Heaven's Vault

Ho giocato per 8 ore ormai, ma non credo di voler continuare. E' un vero peccato che la storia, l'artwork e l'ambientazione siano rovinate da un gameplay estremamente lento e poco fluido. Tutta la parte della navigazione è goffa e tediosa e ti fa passare la voglia di esplorare i siti archeologici; la trovo davvero progettata malissimo. Camminare sulla terra ferma non è differente, il personaggio si muove lentamente su percorsi prestabiliti e questo rende la ricerca di reperti noiosa e ridotta al solo premere un tasto quando compare l'hint. La parte della traduzione lascia un po' a desiderare; il gioco ti da dei suggerimenti sulle parole che puoi provare ma alla fine è la protagonista che, così dal nulla, ti dice se è convinta di una parola al 100% in base al fatto che l'ha vista due volte in tutto. I dialoghi poi sono davvero troppi e tutti scritti. Non mi sono sentita coinvolta nel gioco ma piuttosto un macchinista che deve solo spostare un personaggio da punto a A punto B e pure soffrendo. Capisco l'enorme impegno che c'è dietro la realizzazione di un prodotto, ma se il prodotto in questione non ti lascia giocare e ti tratta come uno spettatore, a che serve?

[h1][b] Reseña de Heaven's Vault[/b][/h1] [h2]Resumen del Juego[/h2] Heaven's Vault es esa aventura indie que te mira a los ojos y te dice: “sí, vas a leer… y te va a gustar”. Aquí no vienes a disparar, vienes a explorar un universo de ciencia ficción con vibra histórica, a seguir un misterio y a tomar decisiones que, sorpresa, sí importan (aunque a veces más en cómo te sientes que en cuánto explota el mundo). Controlas a una protagonista femenina en una experiencia narrativa de apuntar y clic con rompecabezas centrados en descifrar un lenguaje antiguo. La propuesta es simple y peligrosamente adictiva: explorar, hablar, observar, traducir… y darte cuenta de que llevas 40 minutos discutiendo con tu cerebro sobre si ese símbolo significa “río”, “puerta” o “te equivocaste otra vez”. La primera impresión es clara: atmosférico, colorido, con una banda sonora que te hace sentir intelectual aunque estés fallando traducciones como si fueran exámenes sorpresa. No es para quienes necesitan acción constante; es para quienes disfrutan el misterio cocinándose a fuego lento y el placer culpable de armar significado donde antes solo había garabatos elegantes. [h2][Las Inscripciones Sagradas (Lo bueno) y Las Runas Borrosas (Lo No Tan bueno)][/h2] Lo Bueno: Rompecabezas de traducción originales: pensar duele, pero aquí duele bonito. Narrativa y misterio bien amarrados: de esos que te hacen decir “una escena más” y se te va la noche. Exploración atmosférica en sci‑fi con sabor histórico: raro combo, funciona. Compatibilidad total con mando + Remote Play en TV: perfecto para jugar “relajado” mientras te sientes un arqueólogo espacial. Gran banda sonora: te vende solemnidad incluso cuando estás perdido. Lo No Tan Bueno: Ritmo deliberadamente lento: si vienes con mentalidad de acción, te vas a desesperar y culpar al juego (y un poco a ti). Mucho de ficción interactiva/apuntar y clic: la jugabilidad puede sentirse más “leer y elegir” que “jugar” para algunos. Las elecciones importan, pero no siempre de forma espectacular: a veces el impacto es más narrativo que “cambia el universo”. 44 logros: suena genial hasta que te das cuenta de que varios te empujan a repetir o a ser hiper meticuloso. [h2]Tabla de Evaluación[/h2] [table] [tr][th]Aspecto[/th][th]Puntuación (0-10)[/th][th]Comentario[/th][/tr] [tr][td]Jugabilidad[/td][td]7[/td][td]Sólida para aventura narrativa, pero es más cerebro que reflejos.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Dificultad / IA[/td][td]7[/td][td]Los rompecabezas mentales aprietan; la “IA” no es el foco.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Contenido[/td][td]7[/td][td]Buena cantidad de historia, exploración y decisiones sin inflar por inflar.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Gráficos / Video[/td][td]7[/td][td]2D estilizado y colorido: bonito, no busca hiperrealismo.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Historia[/td][td]8[/td][td]Misterio narrativo que engancha y se sostiene con buenas revelaciones.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Ambientación[/td][td]8[/td][td]Atmosférico de verdad: mundo coherente y con identidad propia.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Efectos (VFX)[/td][td]6[/td][td]Cumplen; no es un festival de fuegos artificiales (y no lo necesita).[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Música[/td][td]8[/td][td]Gran banda sonora: eleva la exploración y el tono misterioso.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Voces[/td][td]6[/td][td]No es el gancho principal; el peso cae más en texto y narrativa.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Diversidad[/td][td]7[/td][td]Protagonista femenina y enfoque narrativo con sensibilidad moderna.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Rendimiento[/td][td]7[/td][td]Indie 2D: debería ir estable en la mayoría de setups.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Rejugabilidad[/td][td]7[/td][td]Decisiones + misterio + logros invitan a volver, aunque no todos querrán.[/td][/tr] [tr][td][b]Total Puntuaciones (Muy Bueno)[/b][/td][td][b]7.1[/b][/td][td]Una aventura narrativa exigente que premia la paciencia y la curiosidad.[/td][/tr] [/table] [h2]Conclusión (Muy Bueno)[/h2] Heaven's Vault es de esos indies que no te piden que “juegues mejor”, te piden que pienses mejor. Y eso es controversial porque mucha gente compra juegos para apagar el cerebro, no para ponerse a descifrar un idioma como si el control viniera con un diploma. Si te late el misterio, la exploración y la narrativa con decisiones, aquí hay oro. Ahora, seamos cruelmente honestos: con 11 jugadores actuales, no es precisamente el “fenómeno del momento”. Pero también: este tipo de experiencia es más de culto que de moda. Y con 1831 recomendaciones totales, está clarísimo que cuando conecta, conecta fuerte. En resumen: vale la pena si te gustan las aventuras narrativas atmosféricas, el rollo de ciencia ficción con toque histórico y los rompecabezas que te hacen sentir listo… hasta que fallas y te acuerdas de tu humildad. [h3]Recomendación de Compra (Recomendado con reservas)[/h3] Puntuación Total: 7.1/10 Número de jugadores activos al momento de hacer esta review: 11 Descuento máximo registrado: -75% Veredicto: [i]Cómpralo si quieres una aventura narrativa inteligente; evítalo si necesitas acción constante.[/i] Si tu idea de diversión incluye explorar, leer, decidir y armar significado a partir de pistas, Heaven's Vault te va a absorber. Si lo tuyo es “dame gameplay ya”, este juego te va a parecer una clase elegante… y tú vas a ser el alumno que se salió a mitad.

