Vigil: The Longest Night

About

"Vigil: The Longest Night" is a single-player Horror Role Playing game that offers an intriguing story, spectacular gameplay, and exceptional visuals inspired by Chinese Paper Cutting. As Leila, you'll engage in brutal combat against Lovecraftian creatures while exploring a world full of cosmic horror and Taiwanese culture. Despite some grinding and bugs, players can enjoy precise combat, multiple weapons, and a complex skill tree, all set to a good soundtrack and a stellar atmosphere.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

+10

87%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,294 reviews

story196 positive mentions

grinding32 negative mentions

Gorgeous art style and atmosphere that evokes a dark, gothic fantasy world.
Engaging combat system with a variety of weapons and skill trees that allow for different playstyles.
Rewarding exploration with many secrets, hidden areas, and side quests to discover.

Frustrating save system where all progress is lost upon death, leading to tedious backtracking.
Confusing quest system with points of no return that can lock players out of completing quests.
Some technical issues and bugs, including clunky controls and inconsistent enemy hitboxes.

story
764 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
69%
6%
The story of "Vigil: The Longest Night" is a complex and often cryptic narrative that draws heavily from Lovecraftian themes and the aesthetics of games like Bloodborne. While many players find the overarching plot intriguing, the execution suffers from translation issues and a lack of clarity, making it difficult to fully grasp the story on the first playthrough. Additionally, the quest system can lead to missed opportunities and failed quests due to points of no return, which can frustrate players seeking to explore the rich lore and character interactions. Overall, the game offers a compelling narrative experience, but it requires patience and thorough exploration to piece together its many layers.
- “The story is intriguing, and every NPC seems to have actually interesting things to say and give clues to certain side quests even though some have nothing to do with the quest giver.”
- “The story is quite interesting if you are paying attention to the item descriptions.”
- “The story is excellent, and there's a great deal of fun and mystery in unraveling what is going on.”
- “Story-wise, it's told piecemeal through character quips and lore bits, so the story will probably be an unfathomable mess the first time you play through the game.”
- “The story is very confusing and unclear, also I'm not a fan of this type of 'quests' in a metroidvania, especially since it locks you out of certain quests early in the game.”
- “The story makes almost no sense other than bad guys being bad.”
music
303 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
41%
4%
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its atmospheric quality and ability to enhance the overall experience, with many tracks being described as beautiful, engaging, and fitting for the game's themes. However, some players noted issues with volume levels, repetitiveness, and occasional mismatches between the music and the environment. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a strong point, contributing significantly to the game's immersive atmosphere.
- “The soundtrack fits the gameplay like a puzzle piece.”
- “The music is beautiful and brilliant at setting the mood of mingled awe and despair befitting a story where even the secret best ending is a nightmare.”
- “The music is captivating, the gameplay is incredible and it really supports different playstyles.”
- “The music can get repetitive, playing non-stop in specific areas.”
- “The biggest problem the game has, however, is the fact the music in the forest is absolutely incredibly loud compared to everything else that it gets very, very jarring.”
- “I find, however, that there are times when the music will mysteriously stop for long periods of time, usually amid area transitions, and then resume at awkward points.”
gameplay
297 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
56%
6%
The gameplay of "Vigil: The Longest Night" has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its fluid combat mechanics, diverse weapon choices, and engaging exploration reminiscent of metroidvania titles. However, many critiques highlight issues such as clunky controls, frustrating death mechanics that reset progress, and a lack of polish in certain gameplay elements, leading to a repetitive experience. Overall, while the game offers enjoyable moments and a captivating atmosphere, it struggles with balancing its mechanics and providing a consistently rewarding gameplay experience.
- “The gameplay is very fluid and enjoyable, to the point where I actually enjoyed it more than I did Salt and Sanctuary.”
- “Fantastic art direction, music, and gameplay.”
- “The gameplay is great, too!”
- “Poor gameplay mechanics resulting in getting scorned for exploration.”
- “When you die, everything you've done before your last save gets erased, so that's what I mean by getting scorned for wanting to explore. With the poor movement mechanics and the terrible map layout, you will most likely die to gravity, resulting in lots of wasted time.”
- “The gameplay was alright, but the exploration and maps felt really bland and underwhelming overall, which kind of killed it for me.”
graphics
294 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
