The developers mocked up Vambrace as a tabletop game before even starting on the codeVambrace: Cold Soul
A RAGTAG BAND OF RPG FIGHTERS TAKE ON LEGIONS OF ICE MONSTERS REBECCA STOW
PUBLISHER CHORUS WORLDWIDE GAMES / DEVELOPER DEVESPRESSO GAMES, HEADUP GAMES / RELEASE DATE OUT NOW / COST £20.99/$24.99
objectification and a bit more diversity
would have been welcome.Vambrace for impact
At the core of Vambrace is the turn-
based combat that many RPG fans will
have turned up for. As Lyric and her
team of fighters take to the dangerous
world of Icenaire, they discover
that the home they once knew has
transformed into a frozen wasteland,
cursed by the King Of Shades. As a
result, any surface-dwellers who failed
to find safety and refuge underground
have now been transformed into
murderous ghouls.
While moving through dungeons,
random encounters with monsters
and ghosts will kickstart battles
with up to eight combatants (four on
each side). Luckily, each member of
Lyric’s party is equipped with their
own set of skills and attacks. With
many fighters to pick from, Lyric has
an endless amount of options when it
comes to customising her party. The
pool of moves at the player’s disposal
includes options for healing, blocking
and physical attacks, so it’s critical toBeauty is only
skin-deep. That’s
the old adage, and
it’s as applicable to
videogames as it is
to anything else. A
game’s graphics can be a big part of
the experience, but they’re never the
only part of the package. So, while
Vambrace: Cold Soul has a reputation
for being a darn good-looking game,
how does it stack up beyond that?
The game begins as Evelia Lyric
awakens in a cavern far below the
frozen land of Icenaire. With the
mysterious Aetherbrace and her
father’s codex as companions, she
arrives in a town encircled by an
enchanted wall of ice known as the
Frostfence. Naturally, exotic outsider
Lyric soon becomes the centre of
attention and, desperate for supplies
and information about the world
above, the townspeople send Lyric
and a handful of brave fighters out on
a journey up to the surface.
Let’s start by talking about those
graphics, then. Vambrace really
does look gorgeous, with intricately
detailed illustrations making up
the 2D side-scrolling aspect of the
game. Every background and object is
expertly drawn, with beautiful lighting
effects and clever foreground work
helping to make the world stand out.
As for the characters themselves,
they are exquisite. Visually speaking,
the character design is right up
there with the very best the fantasy
videogame genre has to offer. The
only gripe would be that the female
characters are most definitely seen
through the male gaze, and a bit less
select a balanced group of allies to
accompany you on your expeditions.
Because battling takes up so much
of the gameplay, it’s a shame that
combat feels so bland. The fighters in
your team have no personality beyond
their looks, and they really only
act as meat shields to pad out the
battlefield. Combat is slow, and almost
every battle plays out the same way.
Fights do become a little trickier as
your Geistometer fills, and there is
permadeath should your allies fall, but
the excitement just isn’t there. On top
of this, a confusing item management
system interferes with the fun that
should come with exploring the world,
and a clunky tutorial at the outset
drowns the player with information –
most of which will be forgotten by the
time you actually need to use it.
That being said, there are positives.
Strong visuals and a decent story
mean that diehard RPG and fantasy
fans looking for a fix may well find
something to enjoy here. Qshort
cutWHAT IS IT?
A fantasy adventure
game with RPG and
roguelike elements.
WHAT’S IT LIKE?
Darkest Dungeon but
with an icy cool
colour palate.
WHO’S IT FOR?
Turn-based RPG fans
with an eye for
artistic detail.“Combat is slow,
and almost every
battle plays out
the same way”
OXM VERDICT
Stunning art
direction can’t
quite save
Vambrace from
RPG mediocrity.6
LEFT Side-
scrolling 2D
dungeons are
where you come
face to face
with The King
Of Shades’
ghostly army.More Xbox news at gamesradar.com/oxm THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 087REVIEW