Reviews

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  𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔦𝔬𝔱𝔞

  Jan 13, 2017

  Balthasar never fails to deliver when it comes to games with intense stories and well-developed characters that pull you into their worlds. I had high hopes for this early access and I was not disappointed. The animations are something that are kind of unique to the world of RPG maker, at least from my experience. They were beautifully done, too. Good soundtrack choices, and the original tracks flowed good with the scenes. I loved the pixel work, especially the sprites. These sprites had quite a bit of work done with them and their movement flows. It's a game with very dark topics, executed very well with an intense story. Wonderful work.
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  AtlasAtrium

  Feb 21, 2017

  (Intro) I had the honor of being one of the first (if not the first) to play the finished version of this game. When it comes to RPG Maker, this is absolutely the most unique and compelling game I've played and I've been around the community for a good five years now. That said, let's move on with the actual review. . . (Story & Writing) To get straight to the point, this is where the game really shines. In this game, it's not a story about heroes and villains and it's not about the flaky world-building or chats with boring NPCs - no, its strength lies in its ability to drive the story forward. Most RM games push their narratives with in-game cutscenes or storybook slideshows. In Vindictive Drive, the story segments feel a lot more like reading an intense comic or even watching a movie - the characters have very strong personalities and the writing itself does an amazing job of holding all of the pieces together - the synergy between all of these components creates a highly engaging, standout story-telling experience that you won't find in any other RPG Maker title: Honestly, this game deserves a high rating on these merits alone. It may start off a bit slow but when it picks up, it picks up hard. (Gameplay) The gameplay. . . has its ups and downs, I should say. Certain aspects, like the fact that you can't strafe, fire your pistol at point blank range, and the fact that the latter half of the game becomes a bit of a button mash-fest (less so depending on which helper bot you chose) don't exactly work in its favor. However, as it stands I think it's still definitely serviceable for this kind of game - because of the threat of a hasty death, it still forces you to be careful, think a little bit about your next action, and make use of your reaction speed to deal with enemies and security. (Art & Music) What you see is what you get, which has probably turned some people off. It's not high quality art for sure, but the way it's used speaks for itself - it does its job well, and is excellently utilized as locomotion for the game's story. The presentation, the animated cutscenes, the accompanying music, all of it fits together harmoniously. Any previous gripe about the visual quality I think would melt away after being immersed in the game world. Personally, I love the stylized art - it's a huge part of what gives the game its own identity. The music choices are spot on as well, remaining consistent and definitely helping to define the game's atmosphere. (Conclusion) To sum it up, I found Vindictive Drive to be a full, fleshed out experience, not just a combination of working parts. It's a wild ride from start to finish and it's one of the most satisfying games I've played in a very long time, and that's including other popularized indie and triple A titles. If you had any inclination to check this game out prior, let this be a very, VERY strong recommendation.
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  James with the Games

  Dec 14, 2017

  I WAS really enjoying this game and was going to leave it a rather sparkling review. This game's story is incredibly enticing even with the tanky keyboard controls I was enjoying it. However when I reached chap 7, that opinion quickly reversed itsself. I've been trying for well over the last hour trying to finish an action timed puzzle, and I have died way too frequently here in my honest opinion. This should have been playtested a bit more thoroughly. It's one thing if the finale has something so difficult in it, or an optional dungeon/sidequest, but NOT if its at the beginning of act 2 or 3. So for now even though this is a good story I cannot recommend it.
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  Chikken

