

    The gameplay in Vaporum is characterized by a unique time-stop mechanic that allows for strategic planning during combat and puzzle-solving, reminiscent of classic dungeon crawlers like Legend of Grimrock. While many players appreciate the engaging puzzles and combat mechanics, some criticize the balance and design choices, such as the penalty for dual-wielding weapons and the challenge posed by certain enemies. Overall, the game offers a mix of satisfying mechanics and exploration, though opinions vary on its execution and depth.

    • “The gameplay is very satisfying whether it’s the puzzles, fights, or exploration.”
    • “The gameplay and puzzles were mostly fun, the graphics and setting were nice and I didn't encounter any bugs.”
    • “The gameplay is good, the difficulty is good, the voice acting is good, you have the choice in character building, the ambiance is good...”
    • “Good presentation but everything in the gameplay is atrocious.”
    • “I am a great fan of this genre and this is the most awful combat and gameplay I've ever seen.”
    • “Unfortunately, the gameplay is rather uninspiring.”
  • graphics108 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received largely positive feedback, with many reviewers praising the detailed steampunk aesthetic and atmospheric visuals that enhance the overall experience. While some noted minor issues with graphical settings and a lack of variety in certain areas, the majority found the graphics to be top-notch, contributing to an immersive and engaging dungeon-crawling adventure. Overall, the combination of high-quality visuals and sound design has been highlighted as a standout feature of the game.

    • “The visuals are gorgeous and the puzzles are phenomenal.”
    • “The graphics are crisp and vivid, with beautiful shafts of light filtering down from overhead tunnels full of pipes, barely illuminating your surroundings and hiding whatever creatures lurk within the dark corners of this dungeon.”
    • “The atmosphere is perfect, very unique steampunk setting with awesome graphics and a very diverse look of each floor of the dungeon with lots of nice looking places.”
    • “The audio-visual feedback and the kinaesthetics are unsatisfactory.”
    • “The tower is deprived of decorations and aesthetics, leaving only nondescript hallways made of metals and concrete.”
    • “The visuals are basically always the same, not much variety.”
  • atmosphere77 mentions

    The atmosphere in Vaporum is widely praised for its immersive and claustrophobic steampunk setting, enhanced by stunning graphics, excellent sound design, and a rich audio landscape. Players appreciate the unique and eerie ambiance that evokes feelings of tension and dread, reminiscent of titles like Bioshock and Grimrock. Overall, the game successfully creates a captivating environment that complements its challenging gameplay and intricate puzzles.

    • “The atmosphere is great, with good music, for the most part awesome voice acting, and just enough darkness mixed in.”
    • “The atmosphere is perfect, very unique steampunk setting with awesome graphics and a very diverse look of each floor of the dungeon with lots of nice looking places.”
    • “Atmosphere is thick and creepy with eerie fog and moody lighting in a metal-forged deathscape pulsing with industrial strength inhumanity, creating a sense of dread as if in some demonic jail forever damned.”
    • “The atmosphere is thick and creepy with eerie fog and moody lighting in a metal forged deathscape pulsing with industrial strength inhumanity as one gets a sense of dread as if in some demonic jail forever damned.”
    • “Steam is ever present as it is the main power for the Arx Vaporum and for most of its enemies as it also creates a constant layer of fog in the atmosphere throughout your journey.”
    • “It creates the atmosphere of being in a dark, creepy, danger-filled tower.”
  • music28 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its ability to enhance the atmosphere and match the mood of various levels. While some tracks are described as fantastic and fitting, others are criticized for being repetitive and short, leading to a desire for more variety. Overall, the audio quality is generally regarded as good, with standout voice acting complementing the music, though some players noted issues with the inability to mute certain tracks.

    • “Music and sounds are just fantastic, as well as its graphics, which together with playability brings a bit of a scary atmosphere, but no worries, we still have quick save.”
    • “The voice acting, music, and visuals are top notch.”
    • “The atmosphere is great, with good music, for the most part awesome voice acting, and just enough darkness mixed in.”
    • “The soundtrack is sparse and mostly you’re just accompanied by the ambience of the tower.”
    • “The music is repetitive, especially if you're stuck.”
    • “The music though did not get any love.”
  • grinding23 mentions

    Players frequently criticize the grinding aspect of the game, noting that it often leads to tedious combat and repetitive gameplay, particularly due to the limited variety of enemies and skills. Achievements requiring multiple playthroughs and specific challenges further exacerbate the grind, making the experience feel laborious rather than enjoyable. While some mechanics, like pausing during puzzles, help alleviate tedium, the overall sentiment is that the game lacks the polish and engagement needed to make grinding feel rewarding.

