The Greedy Cave 2: Time Gate vs Vaporum: Lockdown
The Greedy Cave 2: Time Gate
The Greedy Cave 2: Time Gate is the highly-anticipated sequel to the roguelike dungeon crawler niche hit of the same name. The gameplay is pretty much similar to the latter - it can get rather grindy after a while. This also means turn-based combat supplemented by skills, gear that can be upgraded, and loot that you can only bring out of the dungeon if it has a grade that's gold or above.What's different about this game though is the fact that you can team up with other players and head into the dungeon together in real time! The game is also a lot more social since it has a guild feature which allows players-slash-adventurers to find reliable buddies to raid dungeons with. Although there isn't exactly a story per se in the original game, this time around, the game showcases a short yet well-described introduction which explains the presence of a so-called time gate which appeared in town one day.
The social features in The Greedy Cave 2: Time Gate is definitely a step in the right direction for the game franchise. However, the game is still in development and hence, many (other) aspects of the game aren't as nice as they should be right now. With feedback from the players and changes to the game, hopefully, this sequel will turn out to be as great as the original!
Vaporum: Lockdown
Vaporum: Lockdown is a first-person, dungeon crawler featuring old-school grid-based dungeon-crawling gameplay with real-time combat, fun Sokoban-like puzzles, cool steampunk-themed setting, and an intriguing mystery to uncover. In this game, you play as a scientist, Ellie, who’s trapped within a locked-down facility called the Arx Vaporum filled with murderous robots and mutated creatures. Will Ellie be able to escape the place in one piece? What will she discover as she makes her way through Arx Vaporum?In terms of gameplay, you’ll be moving Ellie, the protagonist of the story, one grid at a time. Turning to face a certain direction before you can say turn a corner also requires an extra tap of the keyboard. However, this also means that you can actually move like a crab in this game if you’re sure of the path you’re on. Like most dungeon crawlers, Vaporum: Lockdown comes with devious traps, enemies and puzzles. Traps in this game can be rather easily avoided as long as you got the timing down right.
The interesting part about this game is that combat plays out in real-time here, unlike any other old-school dungeon crawlers we have experienced before. This means that it is entirely possible to loop a sequence of “move and attack” when facing something stationary so you can avoid getting hit at all. However, this also means that more mobile enemies can be trickier to slay – it all boils down to timing really.
There are also fun Sokoban-like puzzles in this game. Most of them involve having you to move crates around to fill holes in the ground, block danger from the path you want to take, or even to serve as paperweights on metal pressure plates. For hardcore treasure seekers, the game even has several hidden compartments that an inquisitive explorer might be able to find, each of these alcoves usually come with some nice rewards. There is a sufficient variety of loot, and you can get better gear as you progress.
Being a prequel of the highly-successful Vaporum, Vaporum: Lockdown definitely does the original game, and the Vaporum universe as a while, proud. Besides the few new features here and there, the gameplay is generally similar to the original title and hence, would be instantly familiar to fans of Vaporum. The storytelling here is great as well, offering so much more lore than before, and of course, the fantastic atmosphere here will pull you right into the fumium-obsessed world that Ellie Teller lives in.