Vambrace: Cold Soul Reviews

Vambrace: Cold Soul is ranked in the 19th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
9 / 10.0
May 29, 2019

Packing some serious challenge, Vambrace: Cold Soul grips you with atmosphere and gorgeous visuals, even as the combat isn't as deep as it could be.

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GameSkinny
Top Critic
May 21, 2019

If you don't mind being actively abused and tortured for hours on end, Vambrace can become extremely addicting for fans of either Darkest Dungeon or classic SNES RPGs.

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8.5 / 10.0
Sep 12, 2019

Be warned Vambrace: Cold Soul starts out challenging. If you realize what you're getting yourself into, and go in expecting that you'll die quite a bit early on, then your persistence will lead to a fun, visually beautiful and rewarding experience.

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8.5 / 10.0
Aug 28, 2019

If winter never came for you, then it's here now. Vambrace: Cold Soul does a fine job in its atmosphere and has the lore built around it that's believable and easy to get into. It's a harsh world and death could come easily. It's even more enjoyable thanks to the fantastic artwork and dozens of outfits to unlock. The turn-based battles aren't groundbreaking, but they're enough to present a challenge at the very least. What's impressive about Vambrace is its world. Every character has something new to say after every event and so much of it can be missed. Depending on your choices, you will get one of three different endings. The people you meet along the way play a huge role in what's to be seen. Even with its flaws, Vambrace: Cold Soul is a chilling ride that many players could warm up to.

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8 / 10.0
May 28, 2019

Overall, whether playing on a keyboard or with a controller from the couch, Vambrace: Cold Soul is an adventure worth having. While not being an RPG in the traditional leveling up sense, there's plenty here to enjoy and the experience itself while being dark and snowy is still a very pretty one to look at with its choice of color palette.

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May 26, 2019

Vambrace: Cold Soul is not a game for everyone: it can be harsh, cruel, and even unfair at times. Should players rise to the challenge, however, they will find a great blend of brutal gameplay and interesting storytelling.

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7.5 / 10.0
Aug 28, 2019

There are costumes to earn from sidequests and achievements to earn that unlock in-game art, but there's no new game plus to expedite the process. That said, there are a few times when you get to make key decisions that affect the story slightly and reward you with different costumes, so there is some incentive to return. Turn-based RPG enthusiasts and those who wanted more story out of Darkest Dungeon will find a lot to like here, but those who want a more streamlined or directed experience are given the cold shoulder.

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7.4 / 10.0
Sep 8, 2019

All in all, what Vambrace: Cold Soul tries to do, it does well. It’s a beautifully crafted game, both visually and through its lore-rich story. What it lacks is the challenge and depth that is so clearly prevalent in the other dungeon-crawling rogue-likes that it has heavily drawn its influences from. It’s a good game, but the fact that it is so heavily inspired by Darkest Dungeon but doesn’t fully embraces the mechanics or quality that made that game so great, is what stops Vambrace: Cold Soul from being a real heavy hitter of the rogue-like genre.

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PSX Brasil
Top Critic
72 / 100
Sep 24, 2019

Vambrace: Cold Soul is not a bad game. However, in addition to over-requested bugs and downfalls, the player must deal with a difficulty he may not be willing to. Even in the easiest way things are difficult, so think carefully before you buy it.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review

7.1 / 10.0
Aug 29, 2019

Certainly one of the most visually-attractive games I ran into at PAX East, Vambrace: Cold Soul made strong impressions with its looks, style, and obvious difficulty...

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7 / 10.0
May 27, 2019

Vambrace is an interesting game with a nice story but with a bad interface and some difficulty spikes, specially in the first few hours.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

May 27, 2019

Vambrace: Cold Soul will surely keep you entertained and engaged if you prefer roguelike games. Unfortunately, bland combat, interface and info issues, along with some save file problems can hamper your enjoyment.

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Gamefa
Top Critic
7 / 10.0
May 27, 2019

Vambrace Cold Soul is very much like Darkest Dungeon, but a lot simpler and less complicated. The visuals and art design are totally gorgeous and the story is dark and cold, but The gameplay has not so much depth or uniqueness to offer. The main audience of Vambrace Cold Soul would be the ones who enjoy turn-based combats and dungeon crawling vibes.

Review in Persian | Read full review

Aug 21, 2019

Vambrace: Cold Soul is certainly a not an easy game, but I feel like you are rewarded with a pretty good story for putting in the work. Exploring the dungeons and managing very limited resources is both challenging and fun. The multiple endings do encourage you to play through the game more than once, at around 10 hours a run. this makes it well worth the $24.99 price point. If you’re up to the challenge there is a lot to love here, but if you’re a more causal RPG gamer, you may want to pass on this one.

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67 / 100
Jun 4, 2019

Vambrace: Cold Soul is a great love letter to Darkest Dungeon.

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6.5 / 10.0
May 31, 2019

Vambrace is a successful evolution of the mechanics that made Darkest Dungeon such a hit, but despite its beautiful art style and interesting setting, the repetitive gameplay and lack of meaningful achievements make the experience for more tiresome than challenging.

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6.5 / 10.0
Sep 12, 2019

I liked Vambrace: Cold Soul, but it's certainly not for everyone. It requires more patience than many gamers can afford, and that's even among those who are already into roguelikes. If you can settle into its groove, however (and won't lose it when you're sucker-punched right out of that groove), there's some good, challenging fun to be had here.

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6 / 10
Nov 13, 2019

If the art style and graphic execution are superb, its soundtrack fits the environment perfectly and the plot is carefully crafted, the gameplay experience falls short of expectations and as an RPG, it feels like a rather banal effort. While certainly not a bad game, Vambrance: Cold Soul gives the impression that it could be much more but instead, it doesn't leave the territory of an average experience, without any gameplay elements that would make it stand out.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review

Sep 21, 2019

If you fit in Vambrace: Cold Soul's niche audience, you'll definitely have a fun time but overall, it's a tough game to widely recommend.

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5.5 / 10.0
Sep 1, 2019

Vambrace: Cold Soul lacks the kind of depth that more appealing RPG and perma-death titles offer. Regardless, Vambrace looks gorgeous and does offer that first step into the challenging world of perma-death games.

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