Vellum Review Summary

A fun, challenging co-op roguelike with beautiful art and strong build variety, though visual clutter, repetition, and connection issues can hinder the experience.

Great roguelike experience: Fans of the roguelike genre highly recommend it, calling it one of the best and interesting takes on the formula. It stands out within the genre.

Fun with friends: Playing with friends is frequently praised as a highlight, making the game much more enjoyable in co-op. Multiple reviewers note it is especially fun when shared with others.

Enjoyable solo and co-op: The game works well both solo and in multiplayer, offering flexibility for different play preferences. Many find solo play plenty fun, while co-op adds extra enjoyment.

Fun challenging gameplay: The core gameplay is described as fun, engaging, and addictive, with a good balance of challenge without being too difficult. It keeps players hooked.

Beautiful art style: Reviewers consistently praise the distinct, polished visual design and attention to detail. The aesthetics are a standout feature for many players.

Visual clutter obscures gameplay: Numerous complaints about visual clutter making it hard to see enemies, hazards, and mechanics, leading to unfair deaths. Effects, projectiles, and warning zones are often difficult to distinguish.

Repetitive and boring gameplay: Feedback frequently mentions that the game becomes repetitive and boring after a short time. Combat loops, missions, and overall gameplay feel samey and lack depth.

Connection and multiplayer issues: Players experience frequent disconnects, crashes, and matchmaking failures in multiplayer. Rejoining after a disconnect often causes lost progress or broken game states.

Lack of build depth and variety: Many players find build options limited, with only a few viable playstyles and spells feeling samey. Upgrades often reinforce the same strategies rather than enabling diverse builds.

Frustrating raid design: Raids are criticized for overwhelming visual noise, harsh mechanics, and poor explanation. Bosses have gimmicks that are not intuitive, and rewards are often underwhelming.

Co-op multiplayer support: The game supports cooperative and multiplayer sessions, allowing play with friends. It can accommodate up to 4 players and is considered best experienced in co-op.

Roguelike gameplay structure: The game is a roguelike or roguelite with runs, permanent progression, and build variety. It features a stage-based action roguelike loop.

Boss and raid encounters: The game features bosses and raids with unique mechanics, weaknesses, and strategies. Raids can be played solo or in co-op.

Build variety and loadouts: The game offers build diversity, loadout customization, and perk variety. Players can select a 4-part loadout and choose from seven ink classes with upgrades.

Magic and ink system: The game includes magic-based abilities, spells, and an ink mechanic. Players choose magical weapons and inks that affect gameplay.

Performance issues widespread: Many players report poor performance, frame rate drops, and optimization problems. Specific cases include late-game combat and endless mode causing severe lag.

Crashes and freezes: The game crashes randomly or when using Steam overlay, and freezes during tutorial boot-up.

High system resource usage: Performance demands cause high GPU usage and temperatures, with unoptimized code making the PC work hard.

Connection instability reported: Players experience connection issues and intermittent connectivity, suggesting network problems affecting gameplay.

Frame drops in hit detection: Frame drops occur when many hit detections happen, especially at endgame, likely due to engine or renderer issues.

Strong overall recommendation: A large number of reviews give the game a strong general recommendation, with phrases like 'highly recommended' and 'cannot recommend enough'. This reflects broad satisfaction across different player types.

Best played with friends: Many reviewers highlight that the game shines in co-op, calling it a great social experience and better with friends than solo. Some even say it is not ideal for solo play.

Great for roguelike fans: Players who enjoy roguelikes or roguelites are very likely to appreciate this game, with many recommending it specifically to that audience. Comparisons to Risk of Rain 2, Gunfire Reborn, and similar titles are common.

Worth the price: Reviewers frequently state that the game is worth its price, especially at full price or on sale. The low entry cost and amount of content are cited as reasons for good value.

Negative or mixed reviews: A minority of reviewers do not recommend the game, citing issues such as crashes, chapter transitions, or personal preference. Some mention refunding the game.

Community fair range: $15.00 - $20.00.

Game completion: 20.0h.

Session length: 8.0h.

Endgame: 20.0h.

Vellum is reported as fun almost immediately, especially in co-op, with addictive combat and progression; a recurring caveat is that some players find it repetitive or less rewarding after the early hours.

Friction: The tutorial is a joke outrageous trying to learn this game; After 3 hours of game play, the game is forcing me to play the tutorial again.; The two biggest problems are lack of in-game chat, and no multiplayer lobby.; servers have no players on them so I have not been able to quick match with anyone in over an hour.; very little risk... makes it not as interesting especially in the first few hours of play; solo doesn’t give you that luxury, so you just keep restarting until you finally get something reasonable..

Unlock drivers: There's fun synergies to be had with different inks when you play co-op...; The powerups you get each run feel really impactful...; The meta progression has a unique spin on it... you have to choose between one of three to use at a given time...; multiplayer boss raids that remind me of destiny 2 learning how to complete; progression is tied to making it harder yourself in a curse level system; Combat is so fun when you make a combination that just clicks..

Co-op Social Raider: Plays in parties, coordinates roles and shared decisions, and seeks multiplayer raids. Motivation: Shared chaotic fun, team synergies, and raid-style co-op boss battles. Stance: buy.

Solo Completionist: Runs solo, rerolls for viable starts, and pushes hard/raid content to completion. Motivation: To complete all content and beat hard raids solo. Stance: buy.

Buildcrafting Theorycrafter: Experiments with inks, spells, signatures, and meta upgrades to create varied builds. Motivation: To discover and optimize deep build synergies and playstyle customization. Stance: buy.

Frequent Risk of Rain 2 comparisons: Many reviewers compare the game to Risk of Rain 2, noting similarities in content density, chaos, and the 'one more loop' feel. Some consider it better, while others recommend Risk of Rain 2 over it.

Indie early access title: The game is an indie title in early access, developed by Alvios Games. Some reviewers note it is not yet out of early access.

Active developer updates: Developers are actively updating the game, adding new free content. Reviewers hope these updates continue.

Good value for price: Reviewers consider the game content-rich for its low price, offering a solid amount of content for the cost.

No microtransactions: Reviewers highlight that the game has no microtransactions, with progression based on gameplay unlocks and no paid cosmetics or furniture.