Venture to the Vile

78%
Game Brain Score Based on 73 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • gameplay
Venture to the Vile Game Cover
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"Venture to the Vile" is a spooky 2.5D Metroidvania game set in the rainy, eerie town of Rainybrook, overrun by a mysterious entity known as the Vile. As the player, you'll fight through treacherous grounds, absorb the Vile's powers, and search for your lost friend Ella. Along the way, you'll uncover clues, meet peculiar townsfolk, and unlock new abilities to explore dynamic environments and battle unique bosses. The game features a story-rich world with various quests to discover and secrets to uncover.

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Reviews

78%
Audience ScoreBased on 73 reviews
story14 positive mentions
optimization4 negative mentions
  • The game features a unique and charming art style reminiscent of Tim Burton's work, enhancing the overall atmosphere.
  • The storytelling is engaging, with well-developed characters and multiple endings that encourage exploration.
  • The gameplay includes interesting mechanics like weather effects influencing enemy types, adding depth to the experience.
  • The combat system is overly simplistic and lacks depth, making it feel unpolished and unsatisfying.
  • There are numerous bugs and performance issues, including crashes and a confusing map design that hinders navigation.
  • Many quests are broken or poorly designed, leading to frustration and a lack of clear direction for players.
  • story41 mentions

    The game's story is a mix of engaging narrative and humor, set against a backdrop of otherworldly horror, which many players find appealing. However, issues such as vague quests, bugs that hinder mission completion, and a lack of clear direction detract from the overall experience. Despite these flaws, the art direction and character backstories contribute positively to the storytelling, making it a visually and thematically rich game.

    • “The game for me really shines in its storytelling.”
    • “It's more than a metroidvania; there's a lot of depth in the story and in the characters.”
    • “The story is super engaging, making me want to explore every creepy corner.”
    • “The quests are vague and don't give you much reward, leading me to skip most of them.”
    • “The story is meh, which is a bummer because the style was so great I was hoping for more.”
    • “The quest log and inventories are cryptic and unorganized, so it's hard to keep track of what you want to do in each area, or what you're supposed to do for certain quests.”
  • graphics20 mentions

    The game's graphics are widely praised for their unique art style, reminiscent of Tim Burton, and for creating a visually appealing atmosphere that enhances the gameplay experience. While the aesthetics, including lighting changes and environmental design, are highlighted as standout features, some players noted occasional graphic bugs and issues with clarity. Overall, the visuals contribute significantly to the game's charm, despite some technical shortcomings.

    • “I like the game's take on Tim Burton's unique art style.”
    • “Wow, I was blown away by the graphics, the gameplay, the mechanics, and the art direction.”
    • “The graphics and changes from day to night are wonderfully done, and the storyline is already quite engaging.”
    • “Also, there are still a few graphic bugs and a few times where I simply fell out of the world into the abyss, lol.”
    • “A bit janky at times, but the whole aesthetic made me not mind too much.”
    • “The graphics and changes from day to night are wonderfully done, but there are still some issues.”
  • gameplay15 mentions

    The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the casual, rewarding mechanics and interesting level design, while others criticize the lack of unique features, frustrating enemy encounters, and imprecise controls. Many found the game enjoyable with its blend of metroidvania elements and accessibility features, but noted significant issues such as unclear mechanics and bugs that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the gameplay offers potential but is marred by execution flaws.

    • “Wow, I was blown away by the graphics, the gameplay, the mechanics, and the art direction.”
    • “Fun and casual gameplay style.”
    • “The gameplay loop is interesting and rewarding, allowing you to build up skills and unlock different areas and enemies.”
    • “The gameplay is sufficing with no flavor; the level design is interesting only for the indoors; the gating abilities are all common tropes, lacking any unique tricks of their own.”
    • “Many game mechanics are left unexplained; I didn't realize there was more than one page of mutations until two-thirds of the way through the game. I also didn't notice there was a way to adjust the time until immediately before the final boss.”
    • “Unfortunately, the gameplay is riddled with tolerable, but numerous issues: wall jumping is a pain, fighting animations are not exactly snappy, hitboxes are imprecise, and the bugs (mostly falling out-of-bounds) exist.”
  • optimization10 mentions

    Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players experiencing significant performance issues, including stuttering and frame rate drops, particularly in resource-intensive areas. However, recent updates have reportedly improved performance considerably, though some users still recommend waiting for further fixes or a sale before diving in.

    • “Update: the performance is a lot better now.”
    • “Shame about the performance issues but hey, I can play it and it's only patch 1.0 as of time of writing.”
    • “Post big patch: performance issues have been reduced an insane amount!”
    • “Steam Deck performance is not good, and the device runs hot for a lot of the time.”
    • “When I entered an area with rainfall near the cemetery, performance dropped through the floor, and I failed to see hands that would come up from the ground and damage me if I do not move often enough.”
    • “The performance of the game is all over the place and takes too many resources.”
  • music8 mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for its artistic quality and ability to enhance the overall experience, with many reviewers highlighting the excellent soundtrack and sound design that contribute to the game's atmosphere. The combination of fascinating themes, clever musical references, and effective sound effects elevates the storytelling and visual appeal, making it a standout aspect of the game.

    • “The soundtrack is phenomenal, and the story is well developed.”
    • “The theme is amazing, the little nods to musical/book references and silly little animal names are great!”
    • “The art direction is great, the soundtrack is pleasing, the story is decent enough.”
  • atmosphere4 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is characterized by a dark, rainy setting in the eerie town of Rainybrook, which effectively immerses players in its unsettling ambiance. Reviewers praise the atmospheric elements, including the use of masks and the overall vibe, making it a compelling experience for fans of suspenseful and engaging gameplay.

    • “This is actually a very nice, atmospheric game!”
    • “A beautiful and atmospheric metroidvania, immaculately vile vibes!”
    • “The game drops into this eerie town of Rainybrook, and it’s got a dark, rainy atmosphere that sucks me right in.”
    • “The masks, the atmosphere, and just the feel make this a must-play for anyone who enjoys the 'what?!?!' moments gaming can give you.”
  • humor2 mentions

    The humor in the game is notably strong, with surprisingly witty writing and engaging character interactions that enhance the overall experience and motivate players to pursue side quests.

    • “The story and writing are surprisingly funny.”
    • “The character interactions are hilarious and make you want to keep completing side quests.”
  • stability2 mentions

    The game has been criticized for its stability, with users reporting significant bugs that hinder the overall experience. Issues such as unclear text and word errors further contribute to the game's instability, leading to a lack of recommendations from players at this time.

    • “This is a good game, but it is far too buggy for me to recommend currently.”
    • “The only issue is that it's a bit buggy; the text is hard to understand and the words get messed up.”
  • grinding2 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly criticizing the skill upgrade system and the lackluster boss fights, which contribute to an overall sense of monotony in the combat experience.

    • “I also agree with the sentiment that the bosses can get a little bit tedious.”
    • “Thus far, the boss fights are boring and tedious. The game is annoyingly grindy with its skill upgrade system, and the combat is amateurish at best; a three-man team could have done better.”
  • character development1 mentions

    Reviewers appreciate the character designs and the depth of world-building, indicating that these elements contribute significantly to the overall character development in the game.

    • “I especially love the character designs and the overall world-building.”
    • “The character development is incredibly deep, allowing players to form genuine connections with each character.”
    • “I appreciate how the characters evolve throughout the story, making their journeys feel authentic and engaging.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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