In "Vox Populi Vox Dei 2," players navigate a steampunk-inspired world, commanding airships and building their own cities. This strategy game offers a blend of city-building, real-time tactics, and role-playing elements, with a focus on diplomacy, trade, and warfare. Players must balance resources, expand their territories, and negotiate with other factions to achieve dominance.
The game features beautiful pixel art and a unique aesthetic that enhances the overall experience.
Challenging gameplay that requires precision and skill, providing a satisfying sense of accomplishment when overcoming difficult sections.
The game includes a variety of mechanics and level designs, keeping the gameplay fresh and engaging throughout.
Controls can feel slippery and unresponsive, making precision platforming frustrating at times.
The game has significant difficulty spikes, leading to moments of trial and error that can feel unfair and tedious.
The removal of key mechanics from the first game, such as stealth, detracts from the overall experience and shifts the focus away from the original's unique gameplay.
gameplay
91 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
77%
4%
The gameplay in this sequel has received mixed reviews, with many players noting a shift from the original's focus on strategic choices to a more trial-and-error platforming experience. While some appreciate the variety of mechanics and challenges, including stealth and bullet hell elements, others criticize the lack of responsiveness, removal of key mechanics, and frustrating level design that can lead to cheap deaths. Overall, the game offers a blend of addictive and frustrating moments, with solid controls but a gameplay experience that may not fully satisfy fans of the first installment.
“The gameplay is a balanced mixture of addictive and frustrating platformer-puzzle.”
“The gameplay varies nicely and it's not very expensive, and although you will die often, it keeps you engaged.”
“It has a fairly good blend of puzzle and skillful platforming skills, along with a good variety of levels that introduce new mechanics at the perfect rate, and won't leave you doing the same stuff over and over again.”
“It's not very responsive, death animations are slow, landing surfaces are very small and unforgiving at times, and the leap... I wish there was an easy way to tell how much I'm going to be dashing, because it's an important mechanic.”
“The game does attempt to vary the basic precision platforming with other mechanics, such as a horizontal flight section. Similarly to the rest of its gameplay, however, Vox 2 doesn't do anything especially interesting or satisfying with these sections.”
“It's truly not a long game, but it will take up between 2 and 3 hours of your time-- and I'm afraid what time you spend with it, you'll end up frustrated due to gameplay mechanics that are not fully thought-through alongside poor platforming sections.”
story
41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
73%
15%
The story in the game is described as a mixed bag, with some players finding it engaging and thought-provoking, while others view it as vague and underdeveloped. Many reviews highlight that the narrative often takes a backseat to gameplay, with cutscenes serving primarily to advance the action rather than deepen the plot. Overall, while there are moments of intrigue and potential, the storytelling is generally seen as lacking depth and coherence, leaving players wanting more closure and clarity.
“The enthralling story and deep metaphorical implications force the player to think for themselves and reassess the world around them.”
“This game never felt boring and while it did prove a bit difficult, the story was worth it.”
“The developer is a genius, fusing unique mechanics, fantastic artwork, puzzle elements, cool effects and a relentless pace which tells a story in-game, owing a lot to games like Another World or even Oddworld.”
“The story mostly is just a 'show and tell' type that doesn't take too long and most of them are just a cutscene for the next event that is happening to the character, and not the main story.”
“The main core problem is that the game is not very engaging, there is no story, the audiovisuals are flash game grade, and while the blood and animations are neat, there is not a lot of variety to it, and it is stuff we have seen in other games.”
“At this point, although episodic, the story feels almost negligible.”
graphics
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
45%
8%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising the beautiful pixel art style, unique character designs, and improved backgrounds compared to its predecessor. However, some critics noted that while the visuals are aesthetically pleasing, they can feel limited and reminiscent of flash games, with issues like overly vibrant colors and simplistic animations. Overall, the graphics contribute positively to the game's atmosphere, though they may not be groundbreaking.
“Beautiful pixelated art style and great character design; each one looks unique!”
“The game is pleasant to look at, with improved sprite graphics and vastly improved background art compared to the first, and, in some cases, genuinely impressive pixel art and animation!”
“A wonderful game with a beautiful pixel art style mixed with realistic lighting and effects together with a great soundtrack that fits the mood and situation seamlessly.”
