Venture to the Vile Steam Charts & Stats

Is very good game.

great visuals, kind of linear for a MV though. I will eventually 100% it

Just completed the game with 100% quests and collectibles, so here's my take. It's a surprisingly solid Metroidvania for those who value ambience and art over the more mechanical aspects. It's also on the easier side compared to some of the cult classics, which is a plus as far as I am concerned. [b]TL;DR[/b]: give it a try if you're into this setting. It's decent and has no real roadblocks preventing you from getting to all three endings. A bit rough around the edges, but doesn't punish a lot even with slow reflexes (I should know). It's completable in under 10 hours, but 20 is more realistic. The graphics and sound design may seem janky at first, but you get used quickly. The music is great from start to end. The story is quirky, but ultimately cliche. The writing is just about adequate, but devoid of true gems. Gamepad controls and progression mechanics are the same as in every other metroidvania - if you played similar games before, you'll know what to do from start to finish. What makes it unique? It's [b]2.5D[/b], so it feels different to any sidescroller. Navigation is a bit harder without a proper detailed map, but I found this approach to level design both immersive and practical. A few hours in, you learn to expect transition areas and seek them out. And I think I actually prefer vast vistas rendered with all the monsters and treasure in the background to the old-school 2D metroidvania screens. Check out the Lost Thicket level to see what I mean. The game has a great [b]day/night transition[/b] implemented with gorgeous dusk/dawn colors, shadows, light in windows and the like. For some reason, it is a massively underused and gimmicky feature. Aside from different breeds of monsters coming out at night and some quests being weather-locked, I haven't seen it being used much for anything. Still impressive, though. Difficulty-wise, it's a rare example of [b]an easier metroidvania[/b]. A bit like [b]Bloodstained[/b], but that one just lets you overlevel through the roof, which isn't very satisfying. Here you get several skill trees and nicely balanced, albeit basic attacks. Most combat can be avoided, and you can kill most opponents with a single maxed-out 4-hit claw combo. Ground slam is also a devastating attack. It's much less sophisticated than [b]Hollow Knight[/b] and doesn't have the same scale or depth, but plays almost as well. It's not as fast-paced or streamlined as [b]Ori[/b], but you get an actual forward dash pretty early on, so just hang in there until you do. It's not nearly as relentless as [b]Ender Lilies[/b], because there is no difficulty scaling as the story progresses. Parrying is trivial and effective, just keep in mind that the spark flashes to indicate that you [b]can[/b] parry this particular attack, not the exact moment [b]when[/b] to parry. You lose nothing on death, and save/respawn points are frequent enough. What I especially like as an adult man with responsibilities is how few reaction checks it throws at you. Bosses are more like puzzles, clearly telegraphing all attacks whole seconds in advance and being otherwise very forgiving. If you ever do get stuck, just remember what I said and take a closer look at the arena - you'll figure it out. Most boss battles are over in 3-5 or so tries even without high-end damage upgrades. Platforming is trivial and punishes you with -1 HP at worst. Healing is abundant with tonic upgrades. On the technical side of things, it runs fairly smoothly on a 3070 Ti in 4K resolution. Lots of microstuttering for no apparent reason, but you get used to it. Hope it gets addressed in future updates. Not a single crash or bug in 22 hours, I heard it was worse at launch. 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). You can also get 100% quest and item completion without a guide, which is commendable. To summarize: Venture to the Vile is a surprisingly solid entry in the genre. It does most things well enough and is enjoyable to 100%. Not for competitive players obsessed with combat depth, but not everything has to be. It does feel a little unpolished at times, but compensates for it with the unique ambience and art style. Definitely scratches that Hollow Knight itch for me. [b]A deserved 4/5.[/b] Eagerly looking forward to the next game from Cut to Bits with better writing, Platinum Games level of motion fluidity (one can dream) and more inventive uses of the systems introduced here, like the day/night cycle and the 2.5D level design. The potential is definitely there, now let's see it developed further.

This game is one of the best i have played and isn't getting as much attention as i think it truly deserves. Its story that i first thought may be a bit simple became more developed as time went on with plenty of encounters, quest lines and mini-bosses to keep me tided over while the story was being told. there was one side quest which needed a guide in order to complete but it was still fun to do with all the lore being give for each trial past. All in all i think this game is worth buying and sharing so i hope you'll consider giving it a try.