Vagante Review Summary

Exceptional co-op multiplayer and replay value pair with fair challenge, but extreme difficulty, maddening spike trap deaths, and clunky keyboard controls frustrate.

Outstanding co-op and multiplayer: The co-op modes, including couch and online play for up to four players, are frequently highlighted as amazing and seamless. Multiplayer stability and the enhanced fun of playing with friends are repeatedly mentioned as major strengths.

Exceptional replay value: Many reviewers note the game's nearly limitless replayability, driven by its depth, randomness, and unlockable content. This keeps the experience fresh and encourages repeated playthroughs.

Excellent core gameplay experience: Reviewers consistently praise the game as highly enjoyable, rewarding, and fun, with a good balance of challenge and depth. The smooth and beautiful presentation contributes to an overall positive experience.

Unique and diverse classes: The game features multiple distinct classes, each with unique skill trees, playstyles, and progression paths. This variety is highly appreciated and adds significant depth to gameplay.

Challenging yet fair difficulty: Reviewers appreciate the game's hard but rewarding difficulty, noting that it feels fair and satisfying. The steep learning curve is seen as a positive feature that enhances the sense of achievement.

Spike traps cause frustrating deaths: Many players report dying repeatedly to spike traps, often instantly, even with high health or end-game gear. These deaths are seen as unfair and break the roguelike flow, leading to loss of progress and enjoyment.

Game is extremely difficult: A large number of reviews describe the game as brutally hard, with steep learning curves, harsh punishments, and frequent deaths, making it unapproachable for casual players. Some compare it unfavorably to other hard games like Spelunky, Elden Ring, and Hollow Knight.

Keyboard controls are clunky: Many players find the keyboard controls awkward, unintuitive, and prone to failure at critical moments, making the game unnecessarily difficult. Some recommend using a controller, but even that has issues, such as poor support and no auto-detection.

Instant-death traps are unfair: Many players complain about instant-death traps that deal 999 damage, even in late game, making health and equipment irrelevant. These traps undermine the roguelike progression and lead to rage-quitting, especially when they occur due to unseen hazards.

Bosses are too strong: Boss encounters are often seen as unfair, with high damage, quick attacks, and unclear tells, leading to cheap deaths on first encounters. Some bosses are especially disliked, and their difficulty spikes sharply after the early areas.

Roguelike platformer with RPG elements: The game is consistently described as a roguelike platformer similar to Spelunky, combining platforming with RPG elements. This genre blend is the core identity of the game.

Deadly traps cause instant death: The game features various lethal traps, such as spike traps and falling boulders, that can instantly kill the player. These environmental hazards are a major source of challenge and frustration.

Punishing difficulty and permadeath: The game is known for its high difficulty, with permadeath and frequent deaths from traps or enemies. It is not forgiving to casual players and requires skill and patience.

Randomized levels and items: The game uses procedural generation for levels and randomizes items, equipment stats, and consumables. This roguelike element encourages replayability but also adds unpredictability.

Supports multiplayer and co-op: The game offers cooperative multiplayer, including local couch co-op for up to four players and online multiplayer options. Co-op is a frequently mentioned feature, indicating its importance to players.

Rendering issue on Windows 11: Users report rendering problems when running the game on Windows 11, which may affect visual quality or performance. This is a specific technical concern that could impact a subset of players.

Game runs smoothly on weak PC: The game performs well even on low-end hardware, indicating good optimization. This is a positive aspect that broadens accessibility for players with modest systems.

Recommended for roguelike fans: Many reviewers explicitly recommend this game to fans of roguelikes, roguelites, and roguelike platformers. They highlight its appeal to genre enthusiasts, including comparisons to titles like Spelunky and Risk of Rain.

Worth buying at full price: Several reviewers state the game is worth its full price, with some even saying it's worth double. They recommend purchasing it now rather than waiting for a sale, emphasizing its value and content.

Better with friends: Several reviewers recommend playing the game cooperatively with friends, noting it enhances the experience. Some also mention that online multiplayer is possible, though the player base may not be highly active.

Highly recommended overall: A significant number of reviewers give the game strong overall recommendations, calling it a hidden gem and a must-have for its genre. They emphasize that it should not be missed by interested players.

Not for casual players: Reviewers warn that the game is not suitable for casual players due to its harsh learning curve, frequent deaths, and high difficulty. They recommend it only for patient and mentally strong individuals who enjoy challenges.

Community fair range: $15.00 - $20.00.

Game completion: 150.0h.

Story completion: 200.0h.

Session length: 1.5h.

Endgame: 200.0h.

Vagante has a steep early learning curve that frustrates initially, but once players grasp the mechanics and strategies, the game becomes deeply rewarding and fun, especially with friends.

Friction: steep learning curve; repeated deaths in early areas; unclear mechanics without guidance; harsh punishment for errors; some unfinished concepts; interface issues.

Co-op Companion: Team-oriented, uses different classes to synergize, communicates and revives teammates, adapts to scaling difficulty with player count. Motivation: Shared adventures with friends, cooperative gameplay, and overcoming difficult challenges together. Stance: buy.

Hardcore Roguelite Veteran: Methodical and analytical, learns esoteric techniques, optimizes builds and perk choices, plays solo or with equally skilled partners, values the 'any run could be THE run' feeling. Motivation: Mastery of deep roguelike mechanics, permadeath challenge, high replayability, and the satisfaction of overcoming brutal difficulty without cheap tricks. Stance: buy.

Solo Challenger: Plays alone, carefully explores each level, learns enemy patterns, experiments with builds, uses salvage and item management, often methodical. Motivation: Personal challenge, exploration of secrets, solo achievement, and perfecting unique playstyles. Stance: buy.

Steam Deck: User feedback shows the game runs flawlessly on Steam Deck with strong controller support and no mention of launchers, Proton toggles, crashes, or readability issues. The only contentious topic is the control scheme, which some find unintuitive, but this is a subjective design choice rather than a technical limitation. Overall, the Steam Deck experience is reported as smooth and hassle-free.

Gameplay similar to Spelunky: Many reviews compare the game to Spelunky, with some noting it is even more brutal or has RPG elements like classes and leveling. The comparison highlights the platforming, maze-like stages, and action feel.

Early access status noted: The game is frequently described as being in early access, but many reviewers note it is already very complete. Some mention missing content or alpha/beta states.

Japanese localization mod exists: An unofficial Japanese localization mod is available on the Steam Workshop, making the game accessible to Japanese players. This is mentioned in several reviews.

Developer actively updates game: The developers are noted for continually updating the game, with some reviewers mentioning active development and engagement with the community.

Roguelike platformer genre: Reviews describe the game as a roguelike platformer, similar to titles like Magicite or Roguelands, emphasizing the genre and its mechanics.