  Mar 13, 2018

  Vindictive Drive is an action and stealth game created by Balthasar02 (Secret Society Games) in the RPG Maker VX Ace engine. The game centers around Arris Fern, a revenge driven girl who is bent on avenging the death of her mother, and the traumatic childhood she was forced to endear. Throughout this journey you meet lots of people who are not only relevant and necessary to know more about the story, but that also helps Arris grow as a character. I knew that when Balthasar was going to make a new game it was going to be one with twists, turns, and that it would leave an impact. I was very excited to play Vindictive Drive, however, I never got to it until recently, and I am certainly glad I did! One of my favorite things about Balthasar’s games is that he sets up his characters in a way to make us feel like we should care about them, and that gives us an incentive to keep playing. Story: The plot in Vindictive Drive is about Arris getting her revenge against her father, Charles Mourne. We see in Vindictive Drive that Charles was not only an abusive and terrible father, but he also killed Arris’s mother. This action sets everything into play. As you play as Arris and meet more key people, there are multitudes of decisions you can make. These decisions affect the story heavily. You can make Arris an extremely cruel and merciless killer, or you can make Arris some who is revenge driven, but still human. There is multiple choices and branches, so replaying the game wouldn’t be a completely new experience, but I’d say it’s satisfying enough to replay to get all of the endings and experiencing the different routes. My playthrough took about two hours and fifty-four minutes, so it is a fairly short game. If you wanted, you could probably get all of the endings in a mere couple of hours. Gameplay: The gameplay in Vindictive Drive I’d say is a combination of stealth and action. As Arris, you mostly hack various things, avoid enemies at all cost, and fight when absolutely necessary. Later in the game, you are able to get access to two robots, Amaranth and Ophelia. Amaranth is a loud and a gunner down kind of robot, while Ophelia is like a more advanced Arris. You can also unlock the extremely overpowered Eureka, who is a blast to play. In terms of gameplay, I’d say that I wish there was more engagement on Arris’s part. The little bit of gameplay at the bank in the beginning was what I hope we had more of for Arris, it was interesting and not usually the same formula of things we see in other games. The fight scenes with Arris weren’t too bad though, and still were fun enough to keep me playing. Graphics: Almost every character in Vindictive Drive has a portrait, matter of fact, I can’t think of any character in the story who doesn’t have a main role who doesn’t! There’s different emotes for portraits, so we’re not looking at the same one either. Like I said earlier, every character’s appearance is unique and none of them feel too similar. The CGs, animations, and cutscenes were so awesome! There are times when I play this game where it feels like I’m watching an anime, or a movie and I’d say that’s a pretty impressive feat for a game made in RPG Maker. Sound: I really liked the soundtrack in Vindictive Drive. All of the sounds and music complimented each scene and area really well. Balthasar has a good ear for picking tracks out in his games, I really enjoyed the music. The sound effects worked well too, the guns sounded like guns, and nothing felt like it was out of place! Conclude: If you like dark stories, anti-heros, action, stealth based games, shooter games, or story driven games then you should check out Vindictive Drive! It doesn't cost much and I'd say it's worth the money, especially for the game length and all of it's cool features!
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  wrb41977

  Apr 18, 2018

  Good story with RPGMaker as its way of being told (which is both good and bad). There are some major issues near the end, though. Perhaps wait for a discount. And maybe factor in the Trading Cards in your decision...
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  VictusNoctus

  May 23, 2020

  Diamond in the rough could not be a fitter term for this game. Unfortunately, it's so rough that I almost dropped it before I even started it. This game is not for everyone. The tiny screen size can't be adjusted but can be forced into fullscreen mode by alt + enter. Alt tabbing after this seems to bug out the game though. You will die. A lot. I save a lot anyway. Stealth. Exploring is almost never rewarded. Despite all it's problems, I thoroughly enjoyed the game. The [strike]edgy[/strike] plot got better as you got deeper into the rabbit hole. The gameplay felt unique and interesting to learn [strike]how to abuse it[/strike] even if it was rage inducing at times. When in doubt. Spam and save scum. My first clear was at 5.7 hours while messing around. Now wth do i do with this password. Edit: Found the problem with chapter 7, you screwed up. Load an older save file then talk to Luna and help her with her car problem. If you REALLY want to finish the action puzzle, press A, slot in painkillers. When you take about 500 damage hit that hotkey then Z to quickly heal. You should only need about 7 pankillers at worst.