Vox Populi Vox Dei 2
- March 17, 2015
- Great Cogs
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.
Reviews
- The game offers a nostalgic experience reminiscent of the original flash game, with cute revamped designs for the wolves.
- The gameplay is challenging yet rewarding, with a mix of platforming and boss fights that keep players engaged.
- The music and sound design are praised for enhancing the overall atmosphere of the game.
- The game diverges significantly from the original's mechanics, focusing more on punishing platforming rather than the stealth and puzzle elements that made the first game enjoyable.
- Controls can feel slippery and unresponsive, leading to frustrating trial-and-error gameplay that detracts from the experience.
- The game is criticized for its short length and lack of depth, leaving players wanting more content and a more satisfying conclusion.
- gameplay60 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 77 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay in this sequel has received mixed reviews, with some praising its tight platforming mechanics and engaging elements, while others criticize the removal of key features from the original game and the introduction of frustrating mechanics. Players noted that while the game offers a variety of challenges and a unique aesthetic, it often feels repetitive and poorly designed, leading to a frustrating experience. Overall, the gameplay is seen as a departure from its predecessor, with a blend of enjoyable and tedious moments that may not satisfy all fans.
“A damn good sequel to a relatively linear but creative flash game that improves its difficulty, art style, and gameplay to unknown frontiers.”
“Ultimately though, the game feels fun to play and is something different - mixing and matching different gameplay elements like this is rare in the 2D platformer genre, and combined with the unusual presentation and tone it just seems to work.”
“Great gameplay, controls work flawlessly and the pixel art is even better!!”
“Braindead mechanics and gameplay.”
“The game feels like a very polished collection of those old flash games, which would give you a new mechanic and then let you toy with it for a few levels.”
“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.”
- graphics22 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 41 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising the improved pixel art and background visuals compared to its predecessor, while others note that the overall aesthetic feels reminiscent of flash games. Some players appreciate the unique art style and animations, highlighting the game's ability to convey storytelling through visuals, but others criticize the lack of variety and engaging elements in the graphics. Overall, the game is seen as a significant step up in visual quality, though not without its flaws.
“A damn good sequel to a relatively linear but creative flash game that improves its difficulty, art style, and gameplay to unknown frontiers.”
“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!”
“It's a fun little title, got cool pixel-art graphics, good challenge without being too hard.”
“Part of the reason Vox 2 seems to have sacrificed so much of its gameplay is in the name of its aesthetics and storytelling.”
“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.”
“Another proof that graphics are not everything.”
- story19 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it confusing yet enjoyable, while others criticize it for being underdeveloped and lacking engagement. While there are moments of depth and interesting narrative elements, many feel that the storytelling is overshadowed by gameplay issues and inconsistent quality, leading to a perception of the story as mediocre or even negligible compared to the first installment. Overall, the narrative seems to evoke a range of reactions, from appreciation for its creativity to frustration over its execution.
“The enthralling story and deep metaphorical implications force the player to think for themselves and reassess the world around them.”
“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.”
“Part of the reason Vox 2 seems to have sacrificed so much of its gameplay is in the name of its aesthetics and storytelling.”
“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.”
- music16 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 19 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising the soundtrack as amazing and nostalgic, particularly during key gameplay moments like boss fights and airborne segments. However, some players note that the overall sound design is lacking, with minimal music in certain areas and basic sound effects that detract from the experience. While the original score is celebrated, its inconsistent presence throughout the game leaves some players wanting more.
“Music is amazing, I absolutely adore it, especially during the first levels of the game and the airborne segment. The soundtrack enhances the experience significantly.”
“One of the best games made by a smaller studio, a breath of nostalgia. The soundtrack and gameplay are just amazing, and as the ending says, 'see you in the next game'! I will be waiting!”
“Vox Dei 2 has style, it's hard enough, gameplay is flawless, and the music is awesome.”
“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.”
“Music is almost non-existent for atmospheric reasons, I'd assume.”
- atmosphere7 mentions
- 71 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 29 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its cinematic quality and clever minimalist art, particularly during boss battles. Players appreciate the unique and sometimes unsettling ambiance, which enhances the gameplay experience, even in the absence of prominent music. Overall, the game's backgrounds and mood evoke a sense of nostalgia while effectively drawing players into its world.
“The boss battles were so cinematic and atmospheric.”
“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.”
“Nice game, backgrounds and atmosphere remind me of Another World.”
“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 atmosphere—the game has its own kind of depressing vibe, and the gameplay captures all the attention.”
- grinding5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, often feeling more like a chore than an engaging part of the experience. While it is not essential for completing the game, it can make success feel less satisfying and is criticized for its restrictive gameplay loop and frustrating design elements, particularly in certain challenging sections.
“Being that this is the only real thing carried over from the first game, it's a shame that it is made so much more tedious, less satisfying, and less prevalent.”
“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.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by its clever animations, such as the comically exaggerated depiction of flaying wolves, and the presence of interesting and amusing bosses that enhance the overall comedic experience.
“The animation of literally flaying those wolves alive is also just super funny and well made.”
“Interesting and funny bosses.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Users generally find the game's replayability to be low, noting that it is very short and lacks significant incentives to play again.
“The game is very short, with not much replay value.”
“Once you complete it, there's little incentive to play again.”
“The lack of varied outcomes makes replaying feel pointless.”