V-Hunter Puzzler Dx is a turn-based action puzzle game developed and published by Yatch Studios. The player takes the role of the V-Hunter as they search to destroy the dreaded vampire Alric. The player must traverse several regions from vampire nests to caves to find and defeat Alric. But the enemies are just as clever, as the player must time their attacks to avoid a deathly counter that will spell their certain demise.
Starting off, the art is nothing to cry home about. Being made in the Godot engine, the game is displayed with cutesy pixel-art. The art isn’t outstanding, as the game looks rather generic for its gameplay. However, the game’s art doesn’t need to be this amazing and revolutionary element, as the game revolves around gameplay, and the art simply is a vehicle that brings the gameplay into a more palatable state. The art is simple and effective in illustrating what the player needs to be doing, what obstacles stand in their way, and what dangers lurk just a move or two ahead.
The gameplay is the real star here. Yatch Studios did a phenomenal job with creating a series of quick, easily replayable, surprisingly difficult puzzles that are solved through simple combat. At first, the game looks simple enough; perhaps one might suggest the game is childish in design. The first couple of levels teach the player about the game’s first enemy, the Rat, and how they can only attack in adjacent squares. So the player needs to attack the enemy before the rat has a chance to attack them first. Simple enough.
But then the game introduces enemies that move, enemies that require more than one hit, enemies that hit in diagonal as well as adjacent squares, enemies that will hit all squares within a straight line from them, and so on and so on. The game quickly ramps up in difficulty, requiring careful strategy and planning to avoid certain death. The developers clearly had a blast designing these levels, as each one never felt the same, but rather unique and challenging in their own way. The gameplay is simple, sure. But the gameplay is simple where it needs to be and challenging in ways that create a wide range of difficulty and fun for the player.
While the art style lacks anything unique, the gameplay draws the player in, with levels being able to be completed in minutes, leading the player to play for hours without stopping with no fatigue. The game constantly adds new and engaging features that add to the complexity while still keeping the core gameplay simple enough for anyone to learn it in a level or two. One such example is when the player is introduced to dynamite, which when planted, detonates after three turns, destroying anything next to it and on it, while also being strong enough to blast apart vampires completely, without the usage of holy water, which is the one item you need to attack vampires directly. The turn-based elements add a lot of challenge that doesn’t feel unfair, but rather encourages you to mess up and try again, thanks to the game’s built-in feature to undo a turn. All in all, V-Hunter Puzzler Dx is certainly worth a play, and gamers everywhere should check it out.
SCORE: 8.5/10
V-Hunter Puzzler Dx releases for PC via Steam on May 15, 2023. You can wishlist the game right now as well as play the Demo.
Related: Reviews by Matthew White
An avid gamer, Matthew is also an aspiring game developer. Because of this, Matthew knows not only what makes a game great, but also the hard work and artistry required to craft such a phenomenal experience.
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