Vambrace: Cold Soul

Vambrace: Cold Soul is a 2019 roguelike dungeon crawler role-playing video game developed by South Korean studio Devespresso Games. It was released for Linux, macOS, Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Set in a dark fantasy world, the game follows Evelia Lyric as she leads a series of expeditions to explore the haunted lost city of Icenaire, which is covered under a deep layer of ice, in order to solve the mystery behind the magical vambrace she wields. From Dalearch, the last safe region within Icenaire, players may craft items, compose parties of adventurers for an expedition that traverses the city's haunted ruins and prepare Lyric for an eventual confrontation against a powerful adversary known as the Shade King. Vambrace: Cold Soul bears many similarities to the 2016 video game Darkest Dungeon, particularly with its mix of real-time movement and turn-based combat, the player's management of a group of procedurally-generated characters who accompany Lyric, as well as gameplay mechanics which represent the toll it takes on party members with further exploration and combat. The game's art style is developed by Devespresso CEO Minho Kim and is similar in visual aesthetic to The Coma, a previous project by his team. Vambrace drew mixed reviews from video game publications following its release. Reviewers generally praised the game's artwork and engaging setting, while criticism focused on its design decisions and unbalanced difficulty.