Venture to the Vile is amazing and is easily one of the best platformers of 2024. However… it’s as hard as nails and really not for the faint-hearted. Difficulty levels are as subjective as humour, so let’s give this a benchmark of sorts and compare it to the superb Salt and Sanctuary.
Details were quite scarce for this game, from indie studio Cut to Bits and publisher Aniplex. A quick clip posted on X to capture the gaze of press and content creators was all it took: it was stunning; however, what the hell is it, and why are they wearing those masks?!
Promoted as a Metroidvania, you play a young boy in the sleepy town of Rainybrook. He lives an understated existence, fortunately brought forward by his best friend Ella, and the two venture into the wild as any children would. Fast-forward some years, and the town has been polluted by the Vile. Our hero, now grown up, has an unfortunate accident and, upon awakening, finds that Ella is missing.
Our hero was quite the weakling, to begin with. However, through some sort of mutation with the Vile, he has survived an otherwise fatal predicament and sets out to locate Ella with some newfound powers. As can be surmised, he has this Prototype-like ability where he’ll develop new skills that open up new areas through progression, a.k.a. boss-killing.
Venture to the Vile is an open-world side-scroller where players can tackle the quests however they see fit. Naturally, going in one direction is more perilous than the other and is achieved through trial and error. Further locations are locked until the relevant skill is acquired. In Souls-like games, there’s always the option to stack your stats and go in confidently or use raw talent and speed through with little resistance. It’s wise to grind a little before exploring.
The main thread is rescuing Ella, but there are a heap of side quests to dive into, and they are optional, of course. Again, it’s recommended to lap it all up as you’ll be making a lot of discoveries in the game, as well as farming materials to invest in your skill tree. What’s refreshing about Venture to the Vile is how accommodating the core gameplay is, and for some time, I’d argue that it was even a Metroidvania in the first place.
Platforming is methodical, accurate, and enjoyable. As soon as you unlock the double jump, the experience is heightened, and… new heights can be achieved. Good, eh? Combat is also relatively straightforward with basic attacks and an absolute belter of a counter that is essential for survival. The timing for attacks and counters is spot-on, and if you’re struggling, it’s pretty easy to evade enemies, too.
So, it all sounds so easy. If you were to look at the bulk of the visuals, you’d be forgiven for thinking this was Animal Crossing meets Castlevania but on training wheels. Then, you meet the bosses, and the reasoning behind the comparison between Salt and Sanctuary becomes apparent. Without giving any spoilers (you can see in the promotional material anyway), the first boss was a doddle, but after that, the timing was everything, and I longed for a couple of YouTube videos that showed you how to beat some of them.
Though Venture to the Vile isn’t Steam Deck verified at the time of writing, it worked perfectly, and Valve’s rectangle had just the right weight to launch it across the room when dying for the umpteenth time. Do note that the game wouldn’t get marked down for being difficult, but at times, it’s ridiculous and seems impossible unless you invest in your skill tree. The vicious circle here is you need to beat certain enemies to unlock new abilities.
There are a couple of accessibility options that significantly increase your health, and while I admit to using that for an early boss, it didn’t help in the slightest. It was also mildly humiliating to see my health go from five hearts to something like twelve and still get denied, so I promptly returned to the original setting, tail firmly between my legs.
Despite reservations about recommending this ‘cute’ platformer to the more casual gamer for obvious reasons, Venture to the Vile is one of the better games I’ve played in 2024 – already a cracking year for indie games, and this is no exception. Venture to the Vile is a great title, which is both satisfying and equally challenging.
