Vidar

While Vidar started strong and the emergent narrative from random deaths definitely entertained me, a bug-riddled second half and abysmal ending killed off any goodwill I had towards this game. Avoid it until some bug fixes pop up.

This game is fantastic. I was a little hesitant getting into it - I'm not the biggest pixel-art fan, and modern 2D RPGs reminiscent of old Gameboy titles have usually been a miss for me - they rarely live up to the nostalgia. Plus I was a little worried about the fact that it was made with RPG Maker. However, this dev has proven yet again that any tool can be used to make a great game. Solid and nuanced random-gen puzzles, a plethora of characters, great dialogue, and a high-stakes tale are rapidly turning this into my newest addiction. There's are enough details and alternative outcomes that I foresee myself getting several playthroughs out of it, and I feel like I've barely scratched the surface. First time I've written this excited of a review in while. Definitely loving it.

I got this as soon as I could, and I'm glad I did! It has an amazing story and from the little gameplay I saw from other people was completely different than what my game was. This game is different on every playthrough as well which is awesome and gives it so much replay value. I was also streaming this game and the creator of the game actually found the stream and was there to see how I liked it and to provide help if needed. So not only is the game great so is the developer! If you are on the fence about it definitely give it a shot.

Apparently this game is too buggy to play at the moment. I've had it crash out on me 3-4 times in the space of a couple of hours. When the game only saves at the end of each game day, that means you have to re-do the entire day.

Do you like puzzles and puzzle games? I don't. The only thing I find more annoying than (nontrivial) puzzles in a video game is TIMED puzzles that heavily penalize you for failing. And this kind of mechanic constitutes over 3/4 of the playtime of Vidar. To give you an example, the solution to one floor I finally found after 2 hours of reloading is flipping colored levers in the following sequence: pink, yellow, red, yellow, blue, red, pink, blue & green, pink, yellow, red, yellow, blue. A mistake results in a 5 minute reload and walk back to the beginning (or, if you don't reload, the death of a character rapidly resulting in total game loss). But don't worry, this isn't a spoiler, because all puzzles are randomized for maximal masochistic pleasure. Not all the puzzles are this hard. Protip: in the earlier levels, you can take a screenshot, pause, and figure out the solution without the timer counting down. But later, this doesn't work because a puzzle can take multiple screens worth...

I had high hopes for Vidar, but my excitement quickly turned to disappointment upon encountering the numerous problems and crashes that plague this game. Even the most dedicated fans of puzzle games should approach Vidar with caution, as it suffers from various design flaws and technical issues. Allow me to elaborate on the key problems I experienced during my time with the game. Technical Difficulties: First and foremost, Vidar is prone to crashes, which makes for a frustrating and disheartening experience. In addition to these crashes, I also encountered issues with the game loading in the lower-right corner of my screen, rendering it nearly impossible to play. This is a serious problem that has yet to be addressed by the developers. Character Movement and Dialogue Woes: Continuing a saved game often resulted in my character moving at a painfully slow pace, with frequent pauses that hindered my progress through the game. The characters themselves suffer from repetitive dialogue t...

I am thoroughly enjoying Vidar and plan on adding many more hours to my time played. First off, the story is really well done. It's dark and mysterious and has had me coming up with several theories trying to figure out just what the heck is going on in the town of Vidar. Each night someone new dies and it's your job to complete quests for the villagers before they snuff it. Quests do help give some insight on the past of Vidar. The music is beautiful. The graphics are great. The puzzles are difficult and fun. And the game is punishing in an "it hurts so good" kind of way. It's one of those games that you WILL need to play multiple times before you can figure everything out, but given how enjoyable it is, I don't see that being a problem for me at all. I highly recommend it!

It's been awhile since a game has hooked me the way Vidar does. I think the music does an amazing job of setting the mood. While I find all the character's names really hard to remember I somehow have been really getting engrossed with all of their stories. I say "somehow" because typically I find in JRPGs that walking around and talking to people to find out where you need to go next to be sort of a chore, but it is a core part of Vidar's game play and in that sense I care much more about the dialogue and getting to know the characters that Razbury Games has created for us to enjoy. I honestly did not think I would like this at first but it has really pulled me in. I highly recommend this game for anyone who likes cool puzzles, and a deep and intricate story. They have done an incredible job at building the world and telling the story of Vidar. Truthfully though, just once - JUST ONCE - I would like to prevent someone's death!

Nice game, but terribly frustrating. I spent hours figuring out the puzzles and the world is fascinating and well developed. It has good characterization and it's thought provoking. I was actually going to favorite this, but I changed my mind. Where my issue lies and what ultimately is causing me to rage quit and never even want to look at this again is in the ending. If you fail, not only do you have to restart the difficult endgame puzzles but you have to go all the way back to the day before that and redo the last boulder cave puzzle before you can retrigger the climax. Hours of time just freaking lost with nothing to show for it. They also throw some bizarre mirror light puzzle at you in the endgame that the game no prior experience with and no explanation. it appeared that I was supposed to use them to reflect on the switch, but I could move some of them, couldn't move others, couldn't figure out how to flip the mirrors and had only ten minutes. Since I still don't know ...

This game has broken my brain in the most wonderful way. I love the puzzles, each one indroduces a subtle and clever new take on the last. Every time I enter the cave, I learn something new. Dialogue is well written, and character interactions feel genuine. The dark desporation of figuring out the stranger and Vidar have enthralled me. The timed events create a real sense of dread every time you delve under the town.