    • “Some of the worst achievements involve grinding heavily, beating the game without a map, without saving manually/quickly, and speedrunning the game within 90 minutes.”
    • “The game does give you the tools to play like this with the pause button and mini-resumes, but it does make combat tedious and the riddles/complexity of the levels doesn't increase enough to make it worth continuing.”
    • “For a dungeon crawler, there are surprisingly few traps and few other ways to kill enemies as well, which just makes it more tedious to go through levels.”
  • replayability13 mentions

    The game's replayability is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the variety of rigs, upgrades, and unique classes that encourage multiple playthroughs, others feel that the overall replay value is limited. The steampunk dungeon crawler offers engaging puzzles and different play styles, but opinions vary on how much incentive there is to replay the game after completing it.

    • “This game is a good one to pick up if you want a steampunk dungeon crawler with tons of replayability and puzzles.”
    • “Many different ways to smash or incinerate things, so even if it's a linear hand-crafted dungeon, there is a lot of replayability.”
    • “There would be no replay value at all.”
    • “- no replayability”
    • “Developing your character's skills and stats also drastically changes how you can play the game, so there's plenty of potential for replay value.”
  • stability7 mentions

    Overall, users report a stable experience with the game, highlighting a bug-free performance and smooth operation, even in high resolutions like 4K. The unique freeze time mechanic adds to the gameplay without causing stability issues, and it runs well on Linux systems.

    • “I can't speak for others, but I've had a completely bug-free experience so far.”
    • “For the price, I found this quite fun and bug-free.”
    • “Also, it runs great on Linux.”
    • “You can basically play in stop time, so you can perform an action, a second goes by, and it freezes time again.”
    • “Combat is real-time, although you can play in a freeze time mode, which only unfreezes time when you perform an action or hold a button.”
  • emotional5 mentions

    Players appreciate the cleverness of certain gadgets and the engaging flavor text, which contribute to an immersive experience in the steampunk universe. However, the emotional impact is undermined by subpar voice acting during key moments, leading to a disconnect in the narrative's emotional resonance. Additionally, some players report physical discomfort from the game's camera mechanics, which detracts from the overall emotional engagement.

    • “I usually only give reviews when I'm emotionally unstable.”
    • “I do enjoy some of the flavor text on the items, and a few of the gadgets made me feel clever to use. I applaud you for making one of them an easy way to get out of those backed-into-a-corner encounters that seem to occur so often in these games.”
    • “This narrative fits perfectly in this steampunk universe, and it’s all pretty good and leaves you continually wanting to learn more.”
  • optimization5 mentions

    The game's optimization is generally praised for its smooth performance on high settings, with users reporting flawless visuals on mid-range hardware like the GTX 970. However, some players feel that the overall visual quality and technological execution fall short, resembling a "stock Unity experience" rather than fully realizing the game's potential.

    • “Very nice steampunk vibe, with maximum graphics settings (runs smoothly on my GTX 970); it's gorgeous to look at.”
    • “The visuals were great, coupled with utterly flawless performance, and I'm left feeling incredibly satisfied.”
    • “Performance with all settings to maximum (supersampling scale left at default 1.0x).”
    • “Visually and technologically, the game feels a bit cheap and poorly optimized, too close to the 'stock Unity experience' than the style and setting deserved.”
  • humor2 mentions

    The humor in Vaporum is noted as a quirky feature that feels somewhat disconnected from the overall game, with users appreciating its presence despite it being perceived as an afterthought.

    • “The funny thing about Vaporum: one of my favorite features was apparently added as an afterthought.”
    • “The small intermittent humor adds a unique charm to the game.”
  • monetization2 mentions

    The monetization aspect of the game is criticized for lacking variety in weapons and immersive elements like propaganda posters, which detracts from the overall experience. Additionally, there seems to be insufficient promotional efforts, limiting the game's visibility and popularity.

    • “It should be much more popular, but doesn't seem to show up much in advertisements or articles.”
  • character development1 mentions

    Character development is praised for its well-executed and balanced approach, creating an engaging experience that feels intricate and immersive, akin to navigating a labyrinth in a steampunk battlemech.

    • “Character development is well done and balanced, and sometimes you feel like you are waltzing through a labyrinth in a steampunk battlemech.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

72% average critic score

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Play time

15hMedian play time
14hAverage play time
14-20hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs

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