We live in a fascinating era when it comes to games, in that so many developers are making experiences that are designed to pay tribute to the past. This isn’t just in the form of spiritual successors with similar mechanics as their inspirations, but even in the visual designs of said successors. There’s an entire subgenre of games meant to illicit the same visual design, control scheme, and atmosphere of titles from specific console generations, with the PlayStation 1 being the most popular example. Vital Shell is one such example.
Vital Shell has visuals that call back to that specific era in the industry. However, it uses a very modern genre as its gameplay core, as it is a roguelite. This combination of styles from both the past and present could make for an experience that could be either polarizing or fantastic. Thankfully, Vital Shell fits neatly into the latter, despite being slightly limited in its offerings beyond sheer gameplay.
Simple, Yet Fun
Vital Shell is clearly influenced by several different games and concepts. At its core, it’s an arcade-esque shoot-em-up where you have to survive waves of enemies for a certain amount of time. However, the sense of progression is driven by roguelite mechanics. Between waves, you can unlock new weapons, stat upgrades, and special attacks. When you die, all of those upgrades are completely reset, and you need to restart from the beginning of the level.
As soon as you boot the game up, though, its most obvious inspiration becomes immediately clear. The visual style is deeply reminiscent of PSX games, with the most obvious example being the Armored Core franchise. Occasionally, games that wear their inspirations on their sleeves suffer from having no sense of identity or character without being tied to their influences. That said, Vital Shell isn’t beholden to this issue for one simple reason: the game is undeniably fun to play through.
When you start playing for the first time, you only have the option of one mech to choose for battle. This initial pick starts with a sword, but from there, you can pick any matter of weapons to upgrade yourself with as the waves go by. The Armored Core comparisons don’t just apply to the aesthetic, but also to the gameplay formula. You will be gliding across the battlefield, deftly avoiding enemies and firing projectiles with either an auto-lock or a manual aim.
The auto-lock in particular was one of my favorite features of Vital Shell. At first, I kept using the joystick to aim towards enemies, thinking it would be the most efficient way to fight through each wave. At a certain point, however, I accidentally pressed the fire button without aiming manually, and I quickly realized that the auto-lock did all the work for me. It allowed me to focus more on movement, and that realization completely changed the way I played.
This isn’t to say that encounters were easy: far from it, in fact. There wasn’t a single level I was able to beat first try, as each had masses of unique enemies that, while easy to kill, could quickly overwhelm you and kill you within seconds. Even if you spend the entire wave dodging enemies, due to how small the arenas are, all it takes is one mistake for the run to be completely ruined. Further, despite the fact that there are only twenty waves, each run ends with a final boss fight. It is devastating, and sometimes infuriating, to work so hard to get to the final wave and then have to restart after one small error.
Yet, replaying those waves always felt satisfying because of just how mechanically sound Vital Shell is. You’d think that the controls would feel unnatural, due to the fact that they were inspired by games from the 90s. Yet, despite the fact that I played the game on Steam Deck, the controls felt as smooth as butter. Dodging, firing, and using the unique specials you accumulate through each wave feels shockingly natural. It certainly helps that, unlike other roguelites, each run takes around 10 minutes. As a result, even if you need to restart, you won’t lose over half an hour of progress.
Despite how much I loved the gameplay, easily the best feature of Vital Shell is the presentation. The PSX-inspired visuals look absolutely gorgeous, despite the inherent lower resolution. Personally, my favorite aspect of the presentation was the soundtrack. It features a great mix of drum-and-bass/breakcore tracks from select artists, and I had to often had to fight to stay focused in combat since I was so enamored by the OST.
I think my only issue with the gameplay is how limited progression feels. Most roguelites will feature some form of permanent progression between runs. This is so that, even when your progress is reset, you still feel like you’re getting some tangible reward. However, all you get after each run is access to weapons that you may encounter in the next run.
The only noticeable permanent upgrades here are stat increases you may never notice in effect. When you do complete a level, all you get is a new level to play through, as well as a new playable character in the form of the boss you just beat. While unlocking a new character does feel satisfying, it’s often undone by one slightly noticeable issue: there is no narrative whatsoever to attach you to the mechs you unlock, or motivate you to play through more runs.
Not Much Beneath the Surface
In the modern day, there aren’t many games that have a lesser emphasis on story than on gameplay. In fact, there are usually more examples of games that overemphasize story at the expense of gameplay. When it comes to roguelites, though, story and gameplay are extremely important in equal measure. While great gameplay makes repeating runs enjoyable rather than frustrating, a good narrative is key to motivating you into progressing those runs in the first place.
Vital Shell is fascinating, and sometimes frustrating, in that it has no story whatsoever. When you first boot up the game, there is no explanation about the mechs, why you’re fighting corrupted versions of other mechs, the backstory behind each world, or anything in between. I thought that there would be some answers in the in-game manual, but there’s nothing there at all. While there are cutscenes that introduce each boss, there isn’t any dialogue or elaboration beyond that.
This is a tricky situation, in that I understand why the developer chose to focus on gameplay rather than story. After all, the gameplay and aesthetic are so well done that it doesn’t really need a complicated narrative or lore to hook you in. At the same time, the lack of any elaboration is sometimes distracting. The amount of detail in all of the levels, the mechs, and the enemy designs often feels as though it demands some form of storytelling.
That feeds into a broader problem with the game: there really isn’t much to do aside from just playing through the levels. The gameplay, while fun, doesn’t really change in any meaningful way as you progress. There are also no extra modes or features beyond the core combat encounters. Plus, there are only four worlds and four mechs to unlock beyond the ones you get upon starting the game. What you see is what you get; there really isn’t anything additional beneath the surface that you are working towards.
Much like with the lack of any narrative, this isn’t inherently a bad thing. However, when you consider other roguelites available on the market, Vital Shell is undoubtedly lacking in comparison. While it certainly helps that the game only costs $5.99, because of how good the gameplay was, I often wished that there was more to do beyond what is offered. As such, when it comes to recommending this game, I find myself struggling a bit.
Thrilling Enjoyment With a Big Caveat
The roguelite genre is one of the most successful in the modern day, and for good reason. There are countless great games out there that feature great gameplay mechanics, stunning visuals, and an intriguing narrative. All three of these aspects come together to make an experience that makes the often terrifying aspect of replaying through the same segments over and over again fun and enjoyable. While I had a great time with Vital Shell, thanks to its addictive gameplay loop and charming presentation, the lack of a narrative aspect makes the overall package feel slightly limited.
The thrill of dashing around a small battlefield is undeniable, and I never once got tired of fighting through waves, no matter how many times I had to repeat them. It also helped that the presentation was absolutely fantastic, thanks to a great visual style inspired by the past and an invigorating soundtrack. However, the fact that there’s no deeper explanation of the worlds, mechs, or enemies feels like such a missed opportunity, considering how well designed these elements are.
While Vital Shell is clearly inspired by games from the PlayStation-era, the titles that influenced it weren’t exactly devoid of any story. As such, despite how much fun I had with the game, I often felt like there was something missing due to the lack of any additional modes or offerings beyond the main experience. Yet, even though the fact that these elements are not present is frustrating, I still think that the enjoyment I found in the overall experience is worth noting.
If you’re a fan of the roguelite genre, the Armored Core games, or mechs as a whole, then Vital Shell is absolutely worth it, especially when you consider the price. It’s a great time for those who are fond of the games and genres that inspired it. It’s just a shame that, at the end of the day, it comes up short compared to a lot of the best roguelite games of the last few years.
Disclaimer: Vital Shell was reviewed on PC (Steam).
