Destropolis
Destropolis
Game
Game2021
Vagrus - The Riven Realms
Developer Lost Pilgrims Studio
Embark on a perilous journey across a realm forsaken by the gods and devastated by an arcane cataclysm. Lead a traveling company through a harsh, unforgiving world where survival is never guaranteed in Vagrus, an award-winning turn-based post-apocalyptic fantasy RPG. From the Steam store page
232 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon, Lemmy) · newest Nov 3, 2026 · last updated Nov 4, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
87
LovedLoved
191 positive · 29 negative
95% range 82–91%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 191 | 29 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Lemmy * | 2 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
1,197 of 1,413 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
86% recommend · 178 yes, 29 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 207 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (1,619 of 1,905 positive).
Players praise the deep lore, worldbuilding, and immersive storytelling. [1][2][3] Many note the game is challenging and not for everyone. [4][5][6] Some reviewers find the game grindy and lacking quality-of-life features. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [7]
I wanted to love this game, and the idea of a trading-first is interesting. It hooked me up back in Space Rangers days. It will find its fans, but I have got an achievement for unlocking Lore entries after 14 hours, and apparently I am just 1 in 7 players who did that, and it is just a tiny part of the world that I explored. Eventually, it IS grindy and very little is beyond the grind. Maybe the story and quests …
- [1]
Positives: +Vast lore, impeccable worldbuilding +Grueling atmosphere, grim, dark, unforgiving * You are merely one breathing thread in the vast, indifferent tapestry: a single note in the endless chord of the Riven Realms* +Adult storytelling. No brakes on this train! It’s a terrible world, with terrible monsters, coming in many forms. +wide assortment of a colorful cast of characters and companions, each with their …
- [4]
Almost immediately after buying Vagrus, it became one of my favorite games for one main reason: it's clearly the developers' favorite game too. This game has an insane amount of content, especially regarding lore and world building, and the tabletop game mechanics are perfected to make sure the continent of Xeryn is as unforgiving as the Gods intended. As the game states many times, however, it is not for everyone, …
- [16]
If this review is too long to read then don't buy this game. From the moment I stepped into the cruel and compelling world of Vagrus in its prologue, it was clear this was not a game built for rushing. It is a game to be inhabited, read, and slowly mastered. Everything about it speaks of care, intention, and deep love for the craft. The storytelling is the heart of the experience. This is a world layered with …
- [2]
Rich Storytelling. Addictive Gameplay Loop. Compelling Art. Deep Lore. This game is a masterpiece in so many ways and I proudly count it among my all time favorites. I play a LOT of turn-based strategy, rpgs, and resource management games. If you're a fan of any of those genres then you absolutely owe it to yourself to try this game. Just don't start it unless you have a long weekend coming up, this game will live …
Summarised from 34 of the 219 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 12, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
86% of the 207 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Vagrus - The Riven Realms. The complaint that keeps coming up: steep learning curve and high difficulty. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Reactions
60 of 232 · most liked firstI wanted to love this game, and the idea of a trading-first is interesting. It hooked me up back in Space Rangers days. It will find its fans, but I have got an achievement for unlocking Lore entries after 14 hours, and apparently I am just 1 in 7 players who did that, and it is just a tiny part of the world that I explored. Eventually, it IS grindy and very little is beyond the grind. Maybe the story and quests would be the saving grace, but as an insult, the quest descriptions in the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It is with a sad heart I give this game a bad review. The theme is great, the mechanics are great, the worldbuilding is great -- everything in the presentation is wonderful. I say this having played many games in the same vein as this one (trade sims and grimdark RPGs) The bad? The game is ridiculously stingy in it's rewards, and crushingly punishing in it's reprimands. I say that even in light of having read guides and learned my way to avoid the biggest pitfalls. It warns you that missteps…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is supposed to be hard, and that's fine; however, the fact that the start conditions and story start are always the same and there is a fair amount of grind to get anywhere in the game makes the replay value pretty low. Since you're gonna die a bunch you have to replay a bunch. Which means you are doing the same fairly dull things over and over again. It just isn't worth putting the time in to get good at.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Positives: +Vast lore, impeccable worldbuilding +Grueling atmosphere, grim, dark, unforgiving * You are merely one breathing thread in the vast, indifferent tapestry: a single note in the endless chord of the Riven Realms* +Adult storytelling. No brakes on this train! It’s a terrible world, with terrible monsters, coming in many forms. +wide assortment of a colorful cast of characters and companions, each with their own agendas, likes, dislikes and most importantly: Secrets. Negatives:…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pro: worldbuilding Cons: mechanics, e.g.: - price history compares buy to buy and sell to sell so you have to manually compare buy to sell in a CLUNKY UI - companion combat is so very very very slow and tedious even when you're much much stronger than the opponents I gave up after about 16 hours because I got enough of the cons. The worldbuilding isn't enough.