Vosaria: Lair of the Forgotten Review – Have Some Faith

Do you ever wonder what it would be like if some of your favorite games from today had been released during the NES era? Skyrim could’ve easily looked a lot like The Oregon Trail. What about a 2D side scrolling BioShock? I can easily picture a top down stealth game for The Last of Us that would look a lot like the original Metal Gear (maybe this one is a stretch). If this was a thing, I believe Vosaria: Lair of the Forgotten could be the great granddaddy to the original Doom. I’m not sure why my brain made this connection, but from the get go I felt like I was back in middle school computer class, finding this gem tucked away in a hidden folder the teacher left for empty class periods (this is how I discovered Doom). Now if a 2D side scrolling version of the original FPS heavyweight doesn’t sound amazing to you, there is likely something chemically imbalanced about you.

This doesn’t see you traversing the depths of Hell battling demons for the sake of mankind; instead, it’s a story of smaller scale that places you in the boots of a Scout tasked with going down into the depths of an alien planet to seek out your missing comrades. This is conveyed through brief, mildly humorous conversations with a few fellow soldiers who have little to no faith in your abilities, asking you to get in and out before whatever got to your buddies makes you its next snack. Even though these comrades in arms have no faith in you, your character has the moxie to brave it through the long haul claiming he’s going to take down the threat and save the day solo.

The Scout clearly isn’t Doom-guy, so he can’t take much damage, but he does have one unique trick up his sleeve – he can jump really far (or flip gravity for himself much like VVVVVV), allowing him to attach to the ceiling in order to avoid the enemies and traps that await him in the underground labyrinth. This tool is a fun gimmick that has one major downfall: once you jump, you’re committed. With no way to cancel it, you’ll often find yourself taking a leap of faith or possibly floating upwards right into a waiting row of spikes. These pointy bringers of death are not only a frequent hazard, they will be be the result of your death more often than not.

Combat is a huge part of the game, as you’ll face off against some oddly designed creatures that resemble amoebas on steroids, bugs, or in some cases something that looks a lot like a cross between the crappy side of a poorly cut bagel and the female genitalia. Using varied forms of attacks and random patterns, they provide a challenging target to actually make contact with but pose little threat once you get their patterns down. Your biggest threat is going to be the pointy spikes o’ death I mentioned earlier, which take huge chunks of health each and every time you so much as stub your toe on one.

Survival will require pinpoint accuracy when it comes to simply maneuvering around the game world, seeking out the regularly placed power ups and upgrades, typically found around one of your fallen brothers in arms. It’s an experience that walks a thin line between overly difficult just because and actually being fun. The level designs feel a bit cheap at times, so much so I found myself making paper notes as I made my way through the levels, since checkpoints and maps are nonexistent, falling in line with games of consoles past. While you can continue as many times as you need, failure on the first level will result in you having to mash the face buttons to push through the same text boxes that greeted you at the onset of the story.

Much like the traversal, combat will require patience due to the limited ability of your starting weapon as well as the way the upgraded weapons are handled. Exploration will typically yield at least one new tool of death per level, but some are easily missed, and if you fail to manage your ammo, you’ll be left with the default gun. This is a slowly recharging blaster that does mild damage and offers two modes of fire, one being a more powerful charged shot and then the standard mash the button to shoot mode. Since the better weaponry requires ammo, I found myself falling back to the default weapon out of fear of something being around the corner that would need something stronger to vanquish. The recharge wait can be a matter of life and death when dealing with some of the more aggressive bagelva specimens.

While it’s not Doom by name, Vosaria: Lair of the Forgotten has a number of small touches that make it feel like it could’ve been a long lost game that evolved into id’s timeless classic. If you’re a fan of retro shooters and are tired of the same old platforming, this is a refreshing entry that is well worth the cost of admission.

8 out of 10

Pros

  • Unique Jump Mechanic
  • Upgrades Aplenty
  • Subtle Nods to Doom

Cons

  • The Inability to Cancel the Jump
  • Lack of Checkpoints
  • No Option to Skip the Opening Upon Death

Vosaria: Lair of the Forgotten was developed and published by Johnny Ostad. It is available on PC and X1. The game was provided to us for review on X1. If you’d like to see more of Vosaria: Lair of the Forgotten, check out the Steam page.

 

Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth playing, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great title that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate a game, please let us know.

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