Venture to the Vile

About

Venture to the Vile is a single player role playing game. It was developed by Studio Cut to Bits and was released on May 21, 2024. It received positive reviews from players.

"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.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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82%

Audience ScoreBased on 194 reviews

story46 positive mentions

optimization16 negative mentions

The game features stunning visuals and a unique art style reminiscent of Tim Burton, creating an immersive atmosphere that enhances the gameplay experience.
The level design is innovative, utilizing a 2.5D approach that allows for exploration of multiple layers within each biome, making navigation engaging and rewarding.
The story is rich with lore and character development, complemented by a variety of side quests and a dynamic day/night cycle that adds depth to the gameplay.

The combat system is criticized for being overly simplistic and lacking depth, with many players finding it unpolished and unsatisfying.
There are significant performance issues, including stuttering and bugs that can disrupt gameplay, leading to frustration during exploration and combat.
The lack of a detailed map and unclear quest descriptions can make navigation and quest completion confusing, resulting in tedious backtracking.

story
148 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
67%
2%
The game's story is a mix of engaging and quirky elements, featuring a blend of romance, environmental storytelling, and character backstories that enhance the overall experience. While some players found the overarching plot to be cliché and the quest design occasionally frustrating, many appreciated the depth and humor in the narrative, as well as the abundance of side quests that contribute to world-building. Despite some bugs and quest-related issues, the storytelling is generally well-executed, making it a highlight for those who enjoy narrative-driven gameplay.
- “The story and setting were engrossing, lovely, and detailed.”
- “The story is super engaging, making me want to explore every creepy corner.”
- “From what I have played, the story is well thought out and does branch with many side quests with what seems to be multiple plots happening simultaneously, which is a great addition not utilized in many current games of this genre.”
- “The story is quirky, but ultimately cliché.”
- “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.”
graphics
72 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
40%
4%
The game's graphics are widely praised for their unique art style, drawing inspiration from Tim Burton and Victorian aesthetics, creating a visually stunning experience. While some players noted occasional jankiness and performance issues, the overall ambiance and attention to detail in the environments were highlighted as standout features. Despite minor graphical bugs and a few instances of blurriness, the visuals contribute significantly to the game's engaging atmosphere and narrative.
- “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.”
- “Incredible visuals and atmosphere that draw heavy inspiration from Victorian England with a touch of Wes Anderson's work.”
- “It is very unusual to see Unity-related performance issues in Unity games with 3D graphics, but this does have them.”
- “Also, there are still a few graphic bugs, and a few times where I simply fell out of the world into the abyss.”
- “While I thought maybe the stutter had something to do with the graphic settings, it does not. In my case, I changed the graphic setting while playing the game, and it went to a black screen, where I had to relaunch the game.”
gameplay
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
50%
5%
The gameplay of this metroidvania is characterized by its solid mechanics and unique level design, offering a mix of ambient exploration and challenging boss fights. While many players appreciate the art direction and the variety of enemies, some criticize the lack of clear direction, unexplained mechanics, and issues with controls and hitboxes. Overall, it provides a rewarding experience for those who enjoy the genre, despite some frustrating elements.
- “Each enemy not only features beautifully grotesque designs but also fun and unique gameplay.”
- “The gameplay loop is interesting and rewarding, allowing you to build up skills and unlock different areas and enemies.”
- “Pretty simple metroidvania gameplay with interesting enough level design to make me not mind backtracking and searching for whatever I managed to miss.”
- “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.”
- “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, well, the bugs (mostly falling out-of-bounds) exist.”
- “Many game mechanics are left unexplained; I didn't realize there was more than one page of mutations until about two-thirds of the way through the game. I also didn't notice there was a way to adjust the time until literally immediately before the final boss.”
music
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
85%
7%
8%
The music in the game is consistently praised for its quality, effectively enhancing the atmosphere with a mix of eerie and relaxing compositions that suit various gameplay moments. Reviewers highlight the soundtrack as a standout feature, noting its ability to immerse players in the game world and complement the art style beautifully. Overall, the musical composition is described as phenomenal, contributing significantly to the game's aesthetic and emotional impact.
- “The music was consistently good and often quite eerie or just slightly disconcerting, fitting the atmosphere wonderfully.”
- “This was complemented by a very fitting soundtrack that further pulled you into this game's world.”
- “The soundtrack is phenomenal, and the story is well developed.”
- “Relaxing music while grinding and intense music while boss fighting.”
- “Relaxing music while grinding and intense music while boss fighting.”