Oyun çok güzel. Dikkat edilmesi gereken iki nokta var: 1- Hikayesini öğrenmeye başlayana kadar bırakmamak gerekiyor çünkü oyun konsept olarak hikayeyi sizin uğraşarak bulmanız üzerine kurulu, en başta bir şey anlamamanız ve beğenmemeniz normal ama kesinlikle devam edin. En azından Withering Palace'ı görene kadar oynamanızı tavsiye ederim. 2- Keşfedilen yerler ve çoğu diyalog geri dönülebilirlik açısından çok acımasız, yaptığınız bir tercih oyundaki diğer içerikleri görmenizi engelleyebiliyor. Ayrıca uydulardan bir kere ayrıldıktan sonra geri dönemiyorsunuz (Ana uydular hariç), bu yüzden bakabildiğiniz her yere bakmanız ve konuşmaları düşünerek yapmanız önemli. Ancak oyun zaten tekrar oynamanız için tasarlandığından aşırı kafa yormanıza gerek yok sadece dikkat etmek lazım. Keşif, bulmaca, diller ve kitap okumayı sevenlerin bayılacağı bir oyun.

As a note: I've been playing this game a lot more longer than what's listed on this review on offline mode, and Steam doesn't track that. This is an amazing narrative and investigation focused video game and I highly recommend trying it. But before I distract myself I want to get one negative point clear: the save system is migraine inducing frustration. The game broadly is a non-linear narrative adventure game, but despite that there's only one save file and I can't save and/or load the game. I can understand that the developers are wanting the choices and consequences of the game to be impactful, but developers in general need to look at these issues from, if not an objective perception, an compassionate and environmental perception. Video games are incredibly taxing in terms of time and resources. People already deal with choices and consequences in real life when they get injured at work and have to get surgery as a result, that's not a hypothetical scenario that's something that's happening to me more frequently as I get older. My laptop runs like a jet engine playing games and some electric power plants use oil or gas when providing power. It's ironic that for a game about appreciating nature that the developers would choose a save system that would make players restart the game all the way from the beginning if they want to try a different choice and not accidentally lock themselves out of tons of narrative content and context from a bad choice, and use more environmentally damaging resources as a result. There isn't a lot of non-violent or non-emotionally challenging games that are as fun as this game when it's at it's best and not at it's worst (as noted in the video essay: The Unfulfilled Potential of Video Games by Pop Culture Detective). It's mainly just the save system that's the most frustrating part of the game.

This is truly outstanding little game. It's not perfect, and there are frustrating aspects regarding controls, animations etc. But truly original and innovative games are few and far between, so one should make the effort of realizing and appreciating this. I've rarely been more interested in the story and the universe as in this game. At first, the concept of being a historian and the focus on translating a lost language might be puzzling, but it quickly makes sense while playing the game. And the translation part is really more a puzzle than anything else. It is a bit slow at times, but it is relatively short so it doesn't reach a point where it gets frustrating. So overall, this is a fantastic refreshing and relaxing puzzle game.

Excellent, as always from Inkle. If you like linguistics, archaeology, snarky robot companions, or "A-ha!" moments, you'll love this one. It's very unique as a translation simulator, really only peered there by Chants of Sennar, and on some occasions it can be frustrating when *you* know what a word means, (because the artificial language is extremely well-constructed, and it's more than possible to get a pretty good idea of what several "unknown" symbols mean) but your *character* doesn't and there's no way for her to figure it out till you find more artifacts, but overall it's very good.

