Voltaire - The Vegan Vampire review: A savory game with some less-than-ideal ingredients

Voltaire - The Vegan Vampire is an innovative and captivating video game that combines different genres to create a unique and immersive gameplay experience. Developed by the talented team at Digitality Games, this action-farming-rogue-lite title will keep you hooked for hours on end. I was immediately intrigued as someone who has never played a game with such a distinctive concept. The title is attention-grabbing, and the idea of a vegan vampire is unconventional and exciting.

In this review of Voltaire - The Vegan Vampire, I'll explore various aspects of the game in-depth. From my initial impressions to the game's art style, audio design, gameplay mechanics, performance on PC, narrative, and more, I'll comprehensively analyze this title and hopefully answer if it is worth your money and time.

Voltaire - The Vegan Vampire: My first impressions

Voltaire - The Vegan Vampire sets the tone for the game by introducing players to its backstory through an animated clip. The clip showcases the protagonist, Voltaire, a vegan vampire prince who his family has outcasted for his unconventional diet. However, he receives support from his uncles, Frank and Stein, who provide him with quests and intel to survive.

The game starts with a tutorial section that teaches players the various gameplay mechanics. As a vegan vampire, Voltaire is tasked with farming, the game's primary focus. The tutorial section might seem simplistic initially, but it quickly intensifies, drawing players into the addictive gameplay.

Voltaire's farming skills are tested as he must grow his crops, harvest them, and use them as a source of energy. However, farming isn't the only aspect of the game. As players progress through the game, they'll encounter challenging enemies and bosses, requiring them to master the game's combat mechanics.

One of the standout features of the Voltaire - The Vegan Vampire is its rogue-like elements, where players must start over from the beginning upon death but with new skills and knowledge to progress further. The game's unique combination of farming, action and rogue-like elements creates an engaging and addictive experience that hooked me.

Playing without a plot: Voltaire - The Vegan Vampire's gameplay shines, but the story falls flat

Gameplay

In this game, players must cultivate vegetables to sustain themselves during the day and guard their crops and home against pests at night. Farming is simple: collect seeds from the game's diverse plant life, gather water, clear the fields, and plant the crops. Once a plant has fully matured, it can be harvested and consumed.

Players must eat in the game because it features a hunger mechanic where every action, including growing crops, collecting seeds, digging for treasure, and building wells, depletes their energy. Food replenishes this energy, but since all crops take a day to grow, players must survive the night to ensure their survival.

At night, your crops are vulnerable to attacks from various critters and enemies. Fortunately, you have the option to grow plants that are capable of defending themselves using various attack techniques. Some plants can launch ranged attacks, while others use melee tactics. Additionally, certain plants can scare off enemies or slow them down, adding an extra layer of defense to your crops.

The responsibility of defending your home and crops falls solely on you. As you progress and level up, Voltaire gains access to various skills. However, he is only equipped with his cape to fight off enemies. After spending a week in a location, Voltaire must face a challenging boss battle to progress to the next area.

Boss Battles in Voltaire - The Vegan Vampire (Image via Digitality Games)

Defeating the bosses in Voltaire - The Vegan Vampire isn't particularly difficult, especially if you complete the quests assigned by Uncles Frank and Stein. Doing so can easily unlock different skills that help you in combat. However, you are limited to choosing only one skill per level.

After defeating the boss, a portal is unlocked that allows players to travel to a new area with different crops, enemies, and bosses. Each boss defeated rewards players with Soul Stones (which can also be farmed). They are used to unlock new attires and abilities for Voltaire. These Soul Stones can also create special seeds that help defend your crops.

You can continue playing the game if your character dies or your house is destroyed. The first option is to start over with a new skill tree but lose 50% of your previously earned loot. Alternatively, you can keep your current skill set but lose 25% of your loot.

Despite its enjoyable gameplay, its mechanics could have been further explored. While farming and defending crops can be straightforward, it felt like there was more potential for complexity and depth. In my experience, I could progress through the game without using more than two sets of crop fields.

Crowberries in Voltaire - The Vegan Vampire (Image via Digitality Games)

Additionally, I found that Crowberries could be obtained without impacting my hunger levels. By upgrading them, I could significantly reduce my hunger by up to seven times per Crowberry. This made farming feel somewhat unnecessary. Nevertheless, planting crops remained beneficial, as they diverted enemy attention away from my home (the destruction of which would result in losing the game) and towards the farms.

Voltaire - The Vegan Vampire has a lot of potentials for players to explore and experiment with different gameplay mechanics, but it doesn't fully utilize all of them. While farming and defending crops are crucial for survival, the game could have been more challenging and rewarding if players had relied on various crops and defenses.

The ability to compost new seeds for XP is a helpful feature, but it doesn't seem necessary to use to progress through the game. The game could benefit from more depth and urgency to immerse players in a survival experience.

Story

Uncle Frank and Stein in Voltaire - The Vegan Vampire (Image via Digitality Games)

While the gameplay in Voltaire - The Vegan Vampire is enjoyable and engaging, the story aspect is one of its weaknesses. The storyline lacks depth and relatability, leaving players feeling disconnected from the game. The main character, Voltaire, is an outcast prince because of his vegan lifestyle. Although this is an exciting twist, it is not explored in depth and is merely a surface-level trait.

