This is Niche Spotlight. In this column, we regularly introduce new games to our fans, so please leave feedback and let us know if there’s a game you want us to cover!
Today’s Spotlight is Vambrace: Cold Soul, a new roguelite RPG by Devespresso Games, Headup, and WhisperGames.
Vambrace: Cold Soul is an RPG with roguelite elements that could probably be pitched as “Darkest Dungeon with catgirl and elf waifus.” The King of Shades has placed a curse on the city of Icenaire, plunging it into a never-ending winter and raising the dead as spectral Wraiths. You play as Evelia Lyric, the bearer of the enchanted Aetherbrace and Icenaire’s best hope.
Plan expeditions into the underground depths by recruiting a party of hardened adventurers and crafting magical items. Fight the servants of the King of Shades in tactical, turn-based battles where party positioning dictates the skills your characters have access to. You can check out a trailer above.
Vambrace: Cold Soul is available on Windows PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam and GOG for $24.99, with PS4, Switch, and Xbox One ports coming later this year.
Here’s a rundown of the game:
The King of Shades has cursed the great city of Icenaire. Now cast under a permanent blight of frost fall, its former residents have returned from the dead as mad Wraiths. Survivors take refuge deep underground where they lead a desperate campaign against this unearthly power. Woefully outmatched, they are forced into hiding as the King of Shades amasses an army of the undead above them. One fateful day, a mysterious stranger appears in the city with an enchanted vambrace. She may now be their only hope…
You are Evelia Lyric, bearer of the Aetherbrace and the only human capable of entering Icenaire. The survivors now look to you as their best hope against the King of Shades. Only one problem…you’re woefully outmatched, and survival is not guaranteed.
Vambrace: Cold Soul is a narrative-driven game filled with memorable characters, brutal challenges, and deep strategy. To succeed, you must choose perceptive party leaders, camp to recuperate, navigate strange encounters, and survive deadly combat. Will you scavenge for supplies to sell or use them to craft new items for your next expedition? The surface of Icenaire is cold and unforgiving. So, prepare your party well before departing…lest you join the cursed city’s undead.
In this game, the difference between life and undeath all comes down to good planning and smart tactics!
Key Features:
- Embark on an epic fantasy-adventure spanning 7 intriguing chapters.
- Complete sub-quests to unlock up to 26 new, thematic character skins.
- Assemble your party from 5 races and 10 unique classes of recruits.
- Craft items and armor from precious materials gathered on your trips.
- Make crucial decisions where one wrong turn can seal your party’s fate.
- Prepare well or condemn your comrades to permanent death.
- Find codex pages to expand upon Ethera’s history and mythical lore.
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