44%
1%
The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their beautiful art style and atmospheric design, effectively capturing a dark, gothic aesthetic reminiscent of titles like Bloodborne and Salt and Sanctuary. While some players noted occasional repetitiveness in backgrounds and minor graphical issues, the overall visual presentation is considered stunning, with fluid animations and engaging character designs that enhance the exploration experience. The combination of impressive visuals and a compelling soundtrack contributes significantly to the game's immersive atmosphere.
- “The graphics are incredible and everything is really well animated.”
- “The art style of the game is just fantastic all around from the backgrounds and landscapes to the character and monster designs, especially the monster designs.”
- “The visuals here are fantastic and somewhat reminiscent of Vanillaware’s painterly style.”
- “Graphics somewhere between a Vanillaware game and Newgrounds browser RPG, but not in a good way like 'The Vagrant' and just looks cheap.”
- “Definitely worth a try, even though the graphics look like a mobile game.”
- “Everything about it from the graphics, the movement, the hitboxes, the enemy design, the equipment, weapon skills, leveling, the save system, bosses... everything is amateurish and poorly done.”
atmosphere
135 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
33%
2%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and beautifully crafted environments, enhanced by a haunting soundtrack and striking art style. Reviewers highlight the game's ability to evoke a dark, gothic, and sometimes cosmic horror ambiance, making exploration feel rewarding and engaging. Overall, the combination of visuals, music, and thematic depth creates a compelling atmosphere that resonates strongly with players.
- “The atmosphere in this game is unmatched; the combat is fluid and satisfying, and the art style is so pretty for a 2D game.”
- “I really think they nailed the atmosphere specifically; some real dark fantasy here.”
- “The atmosphere is amazing, the art is beautiful, and the main character is badass — what else can one wish for from a metroidvania?”
- “The lead up to this weighty, occult atmosphere is a short traipse through an ossuary and 10 minutes of repetitive combat against two weak enemy types with no interesting or novel mechanics, together with some low stakes platforming.”
- “Despite lots of horrific set pieces, this game is written with such puerility that it completely misses the mark on creating a horrifying atmosphere.”
- “The biggest strength of this game is the art style and the atmosphere.”
grinding
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
3%
94%
Reviews indicate that grinding in the game can be a mixed experience, with some players finding it tedious due to long enemy encounters, backtracking, and a lack of meaningful rewards. While some aspects of grinding, like leveling up and resource farming, can be enjoyable and necessary, others feel overly repetitive and detract from the overall gameplay experience. The game's checkpoint system and manual saving further contribute to the frustration, as players often have to redo significant portions of the game after dying.
- “Wasn't too grindy and there are some great Steam guides for the collectible achievements.”
- “You either kill enemies in one or two hits, or you hack away at them for so long that it gets tedious, and you start skipping that enemy type whenever you see them.”
- “Quests also have a lot of backtracking to do and with checkpoints being so far in between it also became tedious.”
- “The lack of voice acting really does start to get tedious and does break the immersion somewhat, the story ends up being very shallow which is a bit of a disappointment as it had so much potential.”
stability
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
89%
Overall, the game's stability has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting minor bugs and glitches, particularly in quest resolutions and animations. While some users experienced no significant issues during gameplay, others noted persistent problems, especially in specific areas and during tutorials. Despite these concerns, many believe that recent updates have improved stability, and further patches are anticipated to address remaining issues.
- “In my 21 hours of playtime, I experienced no game crashes, broken quests, or odd glitches.”
- “All of the quests I got are doable and not buggy at all.”
- “As for the game, I got this game for the Steam Deck and it runs great except for one rainy area.”
- “Some quest resolutions are still buggy.”
- “I try to get into this game but it is just too buggy and janky.”
- “Lots of visual glitches, sound effects glitches, and quests breaking (had 2 glitch out and were not able to be completed) which, while some are ignorable, others when encountered just feel awful to experience.”
replayability
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
54%
12%
The game offers significant replayability through its diverse weapon types, multiple endings, and a new game plus (NG+) mode, allowing players to explore different playstyles and strategies. While some reviewers noted a lack of depth in character building, the variety of combat options and skill trees contribute to a fun and engaging experience that encourages multiple playthroughs. Overall, it is regarded as a well-rounded action platformer with ample replay value, despite some criticisms regarding the depth of content.
