Vacant Kingdom is a fairly recent release on Steam created by indie developer Shru. There was a demo version of the game released a few years back now, and it really has come a long way since then.
In Vacant Kingdom, you play as a nameless little cat person whose sense of fashion is unmatched. You’re not sure who you are or what you’re doing, but you quickly notice that something about the kingdom around you is oddly… vacant… ROLL CREDITS!!!!
Seriously though, there’s almost nobody here. You make your way to the town center, where you notice a funny little fella gatekeeping the entrance. He won’t let you in without a ticket. To get said ticket, you have to go through hell and back, but this little fella doesn’t seem to care. Just doing his job I suppose. Can’t fault someone for their 9-5.
The gameplay ramps up pretty quickly, and after selecting a difficulty option through in-story means, you’re presented with the game’s first boss- a giant evil flower creature. The game plays like an arcade-style bullet hell/twinstick shooter (the more terminally online among you will know the most notable experiences in this genre to come from the Japanese series “Touhou”, or even something like Undertale to a lesser degree) which sets you as a smallish character firing volleys of “bullets” at a boss or other such enemy while doing your best to avoid its “bullets”.
The game’s bosses are its main draw, and boy, do they deliver. These guys and gals are tough as nails and they’re going to make damn sure you’re aware of that. Not all hope is lost, though! You’ve got some tricks up your sleeve too. At the press of a button, you can activate the astounding power of… walking slightly slower! Amazing, I know. You also have a dash to get out of harm’s way, a fancy little time-slowing device, and a few unlockable weapons to choose from.
This game is also no stranger to puzzles, having them at every turn (without feeling like a slog). These gradually get more difficult as the game progresses, with some of the outstandingly difficult ones being optional. Unlike most game’s I’ve played as of late, though, Vacant Kingdom’s puzzles actually made me think a bit about what I was doing. Non-puzzle games having puzzles always felt like padding out content since their puzzles weren’t usually that hard, but the puzzles in this game not only feel like they’re meant to be there, but they feel like something you’ve actually overcome once you’ve solved them rather than a mild annoyance.
Visually, this game is stunning. It opts for a pixel style, but how it uses it is so visually unique that it doesn’t err into samey territory whatsoever. If I had to put a word or two to exactly how the art style makes me feel, I’d probably call it somewhat nostalgic with a hint of a dreamlike quality. That dreamy quality is helped by the stylistic choices made with its color scheme, backgrounds, and excellent music.
Originally, the music for the demo was all composed by the game’s creator, Shru. I still loved what music Shru made for the game, but upon the development of the full game, Shru hired another individual to make the music this time around, and it is incredible. The new composer kept to the style Shru was going for with the original score, but made it much more expressive (sorry Shru) and complex. In the calmer areas it adds to the peaceful, dreamlike nature evoked by the visuals, and in combat, it gets the player hyped up for battle and locks you into the task at hand.
Aside from all of the intense action and beautiful massaging of the senses, this game has much to offer in the way of charming writing. Characters each have their own personalities that feel real, all while letting the creator’s unique sense of humor shine through. Its quirky but not in that modern RPG way where quirky oftentimes means clichés and trite dialogue.
My opinions on this game are a little biased, though. I’ve been following its development ever since I stumbled on the demo in my Steam recommended all the way back in 2019. I had a blast with it then, and with it now. I actually was one of the few people that the developer reached out to for help beta testing the game! That was a genuinely fun experience, and I had fun glitch hunting and finding sequence breaks (doing things in the game out of order). I’m very glad I was able to be a part of making the game into a masterpiece (even if I was just a small contributor).
As it stands now, the game sits at a modest 8 dollars on Steam, which I would say is absolutely worth it. There are seldom few games on Steam that I would recommend more than Vacant Kingdom right now. I only have one real gripe with this game, and that’s just how short it is. I hope something like a sequel or second chapter is made at some point, because I would be absolutely over the moon to get to play more of this game. Definitely a 10/10 experience and a game I will always remember fondly.