The only characters that players interact with are Voltaire's uncles, Frank and Stein, who assist him in his journey. While they are entertaining and have distinct personalities, they are the only source of dialogue in the game. The lack of character development and interaction can make it difficult for players to become emotionally invested in the story.

Furthermore, the game lacks a satisfying conclusion. Even when the game ends, it continues without actual resolution. This can leave players feeling unfulfilled and unsatisfied with the overall story.

To improve the story aspect of Voltaire - The Vegan Vampire, the developers could introduce more complex characters and explore their backstories. Additionally, adding more depth to Voltaire's character and exploring the reasons behind his vegan lifestyle could make the storyline more compelling. Creating a clear conclusion to the game could also give players a sense of closure and satisfaction.

Unleashing the power of sight and sound: A review of graphics, sound, and performance on PC

Graphics

Voltaire - The Vegan Vampire's graphics highlight the overall experience. The developers took a 2D approach and created a world that appears cartoonish, but the execution is exceptional. The attention to detail in the animation of the various elements, such as plants and water droplets, is admirable. The characters are well-designed and have unique appearances that help them stand out.

One of the game's strengths is the variety of terrains that players explore. Each world is distinct, featuring different terrain, from hot deserts to snowy mountains. The developers put a lot of care into designing each world, and it shows.

Voltaire - The Vegan Vampire's graphics genuinely appear during the fighting scenes. When the character uses various attack combinations to create a sense of godly power in the player. The various effects, such as ranged attacks flying through the air or the deadly attacks with Voltaire's capes, are impressive and add to the overall sense of satisfaction when taking down enemies.

Audio

The musical score, ambient sound effects, and lack of voiceovers are the defining features of the audio design in the game. The absence of voiced characters is felt, but the background music and sound effects make up for it. The music is an absolute delight to listen to.

The gentle background score sets a tranquil mood during the daytime as the player farms and gardens. As night falls and the enemies emerge, the music builds up, becoming intense and dramatic, engaging the player and setting the stage for an exciting battle. The audio elements are carefully crafted to match the pace and tone of the gameplay, making it all the more immersive.

Apart from the background score, the sound effects are decent. Collecting items, chasing water droplets, and other actions produce the appropriate sounds, helping to bring the game world to life. I found the sound of the cape flapping in the wind to be particularly satisfying, adding to the overall audio experience.

Performance

The Voltaire - The Vegan Vampire's performance is one of its strong points. The game ran incredibly well even on a mid-range PC like mine, equipped with an RTX 3060 Ti and Ryzen 5 5600x. Playing at 1080p, I experienced a locked 144FPS throughout my entire playthrough with no drops or stutters, even during the most action-packed scenes.

Furthermore, I was impressed with the stability of Voltaire - The Vegan Vampire, especially considering the current state of many PC ports. I did encounter a single crash during my playthrough, but aside from that, I experienced no bugs or glitches that impacted my gameplay experience.

Overall, the performance of Voltaire - The Vegan Vampire is solid, and I believe it would be a great addition to any PC gamer's library. Its smooth performance and lack of bugs or glitches make it a great game for any modern-day hardware and even a perfect fit for handheld devices such as the Steam Deck.

Conclusion: Is Voltaire - The Vegan Vampire worth buying?

Voltaire - The Vegan Vampire (Image via Digitiality Games)

Voltaire - The Vegan Vampire is a beautifully crafted game with much to offer for players who enjoy casual roguelite titles. With its unique and charming art style, relaxing soundtrack, and engaging gameplay mechanics, the game has much to offer players of all ages.

Despite its flaws in terms of storytelling and difficulty, the game offers a unique experience through its focus on exploration and resource management. Players can quickly lose track of time while collecting items and constructing their farms. Additionally, the game's roguelite nature enables players to embark on multiple playthroughs, each with distinct differences, depending on the skills selected for progression.

The graphics and sound design are also top-notch. Voltaire - The Vegan Vampire's cartoonish art style is beautiful and whimsical, making it a joy to explore the various regions and interact with the environment. The background music is relaxing and soothing, providing a nice contrast to the more intense combat sequences. The sound effects are also well done, adding to the game's immersive experience.

In terms of performance, Voltaire - The Vegan Vampire runs smoothly on modern-day hardware. The game is optimized well and offers a high FPS experience with no noticeable drops. The lack of bugs and glitches is also a welcome sight, especially for players burned by poorly optimized games.

All in all, Voltaire - The Vegan Vampire is an excellent addition to the indie game scene. It's a game that can be enjoyed by players of all ages and skill levels, and its charming visuals and relaxing soundtrack make it a great way to unwind after a long day.

While it may not be the most challenging game, its emphasis on farming, fighting, and exploration provides a unique and engaging experience that sets it apart from other games. If you're a fan of casual games or looking for a game to unwind with, Voltaire - The Vegan Vampire is worth checking out.