Vault of the Void

Great game. Addicting.

Very well made deckbuilder, interesting mechanics. One of the few recent deck builders that has actually engaged me past the initial few wins.

A well balanced and fun deck builder. There is a lot to unlock and many viable strategies for each class. If you like the genre then you will love this one.

its good

Great entry in the deckbuilder genre. It's a bit crunchy when getting into it, but once you get used to some of the keywords and novel mechanics, it's well worth your time.

I played the demo and was impressed, but upon further play it seems that the game's replayability is not as good as I hoped.

The main issue is that the unique mechanic of the deck tends to be what you base your deck around. This is reducing the variability of deckbuilding, making it so that you're always favoring cards that synergize with your unique mechanic that you already know from the very beginning. As a result, the deckbuilding becomes too predictable and feels the same all the time.

The aspects of the game which most impressed me were some of the unique mechanics:
- One of the most prominent is the incoming damage mechanic, which is called Threat. Instead of taking damage instantly, you get an extra turn to react and block the damage. This made blocking feel more controllable, whereas with traditional mechanics you get screwed if you don't draw block cards on the exact turn the damage is incoming.
- Another mechanic is the reinforcement system, where enemies respawn until you kill enough of them. I feel it works decently well and makes the the player choose between killing the main enemy or trying to control the smaller enemies.
- Finally, this game locks your deck to 20 cards and incentivizes going through the deck repeatedly. This is due to your ability to 'purge' cards from your hand in return for energy, and also the ability to retain as many cards in your hand as you want between turns but at the cost of not being able to draw beyond 5 cards in your hand next turn. This means that each card retained is one less card purged, so in that sense retaining cards has an implicit energy cost.

The map progression system is also unique, where you move on a hexagonal grid and any path not chosen will disappear. You can also see the card rewards for any fight on the map and plan accordingly. I found it quite fun choosing an optimal path. There's a decent variety of map events as well and due to the pathing mechanics they're often mutually exclusive, which forces you to choose carefully.

In terms of gameplay balancing and scaling, I found it solid. The only thing I'd note is that rare artifacts in this game tend to be extremely powerful and it's very advantageous to acquire them compared to other options.

The production value of the game is good, no issues there.

Overall: decent game but the lack of replayability is a big hit against it. And I'm not sure how it can be fixed without a major overhaul.

I'm an avid fan of card games. I just adore the brilliance of Slay the Spire and love the tower defense like mechanics of Monster Train.

But lately Vault of the Void is stealing the show. Such good mechanics and customization of cards that just scratches the most itchy gameplay mechanics.

Great game, getting better each passing day.

Great game but the save system sucks. It only saves after a fight, so if you do any deck changes or non-fight rooms and then save, you lose everything you did.

Vault of the Void is a deck-building roguelite that innovates with its unique sideboard mechanic, allowing for dynamic strategy adjustments during play. The diverse character classes and Void Stones provide deep customization, ensuring each playthrough feels distinct. However, the game's steep learning curve can be daunting for new players, and the complex mechanics of certain characters. Despite these challenges, the game's rich content and replayability makes it stand out. :votv_enlightened:

If you feel like you need something with less RNG compared to slay the spire and a different flavor than monster train, this is your game!

The sideboarding mechanic is really clever and helps this game stand out in a very crowded field.

I am really enjoying this deck builder. It is challenging and different enough from Slay that this is definitely worth a try if you enjoy this genre, as it is among its best. Also, this game offers UI scaling, large fonts, and an auto zoom feature, which makes this great for those with accessibility needs (I do). This game also has cross-platform saving that is really well implemented and is solid,

Great game with a lot of depth and fun mechanics. All the characters feel very different, and there are many things to unlock. Huge game at a low price. Great visuals and sound.

I bought this on a whim and it turned out to be a hidden gem. The gameplay is interesting, it has a ton of optional modifiers to keep things interesting, and the dev team is pretty approachable: Once I posted on the subreddit suggesting that they add a "random modifiers" button, and the dev replied "cool idea!" and the next day it was live. All in all, excellent game.

A very good game like slay the spire but with lots of unique mechanics and does not feel like a clone extremely good gameplay loop I have spent upwards of 200 hours on just one charachter out of the 4 trying to master it if you enjoyed slay the spire or card games in general is a must buy.

