Vladimere's Lhore

A collection of 14 games by the developer Vladimere Lhore! The collection includes a variety of genres, though the majority of games are horror or horror-themed. All games are either remastered, remade from the ground up, or with completely new content. The games are great, but I liked the bonus features even more! Every game features a Developer Commentary and Museum, detailing the development, cut content, concept arts and the like. I love learning about how games are made, and in this case the developer's progression during 10 years of game development. The original versions of most games are available for free on itch.io as well, and I recommend checking them out for comparison and because they're still fun. For C.H.A.I.N.G.E.D. and Madvent I [i]strongly[/i] recommend checking their original version. Even though the Collection versions are complete standalone experiences, they were originally a collaborative effort and still offer a unique experience. Overall, a good collection of games with hours of content! I enjoyed my time with them. Even after finishing all games and achieving 100% on everything, I sort of wanted more. I will surely follow the developer's future endeavors with great interest!

I was hesitant to make this review, because I only played one game in this collection, the one I got it for because I really needed to know what it was like. The game which tugged at my curiosity and pushed me to get it. Make Beautiful. It is a very short experience, woefully incomplete. Immediately after completing it 100%, I restarted it. Played the whole thing again. Listened to all the commentary on it. I needed to understand. To see the vision. And I heard the original vision for it, the version of the game we never got, [spoiler]an RPG in which the player slowly "corrects" pieces of themself to their idealized self, but never quite reaching it, finally facing down their idealized self as the final boss. The message, in this version, seems to be not to allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good. To change, to try, even if what you seek is unattainable, because there is meaning in the attempt.[/spoiler] That is not the version of the game we got. I'm trans. And like many trans people, I struggle with dysphoria, both physical, and social. My body feels like a prison. My place in society is defined for me, against my will, by people who hate me. And I hoped that Make Beautiful would help convey that feeling to others who don't understand it, and also express a message of hope to those who do. But [spoiler]what we got instead is a mere fragment, a bleak, abrupt experience where the only option is failure. Where you start flawed, become worse, and suffer horrifically only to inevitably die in one of many gruesome ways. Which, I suppose, is how it feels sometimes. But that is a terribly bleak message for those like me, who sought out some sign that someone understood, who created art to help us share our experience. The message of this version of the game seems to be "the only thing trying will get you is suffering and death". And that, while certainly not the intended message of the vision of the game, is the message the game contained to me.[/spoiler]. I wanted to give this anthology more of a fair shot. I didn't feel good about giving this game a thumbs down, because I couldn't bring myself to play more of it. But I was so hurt, emotionally, by the message of this tiny fragment, the part that made me want to try the anthology in the first place. I just couldn't. And really, isn't that the message? Don't try, because you'll just get hurt. Don't strive, because you'll just suffer and die. Maybe someday, we'll get the version of Make Beautiful as it was originally envisioned. Maybe we'll get a version that is flawed, imperfect, but more than how it started. And if that happens, I'll try it. But for now, I can't continue with this. I'm sorry.

Vladimere Lhore brings you Vladimeres Lhore, which is a 10 year anniversary game collection of them as a developer. Some may know Vlad for their big involvement and hosting of the Itch.io Demo Discs and Madvent Calendars. The collection sports a total of 14 games, with huge variety in gameplay style and genre. From survival horror to platformers and arcade games. You can enter them from the home screen or explore them through the museum in any order. The Madvent games are especially well made. Its Vladiemeres own little expanding universe with unique characters, like Gifty the gift, out for genocide, a loveable zombie girl whos trying her best to keep Gifty in check, among other OCs. They all have awesome intros and animations, feels intentionally very anime. Would have been nice to see them more outside of the Madvents and the Arcade entry. The rest are self contained short stories, dont think theres a point in going through all of them individually. The store page tells you all you need to know. In the options you are able to toggle commentary, which unlocks audio logs to listen through and find in each game. Its very interesting to get behind Vladimeres thought process, and what could have been, while playing through the games. Vladimere Lhores lore, indeed. Every achievement and audio log is listed in the game selector, and for the former you can even check how to unlock them on the game selector. Either replay on your own, or check the hints. A simple yet neat little feature that has completionists freed from frustrations. Most of the games are sadly generally quite short. You can 100% about 10 of them in 30 minutes each. The other 4 sit at 60+ minutes. While I expected that, I couldnt help but feel disappointed, especially for the games Hellenore and Make Beautiful. Im craving more. However, I didnt like Become Prey 2 too much, because the camera movement felt very weird and the achievements are quite grindy compared to the other games. What A Wonderful Life felt boring and since the map loops you can see your own boat and the lighthouse in the distance at any time, which made the pixel hunting in the storm even more disorienting. Overall I think 20€ for a total of 14 games is a fair deal, even if they are short, but on the other hand, people that arent very involved with the Demo Disc community probably just see this as another simple PSX collection. I would suggest going down a bit, otherwise I fear this will be dead in the dust, and it deservers more sales. Thank you Vladimere for providing me with a copy, much appreciated! [b] Horror/Surrealist centered Curator: [url=store.steampowered.com/curator/43071910/] KuriKuration[/url] [/b]

