Vessel

I remember getting Vessel in the very first Humble Bundle I ever purchased. This was Humble Indie Bundle 6 and it had a few other gems like Torchlight and S.P.A.Z., making it a who's who of the indie scene darlings at the time. This was back in 2012 when competent indie games were just coming into their own as the industry struggled with overpriced, underwhelming triple-A titles. It was a good time for games.

It took me a while to fire Vessel up however, since I haven't always made puzzle/platformers a priority in my typical gaming lineup. It seems strange looking back at it now, you can find any number of mediocre "physics puzzlers" on the Steam store, and yet Vessel still holds strong as a fantastic example of how to do one right.

Vessel's strength is in its pacing. At any one time, you can expect to deal with numerous mechanisms within a single puzzle, but those mechanisms are introduced in such a fashion that you can be sure you've dealt with them enough times by that point so that you understand them well enough in how they play a part in a bigger puzzle. Indeed, the entire first hour of the game serves more as a tutorial for getting you to the main event, but it isn't boring. You genuinely feel like you are playing the game up until the time where you realize that the game is really just getting started.

Vessel excels at these "larger than life" moments, without ever really needing a cutscene or an explanation. The natural progression of gameplay and environment changes lends itself to a particularly efficient sense of an ever-widening world. Just as soon as you feel like you've gotten a good grasp on the mechanics of one area, the game throws completely new inventions or scenery at you. It compliments the satisfaction of overcoming puzzles nicely.

While you operate as Arkwright, our inventor protagonist, the real star of the game are the Fluros, beings formed from liquid that act as both a tool and a terror, depending on the puzzle. While you will start out dealing only with water-based Fluros, the game eventually throws a handful of different kinds at you, each version requiring a different approach than the last, and occasionally you have to deal with multiple types at the same time. Thankfully you are well-equipped with upgradeable gadgets, although getting the actual upgrades can be a chore.

If Vessel falls down anywhere, it is in the story. I don't really believe that Vessel needed a riveting plot, and it doesn't have one, but there are moments where you feel that the developers are making an attempt at one, and it just doesn't do the game justice. Story beats are often introduced alongside new mechanics, which lessen their impact. Arkwright isn't a particularly likable character either, and the motivations behind his need to get to where he's going seem forced at times, and absent at others. Luckily, the gorgeous environments and Steampunk flavoring more than make up for the contrived storytelling.

If I can give Vessel credit for anything, it's that it always keeps you guessing, never feels repetitive, and makes epiphanies come easy when you want them to. There are plenty of opportunities to tackle more difficult versions of puzzles without making them mandatory (such as with the device upgrades) and as a player you never feel too stuck on any one puzzle for too long. You can play Vessel in small chunks, but you definitely need to keep at it. This is not a game you can put down for very long and expect to come back to it with a good grasp of what you need to proceed.

Vessel comes with a price tag that I find a bit too high, but the game is occasionally on sale, and is certainly worth your time. It may not have found the audience that it deserves (maybe because of the price tag), but a good sleeper hit is nice to have in your backlog nonetheless.