I have played many cardbattlers and this is one of the most boring I played.

Besides, particularly for me, it causes overload of my eyesight with too many colors and details that amount to nothing but clutter. And not only that, its also a informational overload with lots of information and stats that in the end of the day also feels like clutter, you just ignore anything and goes for the big numbers and you will always (mostly) win.

I waited for 75% discount, but ended buying at 50% and I regret it... this game falls in the category of games that I wouldn't play even if was free... too bad I didn't perceive it early.

Only playable sedated with clonazepam.

I definitely feel like I got my moneys worth with this game.

This game has the most reading I've ever done in a roguelike-deckbuilder. There's often a lot going on with many unique mechanics and effects in play. I think the complexity is done very well. I regularly found myself having to sit and think about how a turn needs to play out, but I did not feel like that was suffocating the game play.

I like the way the different characters and deck styles play. There are plenty of card / item / crafting / etc choices to tune the decks how I want to play. but I still have that enjoyable feeling of hunting for what I need next to get the deck to pop off. There are plenty of out-of-combat events happening, and the choices I'm making feel like they matter.

If you're used to roguelike-deckbuilders, I wouldn't say this game necessarily brings a lot of unique things to the table to stand out. The game feels like a very well made standard but complex roguelike-deckbuilder, and that's what I was hunting for when I bought it.

This game is at the level of Slay the Spire, but plays differently. Indeed, it has less RNG and it is less frustating.

A good game, at first glance it seems a litlle bit too easy, but play it in impossible mode and you´ll have fun

All the classes/characters feels pretty much the same and there is a lot of keywords in the cards and it is annoying that you have to read a lot instead of just chilling while playing

It would be better if the devs approach was "easy to learn, hard to master" instead of "annoying to learn"

The game is not bad, but i don't feel like playing this after just 3 hours of gameplay

Vault is a pretty great rogue deckbuilder. It is deterministic - no random elements - which is interesting and makes it entirely about strategy. This is a game for experienced Slay the Spire players. The mechanics are designed to provide variety and complexity for advanced players at the expense of Easy to Learn. For Example the threat system is pretty unintuitive and weird. Also the class mechanics and card mechanics are complicated and obtuse in many areas. If you're willing to handle some complexity, its a great addition to the genre.

great game. similar to STS, but has enough of its own unique mechs that its also a solid taker for gold standard in this genre.

A fun and well crafted roguelike deckbuilder. Not the best I've played, but definitely quite good and I've beaten it now on several difficulties with all the classes. If you can get this on sale it's even more of a no-brainer.

Card games as a genre can best be described as simple and fun.
Thats the whole point, easy to pick up and understand then you can start to figure out beneficial interactions and powerful strategies.

Vault of the void just has way too much going on, too many keywords/interactions/systems all thrown at you from the start with zero pacing.

Its like a 6 year old trying to tell you a story, they just include anything they can dream up that sounds cool and more is always better.

If Slay the Spire is a 10/10
Vault of the Void is also a 10/10

More people should know about this game

good replay. fun for a bit

Really fun deck builder with a lot of great features with gameplay similar to Slay the Spire. Customize your deck, choose your path, fight various enemies. A few highlights
- Plan and highlight your route knowing enemies and possible rewards before hand
- Fun card mechanics such as purging a card to gain energy,
- The ability to add certain stats/abilities with void stones to individual cards as well as each card having an upgrade
- Variety of starting characters each with various decks and spells as well as the ability to get new spells,
- Strong user experience with a lot of quality of life features such as showing the damage/effects before playing a card, map legend, and an option for labeled keyboard controls so you can see the number of which card you're playing

Awesome Deckbuilder Game with TONS of cards and artifacts. All characters play very differently.

There is a lot here, and so far all of it plays really smoothly. And if you like unlocking new things after runs, ooh boy, modifiers/custom setups/cosmetics galore.

Way too many battle effects. After upgrading and socketing a card, it can have like 5+ effects, which then interact with 7+ other board effects when you play it. End up spending a ton of time re-reading all the cards and effects in play...