A wonderful glimpse into the progression of a video game developer. As someone that has enjoyed watching making of/ developer commentaries/ how it's made videos my whole life, this game scratched an itch I haven't gotten since The Orange Box with it's developer commentary nodes (which the developer also appreciates). They just give such a great look into the thought process and problem solving throughout his career. There's even a museum launcher mode with additional insight into development, assets labeled with more information, and even new custom areas to house each of it's games. Also the dev seems super cool and is a delight to listen to talk about his games. He even makes an Ace Combat, Silent Hill, and... Lake Mungo reference(!!!! holy crap that movie is great). As for the games, Hellenore and No Strings Attached are the clear standouts, while the rest are fun enough to warrant at least a play through. TLDR; If you want a fantastic look behind the curtain experience, this is the best I've seen probably ever, and at least since Orange Box, and with some fun games included. Also, to Vladimere Lhore, the beach at the opening of The Silent Cartographer from Halo 1.

This is an awesome collection from an awesome dev. I'm still playing through them all, and I'll leave a better review when I'm done, but I just wanted to say if you love horror anthologies, this is def. one to get. And since it's an anthology, I'm gonna review each game on its own merits! [b]EDIT: Finally played them all! Thoughts below[/b] The commentaries: Honestly, I say play with these on because they add this really nice touch to the whole experience. Well worth your time to listen to them if you care about the dev or their games at all. [h1]KillDeath:[/h1] It's a basic Atari-esque game that does exactly what it says on the tin: lets you kill death in all the 2D glory that was the OG console era (well, 2nd gen, but who's counting?). Simply but fun for what it is. [h1]No Strings Attached:[/h1] A really good puzzle game made in an NES style that is a lot of fun to play and explore. It can get a little tedious if you don't play perfectly (IE: knowing where every item goes and where) with a lot of back tracking and limited inventory space, but it's still a lot of fun to play and try and solve the mystery of a booty-call gone wrong :P Yeah, it's the horror equivalent of a tinder date going WAY off course lol...I love it for that. [h1]Hellenore:[/h1] This was so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ cute and fun and I'd love to see a full release of this as a full game with a whole world released some day. Seriously. I had the most fun playing this and it just scratched this 90s platformer itch I didn't know I had. [h1]Nightmare Killer:[/h1] Honestly, the weakest so far for me. It's a funny joke on paper, but playing it was incredibly short. Only the commentaries saved it for me :P [h1]KillDeath Again:[/h1] The jump to 3D reminded me of the 3D sequels they made for Atari games (Pitfall 3D, anyone?) in a good way. Was a little clunky, but still fun to play. Plus the look of death was great. [h1]Become Prey: First Encounter:[/h1] This one actually made me unsettled, even with the commentary telling me that I was safe for the first half. EVEN KNOWING THIS I felt unease. And then the deer happened and it was all bets off. Really cool monster design, and I found my way out BY CHANCE. [h1]Become Prey 2: Of Everlasting Sin:[/h1] This one was a lot of fun, expecially since you technically cheese it by grinding out currency in lower difficulties to power through the tougher ones. Fun and doesn't feel like it overstayed its welcome. I WILL say, I think some of the enemies spawning in the way they do isn't that great (sometimes RIGHT next to you) so you're kinda SOL no matter what you do, but on the whole, an enjoyable experience. [h1]What A Wonderful Life:[/h1] I get what the point was of this, but gotta say, it was really kinda difficult to navigate. Moving the boat was OK, except it wasn't entirely intuitive that you have to reduce the speed (like a real boat) before getting up from the chair. Also, some things were very hard to locate and I was lucky I could (barely) see them. I do enjoy the message, just felt it wasn't done in a good GAMEPLAY manner. [h1]The Arrogance of Man:[/h1] Played this one originally years ago, and it still