An absolutely essential play if you like history and language in an alternate universe. Inkle and Jon Ingold are master story tellers and this game tells a deeply moving story about the fall of civilizations, clinging on to their debris and trying to learn from the past. I played through this game 4 times in total and am hooked on the premise and personalities in it. Two huge caveats. 1) the gameplay itself is very hit and miss and can get quite frustrating if you are trying to be efficient. This is not a game to be playing efficiently. Take your time and don't get hasty, so that the unexpected turns your character makes (literally) don't become too frustrating. 2) the game becomes 10x more interesting if you also read the books (at least the first two), as many details and personality quirks are explored in the books whereas the game only ever has the time to show their consequences, meaning that a lot remains unsaid in the game which might add a lot to the overall story. Played on steam deck without any issues. I look forward to reading books 3 and 4 soon :)

I'm early in this game (4.5h) so take this review with that caveat. This is a very intellectually demanding game, at least for me, with little experience in translating hieroglyphs. It also has it's moments as a very beautiful game artistically. It is what it is (mostly 2d art moving around a 3d environment) While it is a little wonky to have to move so slowly when on a world, i enjoy the "sailing" to get between map destinations. it gives me a thrill every once in a while, a bit rollercoaster-y. If I need to update this later, upon completion, I will, but I highly recommend this game for a chill but thought-provoking time. Wanted to add that you can ask some of the dialogue questions even after exiting a conversation, though it's reserved for following up on only the last topic in the conversation, and not always going to produce a response, it seems. (There's a button for making another question and one for making a statement that occasionally light up just out of conversations.) I saw a review that mentioned that, so wanted to help anybody frustrated by the limited conversation options.

I don't get the negative reviews lately... this game is unique and beautiful, with immense replayability value. Yes, it would be nice to have a save feature. I suppose I understand why there isn't. But even on my steamdeck, I was able to find a way to make save files. Google the file location, y'all.

This is a strong yes but with a very significant caveat that my positive reception is almost entirely tied to the narrative elements with the gameplay mechanics mostly being neutral at best and active hindrances at worst. The setting is fascinating and I loved piecing the language and the history of the world together. Too much of the time, however, I felt like I was fighting the UI and blindly poking at things in an attempt to trigger the right conversation tree that will let me see a specific story/quest line and as of right now, there are still two achievements I have not managed to unlock because there must be some unobvious variables preventing my progress. Spoiler warning for details: [spoiler] 1. I've triggered the ransacking of Oroi's place but when I go to Tapi's store as the guides say to do, she is not there. Tapi kind of hints that he is helping her but will not say so outright even when I press him on it later in the conversation. Maybe his trust/friendship level is not high enough but that is not a mechanic the game explicitly mentions and as far as I know, there is no way to see my relationship level with anyone. I've given him 6 artifacts, I think, and I have triggered the interaction where he gives me an astrolabe and asks me to find the site it came from. I thought that would be enough for Oroi's plot line but maybe I need to actually find the site and tell him about it first? Something to try in my next loop, I guess. Edit, 7-5-26: Same save file. Went to Iox, explored the rivers for a bit, and then returned to Elboreth. This time when I went to Tapi's, he blocked me from entering and said I was not welcome but then Oroi called him off and I was able to speak to her. Obtained the Reunion achievement. 2. I also cannot trigger the sealing of the gates on Iox. In one run, I actually got the line from Six that he needs to inform Myari about the people who might be the cause of the Fall but despite travelling to other moons and returning to Iox several times after that and even speaking to Myari directly, I never received the message that the gates have been sealed and do not have the corresponding achievement. [/spoiler] The bottom line is that I do recommend this game to anyone interested in speculative fiction focused on history/language as long as they are comfortable with janky gameplay. If the premise sounds interesting but the gameplay sounds too janky, reading the novels might be a better option. I have not read them yet but from what I understand, volumes 1 and 2 cover the events of the game while volumes 3 and 4 deal with what happens after. Now that I think I have seen most of the lore the game has to offer, I do intend to read the books next and I will try to remember to come back and update this review after I am done. Update, 7-5-26: I have read all 4 novels. The first two novels do follow broadly the events of the game but they are not really an attempt to stich the different game paths into a cohesive narrative. Granted, it is possible that there are story paths I have not stumbled into and the novels follow what is supposed to be the golden path but they alter many events and the fates of several characters in ways that directly contradict how the same events were depicted in the game. The second duology depicts the events that follow the end of the game but honestly, they are kind of a rehash of the first duology. I am keeping this very vague to avoid spoilers, obviously, because the narrative is worth experiencing despite the gameplay but if the gameplay is a complete deal breaker, the novels are an ok way to learn more about the setting. Just keep in mind that the events and the people depicted in the novels do not exactly match their game counterparts. Some differ only in minor ways, others are entirely different. On a personal note, I also strongly dislike how the novels handled the Loop and Aliya's character arc. I would recommend the game over the novels but the recommendation is partially due to subjective personal preferences.