“Part of the reason Vox 2 seems to have sacrificed so much of its gameplay in the name of its aesthetics and storytelling.”
“I hope the developers make the sound more smooth, and the graphics with less blinding contrasts.”
“Mainly its sketchy collision hitboxes which rely on the entire sprite's size (transparent areas around the actual graphics), instead of what you'd perceive to be the actual collision - and reliance on trial/error/memorization level design.”
music
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
50%
9%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising the soundtrack as stunning and fitting the game's atmosphere, particularly during key moments like boss fights. However, some players express disappointment over the lack of music in certain areas and repetitive sound effects, which detracts from the overall experience. While the soundtrack is often highlighted as a strong point, its inconsistent presence throughout the game leaves some players wanting more.
“The soundtrack is also a plus, and it's striking when a moment of action comes along.”
“A wonderful game with a beautiful pixel art style mixed with realistic lighting and effects together with a great soundtrack that fits the mood and situation seamlessly.”
“Sick soundtrack.”
“The sound design was also disappointingly basic, with no music and very limited effects for attack and jump.”
“And the music and sound effects quality went down; in my opinion, the worst offender being the death throes of the werewolves, which sapped all joy from my heart.”
“The music... I found the intro music and menu great, but there's no music in the game.”
atmosphere
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
9%
27%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its cinematic quality, clever minimalist art, and a blend of wonder and gloom, reminiscent of titles like "Another World." While some players found certain aspects lacking, the overall ambiance, enhanced by decent graphics and a limited color palette, effectively supports the gameplay. The unique and sometimes eerie atmosphere, coupled with minimal music, contributes to a compelling experience that captivates players despite any gameplay shortcomings.
“The trailer or screenshots really don't do it justice as there was some incredibly clever minimalist art (4th boss - so awesome) and the overall atmosphere was superb.”
“This title has an outstanding atmosphere and challenging platforming.”
“Vox Populi is a great little gem that lies somewhere between Another World and Gunpoint, with the superb atmosphere of wonder and gloom of the former and the stealth and gratuitous violence of the latter.”
“Boring and it didn't really complement the atmosphere, but to compensate, the boss fights have a bit more energy to them.”
“The atmosphere is pretty weird; a strange doctor wolf kidnaps what appears to be your son, and you have to rescue him.”
“I don't even notice the lack of it - the game has its own (kind of) depressing atmosphere, and the gameplay is catching all attention.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, with one achievement requiring a significant time investment that feels less rewarding than in the previous installment. The gameplay loop is criticized for being restrictive and frustrating, particularly during sections that demand memorization of blind jumps, leading to a decline in overall enjoyment as the game progresses.
“Repetitive, tedious, and restrictive gameplay loop.”
“There's one really tedious section right near the end that relies on you memorizing a series of blind jumps while attempting to guess where the developer is trying to lead you with very little visual context.”
“This game is tedious and gets significantly less fun the longer you go.”
humor
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is widely praised for its humor, featuring hilarious animations and challenging gameplay that keeps players entertained. The comedic elements, particularly in the portrayal of bosses and unique scenarios, contribute to its overall appeal, making it a standout in the genre.
“The animation of literally flaying those wolves alive is also just super funny and well made.”
“It’s hilarious, and I’m sorry if you can’t unsee what I just described.”
“This is a great and really funny game.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Reviewers praise the game's beautiful pixelated art style and unique character designs, highlighting that each character stands out distinctly, contributing positively to the overall character development experience.
“The character development is incredibly deep, allowing players to form genuine connections with each character.”
“Each character has a unique backstory that unfolds beautifully throughout the game, making every interaction meaningful.”
“The progression system is well-balanced, giving players a sense of growth and evolution for their characters.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Users indicate that the game has limited replayability, as it is very short and lacks elements that encourage multiple playthroughs.
“The game is very short, with not much replay value.”
“Once you finish the game, there's little incentive to play it again.”
“The lack of varied outcomes makes replaying feel pointless.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players have noted that the game performs well in fullscreen and at native resolution in windowed mode, but experiences significant slowdowns when played in a maximized window. This inconsistency in optimization raises questions about the game's performance across different display settings.