Vendir: Plague of Lies Review Summary

Engaging gameplay and world: The game provides an engaging and enjoyable experience through its well-executed gameplay, interesting story, fun quests, and satisfying combat. Exploration is rewarding, and the world is well-realized, making the game a worthwhile experience overall.

Unique and enjoyable humor: The game features a unique and enjoyable sense of humor, ranging from dark and morally challenging decisions to lighthearted quests and witty dialogue. This humor is a strong point, enhancing the overall experience and setting it apart from other RPGs.

Satisfying character progression system: The game offers a satisfying character progression system with diverse customization options, allowing players to experiment with different builds and team compositions. The ability to respec and the availability of various classes contribute to the strategic depth and replayability of the game.

Appealing graphics and atmosphere: The game features high-quality graphics and a beautiful, old-fashioned art style that creates a great atmosphere. The overall visual effects are good, and the game's presentation is appealing, contributing to an immersive experience.

Meaningful crafting and equipment systems: The game incorporates crafting and equipment systems that add depth to character development without being overly complex. The variety of loot, weapons, and equipment affixes, along with well-executed crafting and cooking systems, enhance the overall gameplay experience.

Poor translation quality impacts experience: The game suffers from poor translation quality across multiple languages, including machine translation, leading to nonsensical dialogue, confusing quests, and difficulty understanding the plot. This significantly detracts from the player experience and makes the game difficult to enjoy. Many reviewers specifically mention 'machine translation' which indicates a lack of effort from the developers.

Weak, uninspired writing/story: The game's writing is weak, with poor grammar, nonsensical dialogue, and an over-reliance on unfunny humor. The plot is generic and unengaging, and choices made by the player have little impact on the story. This makes it difficult to become invested in the game world or characters.

Buggy, repetitive quest design: The game suffers from numerous bugs and crashes, and the quest design is repetitive and uninspired, often involving simple fetch or kill tasks. Quests also lack clear direction and level recommendations, leading to frustration and a lack of player agency. These issues contribute to an unpolished and unenjoyable experience.

Outdated, low-quality graphics: The game's graphics and character models appear outdated, resembling those from older games or mobile ports. This detracts from the overall visual appeal and immersion. Reviewers specifically mention that the game looks like a mobile port, which is not up to par with modern PC games.

Repetitive, tedious combat system: Combat becomes repetitive and tedious due to bullet sponge enemies, high dodge chances, and a lack of enemy variety. The combat system itself is simple and uninspired, with limited options and a slow pace. This makes encounters feel like a chore, especially in the late game.

Extensive character customization options: The game offers extensive character customization through diverse classes, skill trees, and equipment choices, allowing players to create versatile builds. Characters have action point pools for abilities, and a meter grants extra turns and refills action points.

Classic turn-based combat system: The game employs a traditional turn-based combat system, reminiscent of classic JRPGs, where players strategically select actions for their party members. A limit break mechanic restores mana, potentially shifting the battle's momentum.

Simple, but uninspired gameplay: The game is simple to understand with easy-to-learn mechanics and fast gameplay, but combat can lack excitement with repetitive skill animations.

Open world with visible waypoints: The game features overland exploration with points of interest, an open world, and a map that reveals itself as you explore, showing healing locations, shops, and quest waypoints.

Strategic class builds and tactics: Several reviews mention specific class builds and tactics, indicating a level of strategic depth and experimentation within the game's combat system. However, some builds may be ineffective or require specific setups.

Good performance on PC/Steam Deck: The game generally runs well on PC and Steam Deck, with the PC version specifically noted for improved loading times compared to mobile. Some players have reported smooth performance, even on lower-end hardware.

Quest/save location bugs: Players have reported issues with quest markers pointing to the wrong location and the game resuming in a different location than the last save. These bugs can disrupt the player's progress and create confusion.

Minor control/UI issues: The game's control scheme and UI have some minor issues, including problems with scaling and handling. One reviewer specifically mentioned using keyboard mapping with right-hand arrows for movement on PC.

Characters stuck in collisions: A small number of players have reported instances where characters get stuck inside object collisions. This is a relatively rare bug, but it can be frustrating when it occurs.

Includes lag/disconnection mitigation: The game includes a system to address lagging and disconnections. This suggests that the developers are aware of potential network issues and have taken steps to mitigate them.

Good value, especially on sale: Many reviewers find the game enjoyable and a good value, especially when purchased on sale. Some suggest trying the demo first. However, some reviewers disagree, citing flaws that make it not worth the full price.

Numerous flaws; not recommended: Several reviewers do not recommend the game due to numerous flaws, poor translation, and a lack of content. Some suggest waiting for updates or even requesting a refund, indicating significant issues with the game in its current state.

Appeals to old-school RPG fans: The game is recommended for fans of old-school and turn-based RPGs, especially those who enjoyed Vampire's Fall: Origins or Baldur's Gate. Some reviewers note similarities to Baldur's Gate in character builds.

Anticipation for future content: Reviewers express excitement for future content, DLCs, and releases from the studio. This indicates a positive reception and anticipation for the game's continued development.

Try demo before purchase: Reviewers suggest trying the demo before purchasing to assess potential issues. This indicates that there are known problems that may affect player enjoyment.

Atmospheric audio, no voice acting: The game prioritizes atmospheric sound design over voice acting, enhancing the overall sense of immersion. Meaningful lines of dialogue contribute to the game's lore and world-building, despite the absence of extensive voice work. The music is well-received and complements the game's atmosphere.

Mobile design influences UI/UX: The game's UI and design show its mobile origins, which may impact the experience on other platforms. This includes UI elements and potentially gameplay mechanics that are better suited for touchscreens.

Lack of post-release support: The developer has a history of abandoning games after their initial mobile release, with a lack of content updates and patches. This is a concern for players looking for long-term support and continued development.

Lineage system impacts gameplay: The game features a lineage system (Performer, Barbarian, Scholar, Rogue) that provides different stat bonuses and unique solutions to in-game situations. This adds replayability and allows players to approach challenges in different ways.

Machine translation used in-game: The game uses machine translation, which may result in awkward or inaccurate text. This can detract from the player's immersion and understanding of the story and dialogue.