Vessels of Decay (Xbox) Review
Release Date: June 19, 2025
Publisher/Developer: Headup/Simon Jakobsson, Aurora Punks
Platform: PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series/One (reviewed), Switch, Steam/GOG
Price: $17.99
I love seeing other cultures, and the lessons I may learn through getting to know their history. Something familiar to me may be just as foreign to someone who doesn't know my own culture. Vessels of Decay is said to be a post-apocalyptic adventure following two people who run across creatures of Scandinavian myth and folklore as they explore the ruins of society.
This retro-pixel style top-down adventure game requires precision timing as you fight and platform your way through an abandoned city and beyond. Freja and Mud explore the world, coming across mysterious demonic-looking creatures that they must overcome. Frequently, you find yourself locked in an arena with these monsters and have to fight to survive. Outside of combat, there is some basic platforming and puzzle solving to do. Sadly, I had some issues with the core of gameplay that made the game difficult to enjoy.
My biggest struggle with the game is, as of right now, the lack of polish on some critical elements. As I played the game, controls feel loose. This is difficult when you have to make quick or precise jumps and end up falling in bottomless pits. The reset is quick and painless, but it's frustrating to miss a jump multiple times because you have to wait a certain amount of time after you land before you jump again, or the game wants you to jump to a specific platform when another looks within reach if you could just get the jump to land on time.
Loose controls effected my combat time as well. I feel as if the roll/dodge has to meet certain criteria that the enemies could exploit. A giant boar may have a straight line dash attack, but it felt like he could make precision turns that my dash was not far enough to make a difference at times. I wasn't fond of the way the combat is set up either, with the main attacks on shoulders and a "finisher" set to clicking in the right stick which otherwise isn't really touched. It simply felt as if final strikes were awkward and unreliable.
Controls weren't the only thing I had issues with, as there were odd sound choices and graphical issues. I felt that there were no sound cues on falling in holes or other things that simply glazed over, and I had times where I could not go over an empty area and others where I could literally phase through walls, usually in nearby places like the collision boxes were simply adjusted wrong. Then there were places like the aforementioned boar that chases you through the city at one point. This raving-mad boar would chase you onto a rooftop. You would do some simple platforming until you reached the one other way off the roof. You could literally see the boar standing in the street, right by the ladder, waiting for you like a lost puppy, ready for his next chase scene.
These issues made me sad, because the actual storyline and graphical style gripped me. I want to know what happens to Freja and Mud. The enemy designs make me curious as to what inspired them in the original stories from the mythical tales. Each enemy you face has a bit of that classic gaming feel, where you can see the attack patterns and understand what you have to do in order to defeat them. Early on in the game, you also gain the ability to basically copy enemy attacks, and even use them for puzzles in the environment, not just battles. And despite the pixel art being simplistic, it is visceral and intense, with cool smoke effects and bloody swipes during combat. As the game goes on, you run across more and more unique foes and ways to dispatch them.
If it were just control issues, I may have considered that Vessels of Decay were made for Soulslike fans, with a "Git Gud" mentality, but when they make simple platforming a struggle and combined with environmental collision issues, I feel the game could have used a bit more time in the oven. I'm hoping that the developers will take some time to take advantage of the modern ability to update games and do a little more tweaking and updating before they wash their hands of this title. Vessels of Decay has a lot of promise, but definitely take a chance to play a demo to see if the controls match to your liking.
Pros:
-Wonderful art style that can be visceral through it's simplicity
-Interesting and gripping story theme that makes me want to learn more
Cons:
-Controls may be intentionally difficult, but I feel there's deeper issue that needs polish
-Certain environmental collision is off
Special thanks to Headup/Simon Jakobsson/Aurora Punks for providing a code for review!