Venture with Vile clicked with me when I first switched classes to solve puzzles. I’m trying to reach for a lever to open a deeper entry door, but there’s no lever in the area I haven’t pressed, and none that I’ve opened. Then I remembered that one of them extended a bridge to an area in the background. So I go back to the bridge, switch to the layer in the background, make my way to the lever and bingo: an open door. I like it when a plan goes together.
Venture to Vile is a 2D Metroidvania with a twist. It’s set in a 3D world and you can switch between the foreground and background areas as long as you find a path that leads you there. See something cool? You might be able to get there. The developers of Studio Cut to Bits wanted to emphasize exploration and a sense of wonder in Venture to the Vile, and based on my time with it, I think they succeeded.
Part of Venture to the Vile’s appeal is the world. Venture to the Vile takes place in and around the town of Rainybrook, where a mysterious substance called The Vile is spoiling everything, turning the inhabitants of an otherwise colorful and captivating world into terrifying monsters. Rainybrook is inspired by the Victorian era, and you can see that in the town’s architecture itself and the masks the characters wear. Speaking of characters, the cast of Venture to the Vile has a wide range of personalities, from Dr. Crow who wants to dissect you, to the friendly butcher in town, to two shady guys who really don’t want to. you listen to their conversation. Rainybrook is the core of Venture to the Vile: other characters will give you quests, and you’ll be able to visit the town’s many shops to upgrade abilities you gain by… ahem, venturing. into a lowly place.
“
Venture to the Vile also has dynamic weather and day/night cycles and it’s not just for show. The weather and time of day will change the locations of the characters, what types of monsters live in which environments, the quests you can receive and complete, the story you will experience, and the upgrades you will receive. will be find.
Of course, that’s where the game really comes in. Venture with Vile’s unnamed, deer-masked hero searching for his friend Ella, who disappeared in Vile. Going into Vile is dangerous; it damages everything it touches: plants, animals, people, you can name it. However, our deer-masked hero has a few tools at his disposal to fight back. He can strike enemies with a retractable blade from his arm, parry enemy attacks with telegrams, and jump twice. I arrived early so my abilities weren’t as strong as later, but I felt good and suited the environment I was exploring. You can save up at camps to replenish healing items, but it also helps revive defeated enemies, making for interesting risk-reward decisions if you have to come back. Of course, you’ll have to if you want to see it all. Venture into Vile’s dynamic weather and unfolding day/night cycle. I like Venture to the Vile best as it requires me to do a little bit of everything: switch between different levels of the world to solve puzzles, fight off spoiled Vile monsters, and combine background abilities my background with environmental plugins like ziplines.
In fact, I was so engrossed in it that I didn’t realize I had entered a boss battle against the world’s most ferocious grasshopper until it started. Like the rest of Venture to the Vile, the fight is a mix of platforming and combat. I spent most of the battle dodging the grasshopper, which attacked from various angles, spawning Vile on pedestals to limit my movement and performing an effective attack that forced me must dodge, only hitting it when it stops to let off steam then a series of attacks. The fight wasn’t complicated, but it was enough to keep me on tiptoe and I barely won. My reward is a surfing skill.
You see, killing enemies with the Vile bonus currency can be used in Rainybrook, but killing bosses like locusts also allows the protagonist to absorb their abilities. Absorbing Vile means becoming more and more like the monsters you’re fighting, adding an extra twist to the story. I was excited to give it a try myself, but the playable part of the demo ended there.
“
However, shortly after that, I got to see what Venture to the Vile looked like thanks to the launch of Studio Cut to Bits. In it, our deer-masked hero is exploring a windmill ravaged by Vile. In addition to the dash I’ve unlocked, which can be used in the air as well as on the ground, he also has the time-honored Metroidvania wall-jumping ability and a tentacle arm that allows him to leap forward. nearby grappling points. The windmill has more layers than the environment I’ve seen before and is much more vertical. Overcoming it means using those abilities and controlling the machinery inside the windmill by riding a conveyor belt, hitchhiking on grapple points, and freeing wooden gears from the Vile while navigating. the obstacles in the environment and fight with vile infected spiders and rats.
The segment ends with a multi-stage boss battle against a giant tentacle eye. It’s a complicated fight, with the player having to deal with eye attacks in addition to stage hazards, a moving carousel that can change direction, and grappling points with ropes. . I can’t wait to play it for myself.
Honestly, that last sentence sums up how I feel about what I’ve played and seen in Venture to the Vile. Studio Cut to Bits is developing a truly unique, layered Metroidvania with beautiful art and a fascinating world, and I can’t wait to see more of what awaits us – and what the protagonist wears. what our deer mask might turn into – in the future.
Will Borger is a Trolley-nominated fiction writer and a freelancer on IGN. His work has also appeared at TechRadar, GameSkinny, DigitallyDownloaded.net and Into the Spine. He specializes in fighting games, action games, strategy games, and first-person shooters. You can chat with him on Twitter @bywillborger.
