It wouldn’t be a soulslike without a brooding protagonist with sadness in his eyes, taking on nightmarish creatures now, would it? Vapor World: Over The Mind sees players taking up arms in this platformer set in the world of dreams with hulking traumas to defeat and a character-driven narrative. This one definitely looks like an awe-inspiring time for anyone after a new souls game to scratch that itch.
Lost in darkness, a boy drawn into a twisted dream, no way out. Vapor World is a narrative-driven souls-like platformer focused on deflection combat set in atmospheric world of dream. Descend within shattered mind seeking lost memories. Face dark, beautiful world born of anguish and regret.
Thanks to the latest Xbox Asia Developer Session, we got a deeper look at the side-scrolling platformer being developed by Alive Inc. In Vapor World: Over The Mind, players enter a wispy world of dreams and take on fierce creatures – traumas as they battle forth with parry-based combat, playing through the fractured mind of a boy trapped within his traumas and seemingly with no chance of escape.
Already, it’s looking like an incredible addition to the soulslike genre, thanks in no small part to the game’s artistic direction. While visually, it’s somehow evident that it’s a souls game, in truth, much of the world carries that similar weight of the typical genre aesthetics we’ve come to know from dilapidated gothic buildings to sullen protagonists and, let’s not forget horrendous walking monstrosities fight.
As players move deeper into Vapor World: Over The Mind, they find more skills and abilities called Projections that can be used to fight enemies. Seeing a soulslike taking shape as a 2D-platformer is definitely up the same alley as the Blasphemous games, though here it feels like a very distinct focus has been placed on depicting the surreal energy the world has.
During the presentation, the studio highlighted that none of the game assets have been used more than once. Everything has been hand-drawn, showing just how much work has gone into the world of dreams. It’s a wild detail, showing the level of dedication from the game’s artists to ensure it’s even more immersive. Every asset feels deliberate, showing a side of this platformer centred on immersion through that unique visual quality.
The team also explained that the art style for the game was inspired heavily by “the dramatic use of light and shadow found in classical paintings.” This adds a real dream-like quality to the game’s visuals, making it feel like players are “exploring alive illustrations.” It all feels like a surreal gothic steampunk dream with the game’s 2D art layered across the foreground right the way back into the background of the game to really add that depth to each level’s visual design.
Vapor World: Over The Mind is still a ways off full release, but eager players can snag it when it enters early access soon. The build will include around 5 hours of gameplay, while the official release will feature around 12 hours of content across the prologue, three episodes and a finale.
While we don’t yet have a release date for Vapor World: Over The Mind, you can wishlist it on Steam. Definitely keep an eye on this one if Souls games are your thing!