- “One is the difficulty of bosses which is not as trying and frustrating as some other soulsborne metroidvania platformers, but offers immense replayability due to the vast variety of weapons, armors, accessories, and magics.”
- “Good amount of replayability considering you have 4 distinct playstyles (swords, axes, knives, bows).”
- “The inclusion of skill trees for the different weapon types is a nice way to diversify gameplay and add replayability as well.”
- “Just lacked some depth; the history could be longer and have more replay value, like Salt and Sanctuary.”
- “So the game has zero replay value.”
- “Overall, it's a fun game; I just hope there was more customization for your skills and content to keep replay value up.”
optimization
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
33%
33%
The game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it runs smoothly at 4K/60 fps on higher-end systems and offers a solid overall experience, players have reported issues such as stuttering, minor clipping, and hit detection problems. Some users noted that performance could be improved, especially on recommended specs, and the lack of checkpoints can be frustrating. Overall, the game is enjoyable with room for optimization improvements, particularly regarding performance consistency.
- “There is definitely room for number crunching and build optimization.”
- “Very well optimized at 4K/60 fps, at least for my i7 9750 with 16 GB RAM and GeForce 2070 Super card.”
- “Overall a stellar metroidvania experience, lots of stuff to explore, getting the true ending was a lot of fun, performance was solid; only had 1 serious FPS drop in the flooded area boss arena, beyond that no crashes at all.”
- “Poorly optimized, visually horrible, bad controls, awful gameplay. If you die, you lose all progress instead of simply starting from a checkpoint like any Metroidvania. It feels like a 90's game.”
- “The performance is also spotty, especially for the recommended specs.”
- “I do hope they address the occasional stuttering that occurs; it seems to happen no matter what resolution I set it at.”
emotional
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is mixed; while it features a plot with some intricacy and emotional weight, players often feel detached due to a lack of meaningful character development and a resolution that undermines initial investment. Many find themselves disengaged, either rushing through the story or feeling like they are replaying a familiar experience without emotional stakes, despite some redeeming qualities in combat and environment. Overall, the emotional connection is hampered by technical issues and a disappointing narrative progression.
- “All of this is wrapped up in a plot that might not be winning any awards, but still has enough intricacy and emotional weight to keep a player invested.”
- “It's certainly not The Witcher 3, but it made me feel a tiny bit like that.”
- “Finally, the resolution of the plot twist breaks any emotional investment into the world and its characters you established during the prologue - instead offering 'new', less likable characters with even sketchier writing and character development.”
humor
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
86%
14%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with some players finding amusing moments in bugs and quirky animations, while others feel the tonal shifts between dark themes and cheesy jokes can be jarring. Although there are funny easter eggs, the overall comedic elements may not resonate with everyone, as the game often leans towards a serious atmosphere.
- “There are some bugs here and there; I got to use a bow with the moveset of the sword, and it was funny.”
- “+ funny easter eggs”
- “Writing seems to go from trying to be dark, serious, and foreboding to having weird jokes and cheesy humor, which can get very jarring given the setting.”
character development
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
33%
17%
Character development in the game is noted for its complexity and depth, featuring rich content and multiple endings that enhance player engagement. However, some players feel that the resolution undermines earlier emotional investments by introducing less relatable characters with weaker development. Overall, the character and world designs are praised for their artistic quality, contributing to the immersive experience.
- “Rather complex, a lot of character development, lots of content and multiple endings.”
- “The world and character designs are fantastic and really draw you into the grim experience of the longest night.”
- “Love the art style and character designs.”
- “Finally, the resolution of the plot twist breaks any emotional investment into the world and its characters you established during the prologue, instead offering 'new', less likable characters with even sketchier writing and character development.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Reviewers express frustration with the monetization strategy, noting that excessive ads can disrupt gameplay and obscure important visual cues, making it difficult to engage with the game effectively.
- “The monetization system feels overly aggressive, constantly pushing players to spend money to progress.”
- “It's frustrating how many features are locked behind paywalls, making it hard to enjoy the game without spending extra.”
- “The ads are intrusive and disrupt the gameplay experience, making it hard to focus on the game itself.”