Vaporum Reviews
Imperfect controls and other minor annoyances aside, Vaporum is a very enjoyable dungeon-crawler. Its insistence on tile-based movement results in battles that are decided by a rather peculiar dance.
In the end, Vaporum was a welcome return to a world I had long been away from. Vaporum's role-playing and survival experience combine well with Duncan Crawler's style, and this game chains you to the end.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Vaporum is a classic and quality dungeon crawler that, although it achieves a fair balance between exploration, combat and puzzles, suffers from a difficulty typical of the genre that is not suitable for all audiences. The plot is interesting enough to invite you to move forward, and the setting is quite accomplished and inspired, but the size of the inventory, and the nature of some puzzles tarnish the end result. The Nintendo Switch version has also suffered significant technical cuts and the font is too small in its portable mode, perhaps it is not the ideal platform for this game.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
All in all, most of the issues addressed above happened in the second half of the game. Vaporum almost literally felt like it lost steam the farther I progressed. Which is, personally, the most disappointing aspect. The beginning and most of the mid-section was where I had an actual wonderful time, where the later half continually soured my perception. There was definitely heart put into the project, which only serves to disappoint me even further. The game is priced at $19.99 on both Steam and Humble Bundle, whereas it’s priced at $24.99 on Switch, PS4, and Xbox One. I am not sure why there are two different price sets, but even at $19.99 I recommend for the game to go on sale before purchasing. I appreciate Fatbot Games’ attempt, especially at the beginning, but I can’t in good faith ignore the second half of the game.
Vaporum is, in its beginnings, a harsh, hard and implacable game, but once we move through its corridors and levels and approach its entrails, the reward for being constant and learning from our mistakes is enormous. The entrance barrier of this game is great, but it is definitely worth overcoming it for the many hours of fun and challenges that await us. If you were expecting a dungeon crawler in which to lose you for hours, with an excellent atmosphere, a character customization system and deep skills, some excellent puzzles and a story that is followed with interest, Vaporum is a safe bet that you should not miss .
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Vaporum is a beautiful experience! surely you have to condone some problems in the game to enjoy it completely, but we don't see these kind of games every day, and that's what exactly makse it worth a try.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Vaporum is a "Steampunk Dungeon Crawler" with a hidden mystery lying underneath the strange laboratory of mechanical creatures out to destroy you. I recommend this game to anyone looking to play a game with collecting, puzzle solving, and combat.
Vaporum is slightly undermined by its weaker console port, but just very slightly. Even on consoles, it still offers a solid dungeon crawling experience.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Steampunk, action rpg and dungeon crawler all in one. Need I say more? Give it a try already!
Vaporum is a steampunk take on classic dungeon crawler genre. It is similar to Legend of Grimrock in many aspects, but features slightly worse motivation for progress and brand new set of enemies.
Review in Polish | Read full review
FatBot Games’ Vaporum is still, to quote myself, a Dungeon Crawling experience that fans will find plenty to love with the mix of the old schooled and new ideas alike. With solid gameplay mechanics and good shreds of information to keep you guessing as to what’s happened, the dive back into this tower was made even better with the fact that you can take it on the go with the Switch’s portability!
On the narrative end, Vaporum is more than engaging enough. Surprisingly well-performed audio logs litter the halls, telling the story of our clockwork tower. On the visual side, the halls are dimly lit and filled with clunking robots and steam spouting pipes. Nothing revolutionary, but it's a pretty good steampunk fantasy world.
Overall, Vaporum is a wonderful homage to an age when games weren’t all Fortnite and memes.
You’ll start out in the game entering a towering mechanical construct, not quite sure what’s going on...
Vaporum is a throwback to an old-school genre, but it doesn't bring about a renaissance for the grid-based dungeon crawler on console.
If you’re a steampunk aficionado then Vaporum will doubtless hold some appeal for you; it’s smartly presented and tells a tantalisingly haunting tale of man’s folly. But for those who aren’t as taken with steam power, Vaporum is a rather average dungeon crawler.
If Vaporum was more optimized for consoles then it would have been a must-play dungeon crawler.
The most impressive aspect of the game goes beyond its effective console port. The game is “small” in the indie sense, not made by hundreds but by a core team of four developers. Nevertheless, the game's graphical presentation, attention to detail, and handcrafted design are all so instantly appealing that plenty of AAA gamers who give it a go will surely find themselves hooked. Also, definitely tell that friend who likes BioShock that another kick of spooky, clanking, clockwork mystery is available to jump into.
A solid outing by Fatbot Games for an oft-overlooked genre, Vaporum is one I can recommend, but not without caveats. If you weren't a fan of the genre before, this is unlikely to make you a believer. If you enjoy real-time pause-based systems or are simply looking to approach something new with an open mind, however, it might be worth giving Vaporum a chance.