Other reviewers who have likened it to Slay the Spire and Monster Train are correct, but the major advantage those games had was their simplicity. They managed to keep text to a minimum while still providing a ton of possible strategizing. Vault of the Void doesn't do this at all. It feels a bit like throwing darts at a board when you play a card.

First of all, the game needs a lot of polish. The UI is sluggish and has a really alpha-build look and feel to it. And since the UI is where the gameplay matters, it matters a lot.

But the mean reason I can't recommend however is that it is too complex. This is from someone who has 500+ hours in StS with all characters on Ascension 20. Complexety from mastery is a thing, complex for complexity sake is another.

I would give it a thumbs up if the market wasn't so saturated from this genre. Slay the Spire being the reference obviously but even games like Monster Train, Roguebook, Tainted Grail are games inspired by StS but with a more unique touch and better execution than Vault of the Void.

If you have 500h+ in StS and you played the other 3 games mentionned then yes you might enjoy it a bit.

Great value for money! Different spin to most card based games, the energy system is fun when you get the hang of it.

This game is awesome. It's almost like if Slay the Spire and Ring on Pain had a kid (obviously also has very unique features). I somehow got an achievement with only 1.2% in my first run so idk what you guys are doing, maybe it was a new boss lol

Yeah, super fun game so far, can't wait to keep playing and I really liked the mechanic of unlocking things and characters as you go. Keeps it very engaging and the dev seems to keep adding stuff... so it's just a great game

Should be overwhelmingly positive so I'm mostly just reviewing to try to help it squeak above that 95% since it's so close

Incosistent. I bought a potion on level two and when I tried using it against the boss I didn't have it on me. Some items that are supposed to trigger don't actually give you the value.

If you like Slay the Spire and Monster Train then you'll like this. Just a little different than those.

I've always enjoyed deck builders but could never get fully into them like some people. The RNG always made it hard for me because I'd get an idea in my head of how I'd want to build out my deck, but I'd have to inevitably abandon that idea because I wouldn't get the cards I need or I'd get too many of other cards that took away from my deck. I recognize in most deck builders part of the skill and strategy is being able to roll with the punches and make an awesome deck out of what you are given, but I've always been more drawn to the idea of focusing in on a specific set of strategies, and tweaking them and running them into the ground until I decide to try something else.

Vault of the Void really hits that sweet spot for me. Some ways Vault of the Void reduces RNG

You have a fixed deck size of 20 (not counting affliction cards), which means you don't have to worry about when to purge cards from your deck, and trying to maintain an ideal deck size.

You can also see card rewards ahead of time so you can plan your route to work towards the deck you want. That's not to say the game can't and won't throw you curveballs in terms of the types of enemies you face, some you will be less prepared for than others. But so far it has been a very satisfying gameplay loop.

I really like the way the classes feel in the game, each of the 4 classes feels very distinct in the styles of play while still having a good bit of variety. Each class has 2 starter decks to pick from which can drastically change the kinds of deck you build, plus a third one that can be unlocked. As an example, the hidden (thief/assassin archetype that you start with) can pick between a blade focused deck, which focuses around hitting multiple times iwth a single attack, or a bleed based build.

This is the first time I've felt excited about trying to rise up the difficulty levels in a deck builder and I look forward to playing it more. Oh also my hours on here aren't totally reflective as I've been playing on my phone and computer. the game supports very seamless transitioning between phone and computer allowing you to pick up where you left off.

It's my first ever game in this genre, very enjoyable, easy to understand but difficult to successfully finish a run.
I already got well over my moneys worth. Free demo sold it to me,
Highly recommended for filthy casuals like myself

Best deckbuilder roguelike if you like Slay the Spire with tons of mechanics and keywords.

UX and tutorial is not very ideal, so I guess this is just for rather hardcore players, or you would be overwhelmed by all the mechanics.

Nice little roguelike deck builder. Nice to see developers using actual art instead of pixel graphics or 'stylized' mush. I think I liked Across the Obelisk better in that genre, but both games are good and worth playing. I have to say, there's isn't much innovation here and it's all very classic for the genre, but it's a new set of cards, bosses and monsters, so a new set of puzzles. There are excuses aplenty to replay if you need them, with 200+ achievements, various 'challenges', grindy class unlocking/mastery, etc. If you like the genre, it's technically solid, well put together and very playable, if a bit 'classic'.