holds up as a creepy game with a sudden, shocking ending that really hits home. Finding out about the inspiration behind it was equally shocking, so not bad. [h1]Arcade Woah!!!:[/h1] It was cool seeing all the characters I recognized from later projects (Sonya and Bitey) in their first iteration, and the game itself was this cool mix of nostalgia and ticket earning. It even made me like Asteroids (for a small while :P) [h1]Madvent 2&3:[/h1] Ahhh, this took me back. I am a HUGE fan of the Madvent Calendar projects that were released several years ago, and revisiting them here was a dose of nostalgic goodness. Really made me happy to try them out again and experience the parts I may have missed originally from Vlad's parts. [h1]C.H.A.I.N.G.E.D. Unbound:[/h1] This one, at least as far as story content, was the most confusing because I never really played much of the stuff from the C.H.A.I.N.G.E.D. anthology. Still, the characters were well done, the game played smoothly, and once I figured out the controller was kinda borked for it, it went off without a hitch :P [h1]Madvent 4: End of the Line:[/h1] I originally played this during the original release of Madvent 4 and it was bittersweet for me. I loved what Vlad had done with it, and how it gave you back stories and lore with each character, but it was also sad because it was going to be their last Madvent (and I think the last Madvent ever, as I don't think it continued after this year). Really nice. Soothing, even. EDIT: I played it again this time around, and there are a few new little extras for those that originally experienced it, and with the commentary, (and Vlad sitting in on the stream as well with some insights) really, REALLY made the whole thing bitter sweet, but in a really good way. [h1]Make Beautiful:[/h1] This was probably the most shocking as far as content and theme, but really well done for what it was. A visual Novel with QTE is what I would call it, but even if that's not your bag, the cinematography is really REALLY well done, and probably some of Vlad's best work as far as that goes. All in all, this is a collection that is well worth the price. I got almost 8 hours of content from it while streaming it, and I haven't even gotten to trying for all the achievements. Buy it, you won't regret it.

I wish I could put a mid rating. Like this collection of games isn't bad per say but it has its moments. Overall I enjoyed it and had fun. Here are my highlights Good: The UI and Museum are great! I love how everything loads so quickly. I like the charm and overall vibe of the launcher and collection. I think the best games by far are the more narrative stories like Unchainged and Hellenore Its quick and easy to pick up so no major time investment. Cute collection of games. You can really see how the skills of Vladimere has improved. Bad: Make Beautiful. Extremely problematic in general and the gameplay feels off. Like I [spoiler] am upset that the character creator amounts to nothing as it doesn't even matter. If I am gonna go deeper into the meaning and messaging I find it absurd that this is an allegory for being trans. I had to do a double take with my friends (we played it together) when it came to the game and commentary. I'm not hating too hard but I feel like that is probably the least good thing in the collection to put it lightly. [/spoiler] Achievements. I'm a big achievement guy. I found some of them completely obnoxious. The biggest offenders by far imo are [spoiler] No Strings Attached and Become Prey 2. I found the S rank in No Strings attached to be really sucky. Like you have a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ inventory system and you are punished by the game for using it. Anyways, I think Become Prey 2 is even worse. Like I cheated on that one. I found it a bit boring and repetitive to get to the higher waves in endless simply to get slightly stronger. Like I would go from wave 15,20,24,etc. Like I was tired boss [/spoiler] Yeah overall I had a lot of fun from it. I think Vladimere is a cool dude. Been following him since Madvent 2. I understand the relationship between indie devs and gamers is a bit weird. We always have high expectations from them and usually they aren't making Undertales out here you know. If you like a random assortment of indie games of various qualities then this one is for you.

