Vambrace: Cold Soul’s a Gorgeous Take on the Rogue-like Genre
Written by Jonathan Lee, December 1, 2019, 3:00 PM. Tweet to: @Writerscube
Welcome to the City of Icenaire
Developed bv Devespresso Games and published by Headup Games (a big thanks to them for giving me a chance to try this game!), Vambrace: Cold Soul is a strategic rogue-like type of game that may remind you of the likes of Darkest Dungeon, assorted JRPG games, and deep fantasy like The Elder Scrolls or Lord of the Rings. You play as Evelia Lyric, a kind but strong-willed young woman who initially sets out to learn more about her father and the strange piece of armor called the Aetherbrace. While she manages to enters the cursed city of Icenaire (thanks to the Aetherbrace!), she passes out in the cold and is scooped up by a patrol. She then awakens to find herself in a city beset from within and without. Welcome to Icenaire.
While she still is trying to learn more about her father in Icenaire, Lyric soon finds herself embroiled in the city’s other troubles. Along with the various cultures struggling to get along, there is also a group of evil, magical terrorists known as the Green Flame. It’s up to Lyric to save Icenaire and help the city overcome both its internalized fears and the external threat of the Green Flame.
Vambrace: Cold Soul’s Gameplay
The gameplay will easily remind players of games such as Darkest Dungeon and Star Traders: Frontier (particularly, the party-based combat). Usually, you’ll control a party of four, including Lyric. But there’s a nice bit of depth that goes into the combat mechanics. For one, you can reposition your team so that each character benefits the most in combat. Different party member roles mean different abilities and attack ranges. Personally, I enjoyed having a healer at the far back with Lyric while I had two heavy hitters in the front two positions. But I’ve seen other players with all sorts of team builds.
Devespresso Games has done an excellent job with providing a wide variety of party members to choose from. From healers to berserkers, from dragoons to fusiliers and scoundrels, there’s a huge number of combinations to try. Your strategy is further enhanced by the way you choose to develop Lyric’s abilities as she gains perk points.
Outside of combat, the game either takes the form of you exploring various parts of Icenaire along a 2D plane, or you’re traversing frozen, haunted sectors in a rogue-like setup. In-between sectors and combat, you can rest at campfires (a bit of Dark Souls?) where you can recover health and vigor. Vigor is what allows your team to venture forth to the next sector without freezing to death. Speaking of death… permadeath is a thing. Lose a team member, and you lose him/her for good. But I’ve found that sacrifices were necessary in a couple boss battles.
Deep Characterization… and Bonuses for the Curious
I was pleasantly surprised to see the amount of lore in which they’ve filled the world of Icenaire. Occasionally, you’ll run across scraps of codex pages that help fill out the world and its history. You can learn more about the characters and locations thanks to filling out your codex. This helps encourage exploration when you’re in certain areas. There are bonuses for players who are willing to go out of their way. Side quests can provide you with new costumes for Lyric and other helpful things to make your journey easier. You can also craft new and better gear, if you’re willing to collect ingredients and explore the crafting lists. Trust me, crafting is VERY worth it.
Final Thoughts on Vambrace: Cold Soul
Overall, Vambrace: Cold Soul is a wonderfully put-together game. The gameplay has some wonderful depth, the world lore is fleshed out, and the artwork is downright gorgeous. I had tried to play it once in its original (challenging) form and then played through it in its patched-up form. Initially, the game was quite punishing with both the permadeath combined with a heightened enemy difficulty. The design was intentional, so I can’t fault it for that. But after some feedback from other players, the game was patched to have both its original mode and a mode that tones the combat down to something more manageable for all. Not being a hardcore Souls gamer, I was one of the folks that enjoyed the toning down of the game difficulty. It allowed me to enjoy the story and tinker with the various levels of strategy more.
There’s even a New Game+, thanks to one of the patches, but I’ve yet to experience it. I can tell you though that I certainly will be giving this game another playthrough once I unlocked New Game+. If you’re looking for a rogue-like experience with a fun story and lots of lore to explore, I would highly recommend that you check out Vambrace: Cold Soul!
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