Take the third-person, co-op action of Risk of Rain 2 and blend it with gorgeous fantasy magic reminiscent of Magicka, Elden Ring, and The Elder Scrolls Skyrim, and you get Vellum, a new Steam roguelike with a distinctive theme of ink-based magic. With over 300 powers and 100 upgrades and spells on offer, Vellum is looking like a fantastically versatile addition to the genre, and its short-form runs make jumping on with friends a more approachable prospect.
Vellum comes from developer Alvios Games, and its bold, colorful spells immediately leap off the metaphorical and literal page in its new reveal trailer. Looking to draw from the best roguelike games to create something new, intricate, deep, and yet approachable, Vellum is all about the very ink adorning the pages of your magical tomes.
In contrast to your enemies the Torn, monochromatic black-and-white monsters somewhat reminiscent of Destiny 2’s Taken that threaten to drain the very color from the land, you and your fellow Scribes sling all manner of brightly colored spells. In addition to crafting your own individual builds, pulling from more than 300 powers that Alvios says “can all be build-makers, no filler,” you can also coordinate to earn group-wide boons from The Font, giving you even more game-changing powers.
While the promise of “over 100 upgrades and spells, over 300 powers for you and your team, and colorful ultimate and signature powers creating over 70 loadout combinations” certainly sounds interesting, one of the most exciting bullet points for me has to be Vellum’s estimated run times of just 30 minutes.
As excellent as Risk of Rain 2 is, trying to get a group of friends to commit to a play session of unspecified length that can easily drift into multiple hours is often a near-impossible task. If Vellum can offer fun, flashy gameplay with interesting decisions to make that won’t preload my entire evening, I’m totally ready for it.
Vellum is set to release in 2024 via Steam Early Access. You can wishlist it now to keep track of future updates, and for additional information.
Until then, have a look through more of the best co-op games on PC for plenty more ways to pass the time with your friends, or explore more great indie games that you won’t want to miss out on.
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