Vault of the Void
- October 4, 2022
- Spider Nest Games
- 64h median play time
It’s not for the faint of heart, but if you’re a veteran of deck building you’ll find a lot to love in Vault of the Void.
"Vault of the Void" is a turn-based strategy game where players build and manage their own spider nest, collecting resources, expanding territory, and defending against enemies. Battle rivaling spider factions in the void, utilizing unique abilities and strategies to secure dominance. Experience a dark and atmospheric world filled with challenging gameplay and strategic depth.
Reviews
- Innovative mechanics that enhance deckbuilding and strategy, such as the ability to purge cards for energy and retain cards between turns.
- Each of the four classes offers unique playstyles and mechanics, providing a fresh experience with every run.
- The game allows players to see upcoming rewards and plan their routes, reducing RNG and increasing player agency.
- The learning curve can be steep due to the abundance of keywords and mechanics, which may overwhelm new players.
- Some players feel that the game lacks a sense of progression or meaningful rewards for winning runs.
- The difficulty spikes can be harsh, with some encounters feeling disproportionately challenging compared to others.
- gameplay1,156 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Vault of the Void" is characterized by its rich complexity and variety, featuring unique mechanics such as the purge system that allows players to discard cards for energy, and a strategic approach to damage and blocking. While the game offers high replayability through distinct character classes and customizable decks, new players may find the multitude of mechanics overwhelming at first. Overall, those who invest time in mastering the intricacies will discover a rewarding and engaging experience that stands out in the deck-building genre.
“Despite its modest origins, the game manages to deliver a compelling and deep gameplay experience that stands out in a crowded market.”
“The gameplay itself is rich and complex, offering a multitude of mechanics that provide depth and replayability.”
“The game's replay value is high, with multiple characters to master, various challenges to overcome, and an ever-evolving meta as new cards and mechanics are introduced.”
“The gameplay itself I just found kind of boring.”
“As it stands, new players might find themselves overwhelmed by the numerous mechanics and interactions.”
“I found the deck customization to be a bit overwhelming, and it felt like I was drowning in a wave of new mechanics on every card I came across.”
- graphics158 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 41 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beautiful and colorful art style, with many reviewers noting the impressive artwork on cards and the overall aesthetic that effectively conveys a dark, mysterious atmosphere. While the visuals are described as charming and immersive, some players expressed a desire for more animations and cohesive UI design. Overall, the graphics contribute significantly to the game's appeal, enhancing the gameplay experience with a unique and polished presentation.
“The artwork is incredible and the gameplay offers plenty of variety and complexity.”
“Visually, the game has a unique aesthetic that, while perhaps not AAA quality, has its own charm and effectively conveys the game's dark, mysterious atmosphere.”
“The graphics are amazing and the depth is massive.”
“Biggest critiques are aesthetics: would like to see more animations, particularly around the bigger hits.”
“It's lack of story and real graphical/sound identity doesn't help.”
“Only downside is the artstyle.”
- replayability116 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The game boasts high replayability, driven by its rich mechanics, diverse character classes, and numerous strategies to explore. Players appreciate the depth and variety offered through unique abilities, challenge modes, and evolving gameplay elements, making it both addictive and engaging. While some comparisons to other titles suggest limitations in replay value, the overall consensus is that it provides a substantial amount of content and replay opportunities.
“The game's replay value is high, with multiple characters to master, various challenges to overcome, and an ever-evolving meta as new cards and mechanics are introduced.”
“This game offers a ton of replayability (multiple classes, hundreds and hundreds of cards and artifacts, etc.) and is kind of addicting, to be honest.”
“The mechanics are great, feel really interesting, the events and randomization enhance the replayability, and the personality and color that the various play-styles add keep it fresh and fun.”
“Really good game, but fairly limited in terms of replay value when compared to Slay the Spire or Monster Train.”
“Consistency ends up hurting the replay value as you sink into patterns of what to prioritize, and when you don't get the things you end up forcing yourself through a subpar experience hoping the 'run will get better'.”
“I found myself using mostly the starting cards in each run, which sadly meant there wasn't much replayability value for me.”
- music62 mentions
- 39 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting that while it complements the visuals and creates an immersive experience, it often feels repetitive and generic. Some users expressed a desire for more variety in the soundtrack, as certain transitions, like from combat to victory, do not work well. Overall, while the sound design is appreciated, it is seen as a weak point that could benefit from improvement.
“The sound design and music complement the visuals well, creating an immersive experience.”
“Tons of replayability, hundreds of strategies, great art and music.”
“The gameplay is smooth, the graphics and music are great.”
“The game feels almost complete in its early access state… except for the music and sound effects.”
“Music is pretty generic and feels like it was made by an intern.”
“The music gets a bit samey and some transitions don't work that well (e.g. combat music to victory screen).”