An interesting look into both game development and the mind of a game developer. I would definitely recommend playing through with the audio commentary on. Here are some of my thoughts on each game: Killdeath - Frustrating but fun once you get the hang of it. I guess that sums up most Atari games. No Strings Attached - God I love the music in this one, I might have to ask Vlad for the soundtrack. It's got a great mood and a pretty good story too. Hellenore - A really cute little platformer, not really my kind of game but I enjoyed the vibes. As to your question, Vlad, probably Seaside Hill from Sonic Heroes. Nightmare Killer - This one is dumb, but it a fun way. I still prefer Robert Englund's portrayal of the character. Killdeath Again - I'm not sure the concept translates super well to 3D, especially with how stubborn the movement is. But stacking upgrades and becoming ridiculously powerful is always fun. Good boss fight too. Become Pray: First Encounter - Big Blare Witch vibes, love it. A unique movement style too, really feels like it utilises the mouse. Become Pray 2: The Everlasting Sin - Everything I loved about the first one but I have a rifle which quickly shifts into a machine gun as the coyotes mass and my gem count rises. What A Wonderful Life - This one really makes me feel something, numb specifically, life can be like that sometimes. At least the snow is pretty. The Arrogance Of Man - It's interesting to note that canonically Vlad's car didn't break down in this situation which means it's more than likely they are the ones that hit you at the end. Probably distracted by all the pretty lighting effects. Archade Woah!!! - The only one I've not got 100% in yet. The mood is great and I love to see the numbers go up but the arcade games suck. Nowhere has Time Crisis anymore :( Madvent 2 & 3 - Bitey is cute, animation is funny, combat is ace. C.H.A.I.N.G.E.D Unbound - Feels like I walked into something halfway through. It was more like a dream in that way. Madvent 4: End Of The Line - Such nostalgia, such sadness, such hope. Make Beautiful: This one made me really uncomfortable, which I suppose was the point. The cube kind of felt like it came out of nowhere, maybe the horror is in not knowing why.

An excellent compilation of a variety of horror games and well crafted stories. If you like retro games, or multiple games for the price of one, this is a solid choice of purchase.

DISCLOSURE: I was a play tester for Vladimere's Lhore. If you enjoy small indie games, especially of the HPS1-style horror theme, then you'll find Vladimere's Lhore to be a worthwhile collection of games from a single developer along with their commentary discussing the thought process behind each one and their retrospective feelings about them. Since I'm all about this kind of garage development, I really enjoyed it. My favorite of the collection is the remade No Strings Attached, an NES-aesthetic stalker horror featuring a strong color theme, solid puzzles, and impressive remade artwork by Exsanguine. If you've played through the HPS1 community Madvent calendars (of which Vlad directed 2-4), or the famous HPS1 demo discs, you've already experienced a few of the games on display here; however they have been updated with new bits to make up for the context they were extracted from, quality of life features, rebalancing, and other new content. I particularly enjoyed the commentary which gave a bit of a behind-the-scenes look at organizing such an event as well as providing additional lore that may not have been obvious to those not involved in the project. All of the games are given unique and fitting museum exhibits, each aesthetically interesting in their own right, and providing additional information on the development of each of them. I especially liked the little play stations with console and TV that serve as the launcher for several of them.

Wow! I found this collection of games very fun! I especially like the Museum, there's a lot of great information about the different Models and Timelines, and I thought it was interesting the level of detail and all the graphics. I also liked seeing the comparisons to the original Games. Plus, the Arcade was an awesome touch with all of the old classics represented. It's got several different feels and textures that keep you engaged sensory-wise. I have played Hellenore, (a great game easy to understand and to play, as well as They are Prey 1&2, and the Sounds and textures give it a cool Halloween feel without being overdone. I can't wait to play more of the games and learn more about the developer's point of view. Overall, I enjoyed this game!