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Rich Storytelling. Addictive Gameplay Loop. Compelling Art. Deep Lore. This game is a masterpiece in so many ways and I proudly count it among my all time favorites. I play a LOT of turn-based strategy, rpgs, and resource management games. If you're a fan of any of those genres then you absolutely owe it to yourself to try this game. Just don't start it unless you have a long weekend coming up, this game will live rent-free in your head until you've pulled every story thread it has to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I absolutely LOVED this game. The story telling is phenomenal and the gameplay is so fun. Its a love child between Oregon Trail and Fallout, but in a ruined fantasy realm. Such a good game. 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I can't really recommend the game. It isn't obvious at any point when you're trying to learn this game how to actually be successful. I know this is part of the "difficulty", but it doesn't actually make sense from an RP perspective. A Vagrus in this story would have a general idea of the best way to make money, or the best way to come about provisions, or the best place to find help for different things. However, the game just dumps you in the middle of no where with no advisor to get you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Exceptional game that deserves more attention than it receives. Making a caravan-style trading game interesting relies heavily on a living. In this Vagrus exceeds expectations. It challenges you brutally and surprises in its detailed lore. A mix of management, RPG and survival, Vagrus uses different genres to complement, rather than distract from, its various gameplay features. The type of game that'll push you to leave a review even months after playing.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm about 73 hours in two weeks and i can tell you, ive had a blast in all of them. Th lore is deep, the challenge doesnt get easier, and i cant stop playing! its extremely text heavy, but well written. Definitely the type of game where the deeper you go, the more in unfolds. I havent even touched the DLC part of the game yet. Great game for the price and if its your niche. Big hats off to the devs and writers!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Almost immediately after buying Vagrus, it became one of my favorite games for one main reason: it's clearly the developers' favorite game too. This game has an insane amount of content, especially regarding lore and world building, and the tabletop game mechanics are perfected to make sure the continent of Xeryn is as unforgiving as the Gods intended. As the game states many times, however, it is not for everyone, and it is difficult. There's a steep learning curve, and progressing beyond…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Awesome Trader and Survival sim with heavy story telling. There's a lot of reading but it's well written and worth your time to learn the lore and explore the map.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Difficult game to master, and boy, there's a lot of content. Have lost several games due to utterly embarrassing mismanagement or failed combat encounters (ambushes or greed, take your pick). But when things go well, they go incredibly well. Definitely not for everyone, and that's good, because a game for everyone, is a game for no one.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is great, using August 2026 update . BUT there is a critical UI bug (known long since) that does prohibit drag and drop of items, equipent for characters, the wagon, etc. This bug is killing the experience, as you need to reliably equip and unequip items for quests or travel through specific areas. I cannot believe this is not fixed in version 1.30 onward. Playing on Steam on Win 11
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I literally used a physical note pad and pencil to keep track of the prices of items. Combat is a brutal slog and to be avoided at all times.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I like the writing and the lore. It's a shame it so ridiculously grindy and both combat systems are such rubbish.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The combat system is atrocious. It ruins the game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If this review is too long to read then don't buy this game. From the moment I stepped into the cruel and compelling world of Vagrus in its prologue, it was clear this was not a game built for rushing. It is a game to be inhabited, read, and slowly mastered. Everything about it speaks of care, intention, and deep love for the craft. The storytelling is the heart of the experience. This is a world layered with history, consequence, and moral tension. The writing is rich without being self…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A little gem of a game that will immerse you in a rich and fascinating world for more than a hundred hours worth of content and written storylines. Vagrus : Riven Realms is both a game and a book, with similarities to how sunless sea and sunless skies operate. As the leader of a wandering company, the game tests your management and decision-making skills at every click : where do you go, what missions and what goods do you trade, what is the composition and scale of your company, how do you…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you are looking for a game similar to Sunless Seas or Skies, you'll probably enjoy this game! It is heavy with lore and worldbuilding which involves long sessions of reading. The combat is not revolutionary but it is fun if unrelenting at time. If you want to play a game like this try the demo first it gives you a good idea of what is to come. I recommend it to someone that is willing to sit and think about the world and try to wrap your brain around all the interconnected pieces and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Holy cow what a grind fest! Most everything is unexplained, from movement point numbers decreasing for no explained reason, to magic UI buttons that have no explanation of what the ACTUAL FREAKING BUTTON DOES, let alone why it is grayed out. Hidden mechanics like using 150% rations to allow marching every turn. Guess you'd need to figure that out on your own with experimentation because the game explains nothing. Leveled my companions to level 3 yet they still have their heads handed to them…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you like to read a lot good written text, do heavy tactical thinking in order to minimize the random bad chances, then this game is made for you. If you like action packed games that you click on and on without a second thought - stay away from this game and save yourself a world of hurt.