Developer and publisher Fatbot Games has just announced the prequel for their dungeon crawling role-playing title Vaporum, which was released in 2017. Titled Vaporum: Lockdown, it is set to launch for the PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam on September 15. PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch versions have also been announced, with the Switch version releasing in Q4 2020 and the PS4 and Xbox One versions due out in 2021.
Lockdown's predecessor, the first Vaporum, has been dubbed as a "Steampunk dungeon crawler” and is a first-person role-playing game inspired by classics such as Dungeon Master I and II, the Eye of the Beholder series, and the more recent Legend of Grimrock I and II. Vaporum puts players in the role of an unnamed protagonist stuck inside a gigantic mechanical tower in the middle of the ocean filled with dangerous creatures and enemies, and only equipped with an exo-rig. Players will have to traverse the tower to uncover its secrets and mysteries, learn what happened, and discover their identity. In contrast to usual CRPGs, players do not upgrade their personal stats through their run, but rather upgrade their exo-rig with additional weapons, gadgets, and more that will help you defeat enemies, traverse obstacles, and also provide stat bonuses and passive skills.
As for Vaporum: Lockdown, it will follow the steampunk aesthetic of its predecessor, but will come with a few choice changes and improvements. For one, the story now follows the journey of Ellie Teller, a scientist who is part of a mysterious research project in the middle of the ocean, which I would assume will set the stage for the events in Vaporum. This should be great news for fans of the series’ lore. Following disastrous events, Teller now must struggle to survive and escape the titular tower of Arx Vaporum. Lockdown will still be in first-person and follow the same grid-based format as Vaporum. Players can also expect a gadget-based loot and upgrade system and lore pieces scattered throughout the tower which can be acquired by defeating enemies and solving puzzles throughout each level.
Vaporum: Lockdown will launch for the PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam on September 15. It is also set to release for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch at later dates.