Vigil: Blood Bitterness

I'm of two minds about posting this game -- because in some ways it's utterly brilliant, and in some ways it utterly sucks. The site is supposed to be pointing you to "the good stuff," and it's hard to characterize this game as that, exactly; parts of it I'd rate a 10 out of 10, and parts of it a 1. But perhaps, in a way, that's why you should take a look; there's a lot to be learned from Vigil, both in terms of things that games should be doing, and in terms of things they should eschew.

The good things about Vigil (marketed as Victi in Europe) are immediately apparent. The visual style is strikingly original and viscerally appealing. It's a 3D graphic adventure, but the graphics are stark black-and-white, with splashes of color used for impact--something like the cinematic version of Sin City, but even more impactful in a game context, where nothing of the kind has ever been seen before.

The story is equally striking, and strange; you are some sort of trans-dimensional trans-human, a godlike figure living in an enormous castle among the stars, a setting that brings to mind Gormenghast or Death's home in the novels of Terry Pratchett. You have recently slain your remaining kin, and an anthropomorphized figure of Evil is attempting to invade your castle and destroy you. (Which you've got to prevent, obviously.)

The game's soundscape combines a creepy techno score with equally creepy sound effects, and a sort of Latinate mumble on the part of the characters when they speak (which luckily is rendered into text subtitles, so you can read what they're saying).

So, you know, take this and add it up, you get major plus points for sheer style. The developers are taking major creative risks in look and approach, and on that score, it works. Rah for them.

Where the game begins to break down is when style meets substance--and gameplay. For a start, there's one simply inexcusable design decision: The game is in four "acts", and there are no save points "entr'acte," if you will. And yes, this is a game in which you can die--so if you do, you have to replay all the crap you did within the act before you did. Tch. I thought we'd solved this problem ages ago. Bad developer, no biscuit.

For another thing, as with most graphic adventures, it's a puzzle-based game; solving puzzles opens new areas of the gamespace. Fine, except that most of the puzzles are what Johnny Wilson used to call "plumbing problems" (after Myst, in which most puzzles involve opening or closing valves in a system of piping). Here, they involve opening and closing doors, and praying at the right places and times, with some few additional features--no inventory (or inventory combination) involved. For my part, I consider this fairly dull.

And while the story begins with a tasty bit of ambiguity, a sense of metaphysical importance, and a frisson of terror, it never quite gels into something I'd consider "comprehensible." That is, in the mode of many another French graphic adventure, it seems to adhere to an aesthetic of literary obscurity that anyone who isn't French is likely to find frustrating rather than compelling.

The difficulty is compounded by the fact that the puzzle solutions often derive from comprehension of the story--which, given that the story is incomprehensible, is a problem.

All in all, you have to look at Vigil as brilliantly innovative in some ways--and sadly deficient in others. Despite this, I still have no reservations in recommending that you play it--with the walkthrough in hand, to minimize frustration--to experience the things that is does do extremely well.