Vagante Review (Xbox Series S)

by Jim Smale · Published February 3, 2022 · Updated February 7, 2022

Our Vagante review takes on this action-packed platformer that features permanent death and procedurally generated levels. Play cooperatively with friends both locally and online, or adventure solo in this challenging roguelike-inspired game.

Vagante Review Pros:

Decent pixel art graphics.
222.7MB download size.
1000 Gamerscore.
Online and offline modes.
Graphic settings are mini map scale slider, overscale slider, gamma correction, and zoom slider.
Three starting classes – Rogue, Knight, and Mage.
Opening tutorial section.
Action-platformer gameplay.
When you die you can sacrifice all your items to earn new backgrounds that affect stats.
Death counter along with how you died.
Each character class has four avatars.
Has a Spelunky kinda feel.
Levels randomizer every run.
You get one life.
Spikes are instadeath but you can walk past them unharmed.
Every run is timed.
Big boss battles.
Loot in chests, boxes, and enemies.
Simple to use inventory system with shortcut buttons.
Items may have to be identified.
Stats for weapons and gear is shown in the hover text pop-up.
Possible to steal from the shop.
Read spell books to learn new spells.
Hidden rooms and routes with Breakable walls.
Bonfires allow you to level up and heal.
Shops can be found in dungeons.
Gold drop from enemies.
Walk button to help abseil down edges.
You lose everything when you die.
Save and quit at the book stand.
Rescue and carry prisoners out of the level.
The environment can kill the enemy.
You can jump on enemies, it doesn’t kill them but then it doesn’t kill you.
Level up and spend upgrade points.
The save and quit option allows you to have many saves with many runs on the go at once.
Crazy items from fire boots to terrain destroying wands, it’s all mental fun.
peculiarly addictive,

Vagante Review Cons:

Difficult, from combat to how hard enemies hit.
Takes a long time to get going.
The tutorial is alright but less than ideal.
Bad luck rolls can ruin it before it starts.
Hard to see everything enemies and Breakable items.
Pain in the ass that you have to pick up loot with a button press.
So many cheap deaths from blocks falling out of nowhere and instantly killing you to enemies hidden on the floor.
The game doesn’t do a good job of recognizing inputs when falling so for example it would recognize grabbing a ladder when falling.
Some of the shrines or items are not explained as to why you cannot do anything to yourself.
Classes just feel a bit pointless as anyone can cast magic etc, classes at least early on are just what you want to start with.

Vagante:

Official website.

Developer: nukenine

Publisher: nukenine

Store Links –

Xbox

8/10
Graphics - 8/10
7/10
Sound - 7/10
7/10
Accessibility - 7/10
8/10
Length - 8/10
8/10
Fun Factor - 8/10

7.6/10

Summary

Vagante is a game that is very akin to Spelunky. You pick from the 3 classes and take off into randomized dungeons, loot, and fight your way through in a one-life roguelike fashion. It plays really well with plenty of loot, loads of secrets, and whilst the combat is very difficult and fiddly it does eventually feel natural but also with so many weapons to find, it gets easier. I hate the music and that is all I hate about it. Boss fights can happen whenever the game decides, you get to heal and rank up between floors and it’s a solid loop of carnage. I love the many items and loot you can find, it’s almost Terraria like in its random stats distribution to random elements of gear. I mean I got a wand that fully destroys the level terrain! Or boots that shoot fireballs every time I jump! It’s that sort of stuff that kept me coming back, all your gear gets sacrificed upon death and it goes towards u locking new state-changing backgrounds for the characters. The biggest problem and one that ultimately finished me off was the way the game could instantly kill you with cheap moves. Boulders can fall from the ceiling at any time without warning and instantly kill you, spikes kill instantly and fall damage is insane especially as the game doesn’t seem to understand my button presses to hold a ledge or ladder as I fall. It’s a sad end to a game that had so much fun and replayability, but a cheap death really takes the momentum out of its sails, and yeah it might not happen all the time but it happens enough to bug the fuck out of me. Vagante starts strong but gets cheap in ways that are detrimental to progress and enjoyment. I say that yet here I am still plowing more hours in daily. Vagnate it will break you but it will make you…Or something.