Ludography
72/100
Players16 ratings
More scores
Metacritic usersuser score
84/100
GameFAQsJust Right-Tough
3.56/5
Player reviews
96% positive1,174 reviews
Steam Deck
Playable
Runs on
Windows, Mac, Linux
Price
US$6.99

Where to get it

Vangers cover

1998 · K-D Lab · Action-adventure · Adventure

Vangers

Mind-altering sandbox game that can be described as a racing role-playing adventure game with a complicated storyline. You’ll find a unique atmosphere, complete freedom and lots of gameplay hours to figure out what’s the game is all about.

Released
1 June 1998
Platforms
AndroidFreeBSDLinuxWindowsmacOS
Genres
Action-adventureAdventureArcadeCombat racingPost-apocalypticRacingRole-playingScience
Developers
K-D Lab
Publishers
Buka Entertainment1C CompanyMidas Interactive Entertainment
Modes
MultiplayerSingle-player
Perspective
Bird view / Isometric
Themes
ActionOpen world
Country
Russia
Age ratings
USK 12
Languages
English, Russian
Time to beat
12hmain story35hcompletionist

About

Vangers (Вангеры, also known as Vangers: One for the Road) is a racing role-playing video game developed by K-D Lab, a Russian company. It was released in North America in June 29, 1998 after receiving positive responses at that year's E3. An updated re-release was made available on Steam and GOG.com in 2014. The re-release includes support for Mac OS X and Linux.

Players say

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The player controls a vehicle ("mechos"), which can drive and jump. Installing equipment such as weapons and rigs (auxiliary equipment) allows the vehicle to attack targets, fly, burrow into the ground, float, etc. Different mechos have different equipment slots and trunk size. All vehicles are protected with armor, and energy shields that slowly replenish.

The game takes place in 10 connected worlds, three of which are inhabited. Each of them has unique landscape, and the inhabited worlds feature excaves - underground cities, vital for progression. There reside unique Bioses (races/species). When entering the cities, the player reads the narrations of Bios representatives (called Counselors), is allowed to use the trading facilities to buy mechoses, goods and equipment, and can ask patterned questions of "what or who is", about the notions encountered to the point in game. Advancing the plot requires gaining the favor of Bioses, which means for player character to successfully participate in their rituals, to transport goods, to compete with and destroy other, computer-controlled Vangers.

Story

At the beginning of a new game the player is provided with text introduction to the major events of the game world genesis.

According to the introduction, a faction of advanced humans, termed as Spirits, at some point in time gains a technology of creating the Passages between different worlds, the source of technology being Spirits' transcendental contacts. With this knowledge humans undertake rushed construction of the Passages and the new worlds colonization. These events are portrayed in the later Perimeter game, which is the prequel to Vangers.

Reception

The game received mixed reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. Next Generation said, "It's a shame there wasn't a quick-action mode to simply jump in and enjoy the game because what fun there is to be had is buried deep within the pages of a convoluted science-fiction script. Sorry, folks, being weird doesn't always work. Still, if you like the story and don't mind reading a lot of text, there is a fun game here."

Charles Ardai of Computer Gaming World praised the game for its dark, detailed combat simulation with "ten strange and wonderful worlds filled with alien creatures and constructs". 95. However, he found the controls confusing and the futuristic vocabulary contrived. In addition, the README file contained solutions to all of the puzzles in the game.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Windows19 June 1998North America · Worldwide 24 April 2014

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Genres

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.