I've seen quite a few games out there that are well-known for having spent a very long time in development. We all probably remember how Duke Nukem Forever took about a decade to be released as a mediocre first-person shooter, but Steam's early access system can also be considered "in development." If we do go with my ruling that early access counts as development time, today's game has been in development for about four years. It's the side-scrolling platformer Vagante, by Nuke Nine!
The story of Vagante is one of the most basic stories in video game history. There's a cave. It's filled with monsters, but there's also treasure inside. You want the treasure. It's pretty similar how mountain climbers climb mountains "because it's there," except with a greater chance of being killed by wildlife or magical creatures. It's just you, the monsters, and the very nicely animated pixel art.
After choosing your character's class from a few different choices and going through a tutorial stage, you get the opportunity to play the game and die repeatedly in the caves. The game is divided into several different areas, each with three stages (plus side areas that take up one stage.) The ones I've seen so far are some very dark caves, an open forest area, and catacombs filled with zombies and giant crawling hands. Within each stage you have the classic mix of monsters and loot, along with other points of interest such as shrines to mysterious gods, large treasures that require the death of the stage's boss to open, and shopkeepers who forgot all three aspects of "location, location, location."
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| "Yes, I know you rarely get business down here, but you're selling me severed boar heads. That are both cursed. And one of them is described as 'moist.' Which is one of those words people hate." |
It may sound pretty simple overall, but this simple system belies the fact that this game can be pretty unforgiving. Spikes and falling blocks can instantly kill your adventurer. The equipment, potions, and scrolls you find are all unidentified, so you have to weigh the risk of using unknown items. The monsters come fast and strong, and healing is scarce. Heck, the very first world has the gimmick of being very dark, the kind of modifier which would get most people to restart an Isaac or Spelunky run if it showed up right off the bat. It overall gives the game the feeling of one of the old-school roguelikes where progress and experience comes slowly over many playthroughs. It's the kind of game made by someone who saw Spelunky and thought it seemed too easy.
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| Like Spelunky, the game takes the logical approach to spikes by making them fine to touch on the sides. |
I mentioned the pixel graphics before, and I'll mention them again: pixel graphics! The pixel graphics in Vagante work very well both in motion and in screenshots. I'm no expert in art (and I really wish I was,) but the muted colors and usage of dark colors really works well in the dark fantasy world of Vagante. It's kind of a shame that a good portion of the game can be really dark, making it hard to see the world. I understand the atmospheric nature of a dark cave is important, but I figure that if you make something that looks really nice, you'd want people to get a good look at it.
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| Your reward for making it through the dark caves: a beautiful forest background. |
As an early access project, Vagante spent a fairly large amount of time in preparation for the version 1.0 release. Now that it's in 1.0 (or 1.011, to be specific for my time so far,) I'm pleased to announce that it looks like a great game. It's definitely not for everyone, especially those who don't like games that pride themselves on being difficult, but those who play it will likely enjoy its attractive pixel graphics and mechanics that work together to provide a similar experience to Spelunky. I personally have yet to beat the third area, but I plan to keep on enjoying my time in Vagante.
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