Vernal Edge

Vernal Edge is a great Metroidvania game, with deep and satisfying combat, a whole lot of freedom to explore, and gorgeous pixel art.

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In Vernal Edge, a Metroidvania-style game, play as Vernal, a young woman seeking her father in a mysterious kingdom of floating islands ruled by the Church of Aloe. Master Vernal's combos and explore diverse pixel art environments filled with secrets and powerful upgrades. Dynamic combat and engaging narrative await in this action-packed adventure.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

81%

Audience ScoreBased on 371 reviews

story36 positive mentions

grinding10 negative mentions

The art direction is superb, with beautiful pixel art and animations that enhance the overall experience.
The combat system is engaging and dynamic, allowing for stylish combos and a variety of spells that keep encounters fresh.
The movement mechanics are fluid and rewarding, making exploration enjoyable as players unlock new abilities.

The game suffers from a lack of enemy variety, leading to repetitive combat encounters throughout the experience.
The story feels underdeveloped, with a protagonist that can be unlikable and a narrative that doesn't fully engage players.
The map system is poorly designed, with many areas lacking maps and making navigation confusing and frustrating.

story
158 mentions
23 % positive mentions
70 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
The story of "Vernal Edge" is generally viewed as underdeveloped and lacking depth, with many reviewers noting that it feels rushed and fails to fully utilize its characters and plot threads. While some players appreciate the basic revenge narrative and find enjoyment in the character interactions, others criticize the protagonist's motivations and the overall execution of the storytelling, describing it as simplistic and at times confusing. Despite these criticisms, the game is still considered fun to play, with the story serving more as a backdrop to the gameplay rather than a driving force.
- “The plot explaining this environment, its aggressive protagonist Vernal and her traveling companion Chervil, is slowly revealed through the many dialogues between the two, the enemies, and the various characters in the locations.”
- “Vernal Edge is a game where you play as a girl on a mission to kill her dad for abandoning her after her mom died, the gameplay is a metroidvania style game with combat focused on combining enemies to break their defenses and then juggling them while they're defenseless.”
- “The story is intriguing but nothing groundbreaking; it's fine for what it does.”
- “The story feels like it didn't have enough time to develop; there's not much reason to go back to older islands, the characters feel underutilized. It just kind of feels like if the game had more time, these things would be more fleshed out and the game would feel like a more full experience.”
- “The overall story is quite basic and uninteresting, giving me a hard time to care about pretty much anything in the game's world.”
- “An underdeveloped story with fanfic-tier level writing, featuring an unlikable edgy protagonist that leads to an unsatisfying conclusion.”
music
110 mentions
45 % positive mentions
49 % neutral mentions
6 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its standout tracks and overall quality, particularly during combat, while others criticize it for being too quiet or lacking variety. Many highlight specific themes, such as the arboretum exploration track, as exceptional, but there are complaints about the ambient music feeling sparse or unmemorable. Overall, while the soundtrack enhances the gameplay experience for some, others find it inconsistent and not fitting the game's atmosphere.
- “The music is simply amazing; I especially adore the arboretum exploration theme.”
- “The soundtrack is phenomenal, the graphics are awesome, and the movement is right up there with Celeste once you unlock some of the late game abilities.”
- “The music is incredible, the art style is aesthetically pleasing, and I love all the abilities acquired so far which only expands the combat even further.”
- “I wound up not liking the music much at all, and the sound effects were forgettable.”
- “The first is that a lot of the game's music is extremely quiet, even with music volume set to 100%.”
- “The music is frankly pretty bad at the best of times, and nearly non-existent at the worst.”
gameplay
97 mentions
30 % positive mentions
67 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Vernal Edge" is a blend of metroidvania exploration and dynamic combat, featuring a variety of movement mechanics and a unique poise system that encourages strategic engagement with enemies. While many players appreciate the depth and customization options in combat, some find the mechanics overly complex or tedious, leading to mixed feelings about the overall experience. The game excels in its fluid movement and engaging level design, but some aspects, such as enemy encounters and certain mechanics, can detract from the enjoyment.
