S3E13 - Vellum

The pen is mightier than the sword! This week we crack open that new book smell with a first edition copy of Vellum: the third-person literary hack-and-slash game. We navigate the maze-like stacks, pet some colorful wolf friends, and talk about how many puns is TOO many for understanding a game properly. Don't be quick to judge a book by it's steam store page! There's plenty of spells and quills and swords, but remember: A game a lone a last a loved a long the- 00:00 - intro * 1:22 - game stats * 2:50 - one sentence description * 6:47 - Hub world complexity and literary theming commitment * 12:37 - Overly complex terminology and ability descriptions * 19:04 - Enemy design and literary theme implementation * 25:33 - "One more run" phenomenon and replay motivation * 29:17 - Positive aspects including UI and visual effects * 33:00 - Inscription system and meta progression mechanics * 38:26 - Vignette encounters and their effectiveness debate * 42:54 - Tome selection system and special level rules * 48:07 - Progression gating and attunement level complaints * 55:39 - End game content and endless mode discussion * 1:01:29 - Boss strategy discovery and magical lamp exploit * 1:14:13 - rankings and final thoughts * 1:22:08 - similar games * 1:24:50 - listener correspondence: does the GROGPOD need a public discord channel? Next episode: 2025 Summer Music Fest Contact us at [email protected]! Listen on: Custom RSS - https://grogpod.zone/feed.xml Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/grogpod/id1650474911 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/655SEhPUWIC77oO3hILe0b Youtube Music - https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-ShOmyMvd4jYFChE6tgj0JYG8RKK4xe0 https://grogpod.zone Intro music: My Little Brown Book - Duke Ellington, John Coltrane Outro music: Vellum OST - Boss Battle