11/10

Great game so far - reminds me of monster train more than anything - though there are lots of similarities with StS too! Good balance, and the intro (tutorial) and normal mode are relatively 'easy' but not so easy that you can always beat the boss on the first go. Different card types for different characters means you can try different strategies each time. Looking forward to playing it some more! It definitely scratches the deckbuilder/roguelite itch! :)

I like this game because Tempest believes in the Heart of the Cards.

But for actual review, some pros and cons:

Pros:
- Very satisfying card system, where destroying cards from hand grants energy, thus making Draw mechanics far more valuable
- Classes are all very unique and approach combat differently
- Interesting map traversal, you can take incredibly short or long paths by traversing both horizontally and vertically
- You can view all cards offered on a floor from the getgo, letting you make a rough gameplan of your deck
- Fights have mechanics you need to pay attention to, even when you're having a crazy run
- You can adjust your deck at any time, swapping cards in and out.
- Void stone system gives card customization options beyond mere upgrading.
- Great boss variety. Bosses sometimes have mechanics that lead you to adjust your whole deck.

Personal loves:
- Your deck size is set at 20 cards. Some may not enjoy this, but I love the extra thought you go through to make a good deck. You can still "thin to win" as in many deckbuilders, but you have to build your deck to expel itself, and having a thin deck usually means death in fights that flood your deck with useless cards
- It's pretty hard to become OP, which some may dislike. Even a crazy deck is one bad hand away from being mutilated in some of the final fights. Making a smart deck usually works out better than trying to make an "OP" one, especially as your difficulty level rises.

Cons:
- Not much music
- Common artifacts are generally too low impact
- Because you can choose to fight so many enemies every run, runs may become repetitive outside of boss fights

Personal gripes:
- Artstyle is a bit too "Disney" for the human chars
- Don't really like the "make your own difficulty" style of Impossible+, much prefer set increases in difficulty like StS Ascension and Astrea's Anomaly levels
- Some archetypes feel very feast or famine. Others may like that style, but in later difficulties those archetypes become quite frustrating to me
- Card upgrades feel inconsistent. Some starter cards and their upgrades are amazing, while others don't stand up.
- I wish there was a third act before the Void, but I also understand that runs can be made very, very long. I would love it as a run modifier someday though.

This review serves as a flex that i got a 0.4% achievement within refund policy. Amazing game reminiscent of slay the spire SHOUTOUT SLAY THE SPIRE

Its such BS this game isnt in "Overwhelmingly Positive" rn. I have played tons of other "StS Clones" but this game genuinely takes everything from the Roguelike Deckbuilding genre and makes it their own.

I have been playing off and on for years. The hours here are certainly not representative of my full time with this game. But i will say this new Nightmare update is absolutely incredible.

Saw I didnt leave a review years ago, so rectifying now.

If you want a very hard but very fair Roguelike Deckbuilder. This is your Go-To. This and Draft of Darkness both have amazing takes on the genre and are very worth your time.

Gameplay: 10/10
Visuals: Original/10
Music: Great
Worth your time?: 200% yes.

This game is really well made. Mechanics are easy to understand, hard to master, visuals are really amazing, combat phases are fun and fluid, while out of combat sequences really matter a lot. The game is updated often and new content is added.

I've played a lot of StS, Monstertrain and various other deckbuilders. While I haven't played this game a lot i can confidently say it's up there with the other ones.
I like that this game gives you a lot of options to optimize every little detail for every fight, but isn't so punishing (at least on the difficulty i'm at) that that is necesary to it's full extend.

All in all very solid deck builder, a lot of unique mechanics and a good amount of replay value

A great roguelike deckbuilder, it didn't hook me however. For me it feels a little too RNG dependant even on low impossible+ levels. The standard decks are for the most part very boring, you need synergy cards to sass them up otherwise the playing gets stale and you die. In most other deckbuilders it feels more doable even with low level cards to get by with the right strat or artifact. That is my only complaint however, it should be fun and the challenge coins are a great addition that I enjoyed a lot.

I found this more accessible and easier to understand than STS. Art style reminds me of spirit hunters infinite horde. Heard this was made by a solo dev? Thank you!