- “The combat is top-tier stuff, and the game mechanics are inspired by Kingdom Hearts with a hint of Devil May Cry as well.”
- “Satisfying, deep combat and movement that is approachable and rewarding the more time you take to master the mechanics.”
- “The gameplay is smooth and fast, the combat is rewarding and is just the right difficulty, the pixel art is very well done, and the soundtrack is out of this world.”
- “Meh, the character is unlikable, the gameplay is very unresponsive, combat is bad, and the puzzles are tedious.”
- “The combat itself feels more like a chore than a core mechanic, with numerous 'kill x enemies on this screen to advance' zones - complete with impassable walls and spawned enemies.”
- “The poise, pulse, and attack charge mechanics conspire together to make every combat encounter into a miserable experience.”
graphics
71 mentions
58 % positive mentions
38 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their beautiful pixel art style and nostalgic PS1/Sega Saturn aesthetic, creating a visually appealing and immersive experience. Many reviewers highlighted the clean visuals, fluid animations, and cohesive art direction, although some noted that character designs could be more interesting. Overall, the graphics are considered one of the standout features, contributing significantly to the game's charm and atmosphere.
- “I love the style and visual aesthetic, and I love how clean the visuals are with minimal clutter.”
- “The graphical style is of excellent pixel art (with a few moments in 3D) depicting a world of cities and places suspended in the sky.”
- “The art style is gorgeous, and it has very fluid animations for a pixel art game.”
- “The graphics are extremely dull & the gameplay is whatever.”
- “The game's visuals sadly do not differentiate between foreground and background objects.”
- “However it still lacks polish: some graphical fixes (for example stuttery feel as if fps dropped in some places) and a few bug fixes (like solving the issue with wall detection and phasing through platforms).”
grinding
10 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, particularly in combat and puzzle-solving, which can detract from the overall experience. While some unique challenges provide moments of enjoyment, many encounters and dialogue sequences feel drawn out and frustrating, leading to a generally negative perception of the grinding elements.
- “Did you think making the combat a boring, grindy slog was...good design?”
- “I knew of the trap Devil May Cry-like room combat but it’s tedious and a slog to endure.”
- “It can feel frustrating and tedious, and the combat can also feel very repetitive near the end of the game.”
emotional
9 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players find the emotional aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while the protagonist Vernal and her supporting cast create genuine moments, some players felt disconnected from her character, leading to a lack of investment in key emotional scenes. The narrative's emotional impact varies, with some moments resonating deeply while others fall flat, particularly if players are not fully engaged with the characters. Overall, the emotional depth is present but inconsistent, affecting players' overall connection to the story.
- “Vernal is a very fun protagonist, and her supporting cast does a good job helping the narrative create a handful of genuine and emotional moments.”
- “The conversation between Chervil and Vernal is cute and wholesome.”
- “So when there was what was supposed to be an emotional scene at around the halfway point in the game, it just fell kind of flat for me since I wasn't invested in Vernal's character yet.”
atmosphere
9 mentions
56 % positive mentions
33 % neutral mentions
11 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is generally praised for its immersive qualities, enhanced by fast movement and stylish visuals that evoke a sense of exploration and mystery. However, some players feel that the music is inconsistent, with certain tracks failing to complement the atmosphere effectively, particularly during transitions between combat and exploration. Overall, while the atmosphere is a standout feature, the musical execution has room for improvement.
- “What really sells me on this game is the atmosphere and fast movement.”
- “Great stylish combat game with atmosphere for days.”
- “What shocked me the most, however, was the music, which combined with the fine visuals and overall setting created a great sense of atmosphere and mystery that I absolutely loved.”
- “But some of the music doesn't fit the atmosphere.”
humor
7 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game's humor is a standout feature, with players frequently laughing at the witty dialogue and quirky character personalities. The blend of a revenge story with sci-fi elements and cheeky humor sets it apart from similar titles, making it a highlight for many reviewers. Overall, the comedic aspects, particularly through characters like Vernal, contribute significantly to the game's appeal.