- “Relaxing music while grinding and intense music while boss fighting.”
optimization
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
47%
42%
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players experiencing significant microstuttering and frame-rate drops, particularly on lower-end PCs and the Steam Deck. While recent updates have improved performance for some, issues persist, especially in graphically intensive areas. Overall, players suggest waiting for further patches or sales before diving in, as the technical side remains a notable concern despite the game's visual appeal.
- “The newer versions have fixed all the quest and optimization problems other people were having, and I had a great time with one or two minor bugs throughout the whole game.”
- “Seeing all the distant layers with enemies and environments you can later explore is nothing short of impressive, so the little performance hiccups can be excused in my opinion.”
- “Post big patch: performance issues have been reduced an insane amount!”
- “Unfortunately, the technical side of things is what was lacking the most in 'Venture to the Vile' as my 16 hours of the game were filled with near nonstop stuttering.”
- “At times, I experienced frame-rate drops as well as some screen-stuttering even when I reduced the settings to their lowest options.”
- “The performance of the game is all over the place and takes too many resources.”
atmosphere
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
35%
15%
The game's atmosphere is a standout feature, drawing players in with its eerie music and visually rich environments, particularly the haunting hospital/asylum setting. Inspired by Victorian England and reminiscent of titles like Bioshock, the dark, rainy town of Rainybrook enhances the immersive experience, making it a must-play for fans of atmospheric storytelling and exploration. Overall, the combination of excellent art, sound, and thematic depth creates a captivating and unsettling ambiance.
- “The music was consistently good and often quite eerie or just slightly disconcerting, fitting the atmosphere wonderfully.”
- “Incredible visuals and atmosphere that draws heavy inspiration from Victorian England with a touch of Wes Anderson's work.”
- “Each area was also dripping in atmosphere, especially the hospital/asylum which is where the uncanny little nightmares vibes were the strongest.”
- “The game drops into this eerie town of Rainybrook, and it’s got a dark, rainy atmosphere that sucks me right in.”
- “The atmosphere reminds me a lot of the first Bioshock game in the best way.”
grinding
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and poorly designed, with side quests that feel like chores and a skill upgrade system that lacks necessity. The overall experience is marred by bugs and a lack of engaging content, leading to a frustrating grind rather than a rewarding one. Boss fights are also described as boring and repetitive, contributing to the game's overall grindy nature.
- “Absolutely riddled with bugs and seemingly designed in a way to make everything you do a tedious chore.”
- “The side quests are actually aggravating - one of them has you run across three areas (desperate to pad out the game, the devs even made fast travel a tedious chore) to deliver love poems where the joke is all of the poems are lazy and poorly written, but one of them wins the heart of the fishwife anyway - you know, to rub your nose in how little respect the devs have for you.”
- “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.”
humor
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by its surprisingly witty writing and eccentric characters, which provide both entertaining and darkly comedic moments. Players find the character interactions amusing, motivating them to engage in side quests for more laughs. Overall, the blend of humor, including both lighthearted and dark elements, enhances the gaming experience.
- “The story and writing is surprisingly funny.”
- “The character interactions are funny and make you want to keep completing side quests.”
- “Hilariously eccentric characters that you get to interact with.”
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Reviewers praise the character development for its stunning designs and strong world-building, drawing comparisons to the artistic styles of Tim Burton and Hollow Knight. The unique and captivating character aesthetics contribute significantly to the overall immersive experience of the game.
- “I especially love the character designs and the overall world building.”
- “Beautiful scenery and character design, a breathtaking mix of Tim Burton and Hollow Knight.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has been criticized for its significant bugs, which detract from the overall experience and make it difficult for reviewers to recommend it at this time. Additionally, issues with text clarity and word formatting have been noted, further impacting stability.
- “This is a good game, but it is far too buggy for me to recommend currently.”
- “Only issue is it's a bit buggy; the text is hard to understand and words mess up.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Replayability is limited, as players generally do not feel compelled to replay the game extensively. However, the option to return and explore different endings using the same save file offers some incentive for revisiting the game.
- “Replayability isn't really there, but you may want to come back and get the other endings on the same save (it doesn't get deleted).”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players note that while the story begins slowly, it is crucial for establishing an emotional connection with the character Ella and understanding the player's role in the narrative. This connection enhances the overall experience as the story unfolds.
- “The story starts a bit slow, but it is important to establish an emotional connection with Ella and your role in this crazy world.”