Venture to the Vile

• DEVELOPER: Studio Cut to Bits
• PUBLISHER: Aniplex Inc.
• PLATFORMS: PC
• GENRE: Metroidvania / Platformer
• RELEASE DATE: May 22, 2024
• STARTING PRICE: 24.50€
• REVIEWED VERSION: PC

Venture to the Vile offers a fresh take on the Metroidvania genre. While it includes familiar mechanics such as unlocking new abilities, upgrading weapons, and fighting bosses, it stands out thanks to its beautifully dark world and intriguing story woven throughout the game. Its fantastic art style, music, and diverse environments enhance the experience, making it far more than a simple copy. However, three issues prevent it from being perfect and noticeably slow down the gameplay.

Our eerie tale unfolds in Rainybrook, a mysterious village where everyone wears animal masks. The game begins when our main character wakes up on his special day. He receives a new mask symbolising his growth, shaped like a young deer with small antlers. Afterwards, his mother tells him that his friend Ella, a girl with a goat mask, is looking for him, and he heads into the village to find her. Together, they’ve been setting traps for catching rats for Doctor Crow, who seems to be conducting experiments and encourages the villagers to use clean energy such as batteries or apples.

The story then jumps ahead to a time when the protagonists are older teenagers. They still check their traps, but something now chases them, leaving behind strange fur. As night falls and the growling grows louder, they hurry home. Ella safely crosses a rickety bridge, but when you try to cross, it collapses, dropping you into a dark, strangely glowing underground. Now it’s your task to find Ella and save the collapsing world.

Strengths

First, let’s talk about what sets this game apart from others. As mentioned, the game boasts incredible visuals and an atmosphere strongly reminiscent of Victorian England. It’s fascinating how the developers managed to blend a dark, eerie tone with a beautifully crafted world that fits seamlessly into its intriguing story.

The game map consists of 5–6 distinct areas, all connected through a central sewer-like network, and each area has unique biomes with recognisable landmarks. Moving through these regions is smooth, and the game encourages exploration by allowing you to traverse multiple layers, inviting you to discover more and more.

Second, unlike many Metroidvania games where characters suddenly appear or only show up after certain tasks, Venture to the Vile presents a world that genuinely feels alive. It’s inhabited by eccentric characters you can interact with, learn more about, and complete side quests for.

The game is large and full of content, including multiple extra activities such as item collecting and secret bosses. Your progress is marked by the bosses you defeat and the weapons you upgrade. The upgrade system is especially enjoyable since it involves using body parts from monsters, making each upgrade worthwhile and never a waste of resources.

Third, the movement mechanics are good, though not perfect. The platforming elements are well designed, offering a balance between challenge and satisfaction. The game also features various puzzles, from simple button presses to complex navigation sequences. As you progress, the difficulty increases just enough to keep things engaging and ensure steady improvement. Personally, I never found the game frustratingly difficult. Instead, it encourages you to use all the tools and abilities available to advance.

The combat system is either good or bad depending on how you look at it. Overall, it’s one of the game’s strengths since you can use a variety of abilities, and it’s highly welcoming to newcomers to the genre. Boss fights in particular are diverse, and each one requires you to learn its patterns and test your reflexes. For example, there’s a side boss on the way to the mines that looks like a half-cricket, half-monster hybrid.

It’s challenging due to its fast movements, but the more you fight it, the quicker you understand how to beat it. However, a significant downside is that bosses have multiple phases, so fights often feel unnecessarily long. Additionally, the lack of visible health bars for bosses makes things harder, leaving you constantly wondering, “When will I finally defeat it?”

Weaknesses

The game would greatly benefit from adding a proper map or fast-travel/teleportation options. Currently, there is no map or icons showing where you need to go, which leads to excessive wandering—far more than in most Metroidvania games. The only indication of your location is your character’s icon in a general region, and that’s it. The biggest frustration comes from constant backtracking without any precise understanding of your objectives.

On top of that, there are often many enemies along the way, forcing you to either fight them repeatedly or constantly dodge them. When you rest at a camp, all enemies respawn, leading to even more combat or avoidance. While fighting them is useful for earning money and upgrade materials, their sheer number makes constant engagement more frustrating than enjoyable.

The animation quality could be improved, as movement can feel clumsy at times. This is especially noticeable when near enemies, you may take damage even without apparent contact. This also affects platforming, where wall-jumping can feel inconsistent. Combat animations lack sharpness, and hitboxes are imprecise. The responsiveness of the controls isn’t optimal, which only amplifies these issues. I had issues using a controller, while PC controls felt slightly quicker, but the game still struggled to register certain movements.

Venture to the Vile features secrets tied to weather and time-of-day mechanics, although you cannot control them. At first, these elements seem clever, but their downsides quickly become apparent. For example, some plants grow only at night, earning you more in-game currency, while others bloom during the day.

However, enemies become stronger at night and take on different forms, which can be extremely frustrating. Regular enemies you fight during the day become three times stronger at night. Additionally, enemies lack health indicators, not necessarily full health bars, but even basic visual cues would help. After about six hits, you start to estimate when an enemy will die, but clearer feedback would significantly improve the experience.

Some side quests are confusing to complete. After a while, I gave up on them and focused mostly on the main missions. The hints provided are often insufficient, making it unclear what exactly you need to do. While I appreciate the completion percentage and the number of collected horseshoes being displayed, I wish side quests offered more rewarding incentives.

Another frustrating element is how slowly your character heals, leaving you vulnerable to enemy attacks during the process. Additionally, controlling the direction of your backstep or dodge is difficult. Despite its name, the backstep often sends you directly into enemies instead of away from them. The game would benefit from better optimisation overall. I experienced frame-rate drops, especially in biomes with rain effects that seemed to strain the game.

Final Thoughts – Is It Worth It?

Throughout my playthrough, I wondered whether this game is more suitable for newcomers or experienced players in the genre. It offers numerous accessibility settings that allow for more health and adjustable difficulty, creating a more relaxed experience. However, the game becomes increasingly challenging as you progress, which may not appeal to everyone due to occasional tough jumps and obstacles.

All in all, the game has a lot to offer. It’s good, not bad, but not perfect either. With so many Metroidvania titles available, Venture to the Vile stands out with its unique elements. However, the gameplay can be quite frustrating at times, which affects the overall experience. Still, for €24.50, I believe the game is absolutely worth it.

Review copy provided by the publisher