- “The game's sense of humor is remarkable, and the characters excel in personality.”
- “That was a big positive point for me; I caught myself laughing out loud dozens of times.”
- “But in this case, you get your basic revenge story mixed with a little sci-fi and occasional cheeky humor.”
stability
5 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is marked by a mix of minor audio glitches and occasional significant bugs, such as a boss becoming unresponsive and important objects disappearing. While players can exploit sequence breaking and glitches for creative gameplay, these issues contribute to a generally rough experience without being game-breaking. Overall, the game exhibits a level of bugginess that may frustrate some players but does not completely hinder progress.
- “Some minor audio glitches every now and then, particularly with sound effects persisting from the time bomb.”
- “Speaking of glitches, one boss fight (the one in the tower of battle) bugged out with the boss just standing there stuck in an animation.”
- “And finally, the roughness evolves into full-on bugginess with strange physics and collision glitches, important puzzle objects disappearing into the void and only reappearing upon resetting the game.”
optimization
5 mentions
20 % positive mentions
20 % neutral mentions
60 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is generally well-received, with high polish in terms of bugs and performance. However, some users noted issues with stuttering, particularly related to fog effects during combat, which detracted from the experience. The visuals and soundtrack were praised, contributing positively to the game's overall performance.
- “Luckily there's also some positives in the game, namely the gorgeous pixel art visuals, relaxing soundtrack, and the high polish in terms of bugs and performance.”
- “- The fog level in particular had a lot of stuttering, especially during combat.”
- “As for game performance and options, there was really nothing that stuck out as a thorn in my side.”
- “Luckily, there's also some positives in the game, namely the gorgeous pixel art visuals, relaxing soundtrack, and the high polish in terms of bugs/performance.”
character development
5 mentions
60 % positive mentions
-20 % neutral mentions
60 % negative mentions
Character development in the game appears to be a mixed bag, with some players expressing hope for improvement as the story progresses, while others criticize the protagonist's lack of depth and poorly written dialogue. Many feel that the supporting characters and worldbuilding are underdeveloped, leading to a disconnect in thematic coherence. Overall, there is a sense that character growth may be on the horizon, but current execution leaves much to be desired.
- “The story is interesting, though the protagonist lacks depth and motivation - I suspect that's because there will be significant character development as the story progresses beyond where I am at around the 4-hour mark (at least that's what signs point to, I hope).”
- “I hope she gets some much-needed character development later in the game because, to be honest, I almost want to skip every dialogue just so I don't have to deal with her randomly being an asshole.”
- “I like Vernal as a character, but the dialogue isn't really drawing me in or selling me on the characters, their relationships, or worldbuilding, but I can feel the wheels of character development churning.”
- “She's edgy, her dialogue is poorly written and she has 0 character development throughout the game.”
- “I hope she gets some much needed character development later in the game because, to be honest, I almost want to skip every dialogue just so I don't have to deal with her randomly being an asshole.”
- “Unfortunately, like many Kickstarter games, the worldbuilding and character design suffers as the towns are filled with 'donut steels' with one or two lines of dialogue and absolutely no thematic or artistic alignment with the rest of the game.”
replayability
3 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Replayability is considered low due to the game's linear structure, which offers limited options beyond a harder difficulty after completion. The absence of features like New Game+ or level select restricts players from revisiting encounters, making the experience feel repetitive when starting over.
- “Replayability, however, is unfortunately fairly low as the game itself is pretty linear and doesn't offer anything extra besides a harder difficulty level after beating the game once.”
- “A new game+ or level select could probably compromise the elegance of the game's design, but having no way to replay encounters on their own hurts replayability, as restarting from zero means going through the combat at its least interesting.”
- “Replayability: low.”