Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 71 | 12 |
| Creator reviews (1 tracked) | – | 65 | 0 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 85% | 79 | 532 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 71% | 68 | 1 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 3 reviews sampled · 3 total reviews in window · weighted 2 up / 0.8 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (37)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 90
“Vaporum is a "Steampunk Dungeon Crawler" with a hidden mystery lying underneath the strange laboratory of mechanical creatures out to destroy you. I recommend this game to anyone looking to play a game with collecting, puzzle solving, and combat.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Vaporum is a game that doesn’t try to be anything it’s not, and that’s precisely what makes it so charming. It offers an authentic, old-school experience, but with modern tweaks that make the genre accessible to newer players as well. If you love mysteries, logic, tactics, and industrial aesthetics, you’ll feel right at home in the Arx Vaporum tower.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Vaporum catches attention easily. We like steampunk, it’s cool, and ever since Bioshock brought steampunk back people have been trying to encapsulate that style.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“You’ll start out in the game entering a towering mechanical construct, not quite sure what’s going on...”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Imperfect controls and other minor annoyances aside, Vaporum is a very enjoyable dungeon-crawler. Its insistence on tile-based movement results in battles that are decided by a rather peculiar dance. ”
read full review ↗ - 80
“FatBot Games’ Vaporum is still, to quote myself, a Dungeon Crawling experience that fans will find plenty to love with the mix of the old schooled and new ideas alike. With solid gameplay mechanics and good shreds of information to keep you guessing as to what’s happened, the dive back into this tower was made even better with the fact that you can take it on the go with the Switch’s portability!”
read full review ↗ - 50
“Vaporum is a throwback to an old-school genre, but it doesn't bring about a renaissance for the grid-based dungeon crawler on console.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Vaporum is slightly undermined by its weaker console port, but just very slightly. Even on consoles, it still offers a solid dungeon crawling experience.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Vaporum is very much a thinking game, despite being labeled as a real-time dungeon crawler. If you actually want to use your mind a bit, or have no shame in using a guide at times, Vaporum has much to offer.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“In the end, Vaporum was a welcome return to a world I had long been away from. Vaporum's role-playing and survival experience combine well with Duncan Crawler's style, and this game chains you to the end.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“The most impressive aspect of the game goes beyond its effective console port. The game is “small” in the indie sense, not made by hundreds but by a core team of four developers. Nevertheless, the game's graphical presentation, attention to detail, and handcrafted design are all so instantly appealing that plenty of AAA gamers who give it a go will surely find themselves hooked. Also, definitely tell that friend who likes BioShock that another kick of spooky, clanking, clockwork mystery is available to jump into.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Approached with calm and an open mind, Vaporum is stimulating and inspiring, and may make you like dungeon crawlers more.”
read full review ↗
Pure Nintendo
Gaming Professors
Invision Community
Nindie Spotlight
Cubed3
Chalgyr's Game Room
GameSkinny
SomHráč.sk
SwitchRPG
Pixel Arts
OnlySP
AnaitGames…and 25 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Patch #14 (19-02-2019)Feb 19, 2019significant · resets scoring window
- Patch #13 (02-10-2018) (Linux Only)Oct 3, 2018
- Patch #12 (31-08-2018) — Controller Support!Aug 31, 2018
- Patch #11 (30-07-2018) -- Mac Available Now!Jul 30, 2018
- Patch #10 (12-06-2018)Jun 12, 2018
- Patch #9 (29-05-2018)May 29, 2018
- Patch #8 (28-05-2018)May 28, 2018
- Issues with Windows Version RESOLVEDMar 30, 2018
- Issues with Windows Version RESOLVEDMar 30, 2018
- Issues with Windows VersionMar 16, 2018
- Issues with Windows VersionMar 16, 2018
- Patch #7 (01-03-2018)Mar 1, 2018
- Patch #7 (01-03-2018)Mar 1, 2018
- Patch #6 (23-02-2018) -- Linux!Feb 23, 2018
- Patch #6 (23-02-2018) -- Linux!Feb 23, 2018
- Patch #5 (15-12-2017)Dec 15, 2017
- Patch #5 (15-12-2017)Dec 15, 2017
- Accessibility Update - Stop Time Mode VideoDec 6, 2017
- Accessibility Update - Stop Time Mode VideoDec 6, 2017
- Patch #4 (04-12-2017) - Accessibility UpdateDec 4, 2017
- Patch #4 (04-12-2017) - Accessibility UpdateDec 4, 2017
- Patch #3 (21-11-2017)Nov 21, 2017
- Patch #3 (21-11-2017)Nov 21, 2017
- Patch #1 HotfixOct 10, 2017
- Patch #1 HotfixOct 10, 2017
- Patch #1 (09-10-2017)Oct 9, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Patch #1 (09-10-2017)Oct 9, 2017significant · resets scoring window