- story44 mentions
- 7 % positive mentions
- 75 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The story aspect of "Vault of the Void" is largely criticized for its absence, with many reviewers noting that there is no compelling narrative or character development to engage players. While the game features a turn-based, deck-building roguelike structure, it lacks depth in storytelling and worldbuilding, leading to a repetitive experience once all characters are unlocked. Overall, players feel that the game would benefit from a more engaging narrative or tutorial to enhance its mechanical gameplay.
“Vault of the Void is a turn-based, deck-building roguelike game that follows a group of heroes on a quest to explore a mysterious and dangerous vault.”
“Your grandpa tells a war story you've heard before, but the details are different.”
“Griftlands is fun with its story elements, but the card play isn't as good as Slay the Spire.”
“There is no story and when you unlock all characters you don't get to unlock anything interesting, so you can continue to play the same game again and again until you're tired or disgusted.”
“There's no story.”
“It's lack of story and real graphical/sound identity doesn't help.”
- optimization20 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its polished presentation and smooth performance, with users noting effective graphical optimization and a clean interface. However, some players mention that while the game runs smoothly, it can feel slow at times, and achieving the most optimized gameplay requires frequent adjustments to the deck rather than a straightforward combat focus. Overall, the strategic simplicity and streamlined design contribute positively to the optimization experience.
“For whatever reason though the strategic simplicity sticks out to me more in this game, possibly because it's so optimized/stripped-down and there's less extraneous nonsense to distract me from the bare truth of it.”
“Explore cardspace, create an optimized deck, and then autowin.”
“If you want to have the most optimized run you will have to keep changing your deck instead of just choosing your path and focusing on combat.”
- grinding18 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 89 % negative mentions
Overall, players have mixed feelings about the grinding aspect of the game. While some appreciate the lack of extensive grinding due to the high information available for decision-making, others find the lengthy dungeon runs and repetitive battles tedious. The game offers novel mechanics that can either enhance or detract from the experience, depending on individual preferences.
“9/10, removing one point because a full dungeon run is like 3-4 hours long and it gets a bit tedious in the end.”
“Personally, it just felt very tedious and I couldn't enjoy it as much as I did in Slay the Spire.”
“Card battlers can get repetitive, and while I wouldn't say that the animations are 'slow', they become tedious regardless by the time you get to the millionth battle.”
- humor6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted through witty monster descriptions and the developer's playful patch notes, which add a lighthearted touch to the experience. However, the game's design flaws, such as its lack of variety and overly restrictive mechanics, are ironically noted as amusing contradictions for a title that claims to be a deck-builder. Overall, while the humor is appreciated, it often underscores the game's shortcomings.
“The graphics are pleasing and the monster descriptions have a nice mixture of interesting and humorous.”
“The dev seems very active and also has a good sense of humor with their patch note releases.”
- monetization6 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features a monetization model that is entirely free of in-game purchases, relying instead on players collecting points after runs to unlock various cosmetic items and modifiers. This approach has been praised for enhancing the gameplay experience without the distraction of microtransactions. Overall, players appreciate the focus on gameplay and aesthetics without the pressure of spending money.
“No in-game purchases; collecting points after runs is the only way to unlock things such as card backs, stage backgrounds, and run modifiers among other things.”
“Great/deep/fun gameplay, solid mechanics, beautiful artwork, zero microtransactions.”
“Excellent card game with no in-game purchases.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is characterized by a unique aesthetic that, while not AAA quality, effectively conveys a dark and mysterious tone. Players appreciate the Lovecraftian theme and the overall artistic presentation, which adds to the game's charm and immersive experience.
“Visually, the game has a unique aesthetic that, while perhaps not AAA quality, has its own charm and effectively conveys the game's dark, mysterious atmosphere.”
“I really enjoy the Lovecraftian theme, the art, and overall atmosphere the game brings.”
- stability4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game experiences some stability issues, particularly with buggy interactions like dragging cards, which can hinder gameplay. However, it runs smoothly on Linux with Steam Play (Proton), suggesting that performance may vary depending on the platform. Overall, while the game has high replay value, its stability is affected by design flaws.
“The 'run' design seems ideal for deck-building games, providing high replay value, which is a given for any roguelite. It runs great on Linux with Steam Play (Proton).”
“The game is a little buggy; I would click to drag on cards to discard for mana, and they wouldn't move.”
“The game is a little buggy; I would click to drag on cards to discard for mana, and they wouldn't move.”
- emotional4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express that emotionally engaging games like Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, and Divinity: Original Sin II offer deep complexity that fosters a strong connection for dedicated fans, despite their niche appeal. However, some feel that limited interaction with core mechanics can diminish emotional investment, leading to a sense of detachment during gameplay.
- character development2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development in the game showcases a diverse range of designs, blending familiar archetypes like the rogue with innovative characters that reflect the game's mechanics, such as a time monk and a lightning-based crusader. This variety enhances the overall gameplay experience by providing players with unique and engaging options.
“Character designs range from familiar archetypes, like the rogue, to unique representations of the game's mechanics, such as a time monk and a lightning/thunder-based crusader.”