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There are a lot of things to say about this game. Unfortunately 'fun' isn't one of them.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →At this time I have ~370 hours in this game over the tutorial storyline + 2 other playthroughs, you can say I am a BIG fan. This is one of the few games where when the devs put out DLC i buy it immediately. Not because I know it will be quality (though I and we/do know it will) but because the amount of hours and enjoyment I have received from this game vs what I paid for it feels like robbery and I want the devs to get their due and continue making more worlds of wonder like this. The…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you like reading a mundane high fantasy novel buy this, if you want to play a video game with depth dont.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game has a really cool world and an interesting premise. It does require a bit of learning at the start, but it can become very enjoyable once you get into it. I would normally recommend it as a fairly niche game — it’s definitely not for everyone, but it can be great if it’s your cup of tea. Unfortunately, I can’t recommend it in its current state. After 40 hours, my playthrough was abruptly ended by what seems to be a simple scripting bug. The hidden criminal karma system doesn’t…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun game with great storytelling! You play as a traveling merchant who takes odd jobs here and there. I have never played a game quite like this so it was an adjustment at first, but once I got the hang of things it got easier. Resource management can be tough if you don't plan things out well enough but generally you'll be fine as long as you keep track of things. I've definitely had to reload saves to get myself back on track while learning the game. Lots of reading to help immerse yourself…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is not for everyone. But it is for me, and maybe it’s for you! (SPOILER FREE REVIEW) Time -This game is long. At the time of writing this, I have just finished my first full playthrough. (Full playthroughs are ten years of in-game time or until you complete your chosen win condition. I lost.) NOTE: I am a slower player than average, but the game is still looooong. To me, that’s a good thing. -I got both the Seekers of Knowledge and Vorax DLCs for free. I have also purchased the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Beautiful (in a dark sense) setting and lore. Well written interactions and generally great ideas - but absolute tedious gameplay. You have to keep manually track of everything, writting down infos that may be allready out of date once you managed to reach the destinations. The traveling takes ages and is unbelievable dull and tedious after some time, the turtorial does not even explain half the things you need to know. You are encourage to save often because it is "hard" when in truth…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very, very addictive.😁 Well written and compelling world, characters and stories. I first played the demo, give it a try.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Excellent game, wonderfully rich universe, reminds me a lot of Sunless Seas/Skies
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →How does one accurately describe a game such as Vagrus? Vagrus is a complex yet very rewarding experience in which you play the role of a vagrus, which is a merchant/mercenary/trader figure who travels the wastelands and deserts of a post-apocalyptic fantasy Roman setting. THE SETTING The level of detail, care and variety of the setting is fantastic. It truly shows that it's the result of years of additions and organic development and creative work. The playable part of the continent is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Its an interesting game,i have fun,but why negative review? Cause developer think minus your companion loyalty everytime u do some good gesture is fun,i literally mean it,every ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ time u perform good gesture they gonna minus your companion loyalty(without explanation) so yeah,good game,but something wrong in the developer mind,they want u to behave like animal in the game,dun act as a normal human edit:during camping you can talk to your companion and give them gift to improve…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game has a super cool idea and a fun game play loop but has ZERO respect for player time. You need to save scum so much because an unavoidable OR unmitigatable event will happen that literally destroys hours of your work. It's not a matter of "get good newb", it's just dumb randomness that makes the difficulty of the game artificial. The companion combat is HORRIBLE. It's a slog of misses, dragging battles, and spam. This game wants to be "gritty" but it's just an unpolished and unbalanced…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Some games are reading games, and I would say this is one of them. Sure, you could skip over the text, just focus on mechanics and pump up your numbers, but that would be missing so much of the wonder of this game. Really, I think it's a game about exploring, seeing new places, meeting new people and discovering their stories, and also about trading and fighting. But mostly reading interesting descriptions. Okay, that's underselling things a bit. It's a really good game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's really good, one of the best I've played in a long time. Usually don't write reviews. Stellar writing. Go in blind and also get the DLCs. I hope the developers will continue make content and more DLC for it for a long time.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dudddeeee a spreadsheet! (Unironically though it has really good worldbuilding and a truely insane amount of quests with interesting stories if that's your kind of thing. I like roleplaying with the voices in my head so I was hooked after finishing the prologue, would recommend.)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wow this game is good! Vagrus scratches that "Sunless Sea" itch I didn't know I needed. That intense feeling of being a small (although vital) fish in a very dangerous lake, where everything wants to eat you, or (god forbid) tax you. You'll be sucked in by the post-apocalyptic Roman Empire setting, caravan management and dread of being eaten/taxed. You'll stick around for the excellent writing, incredible companion stories, and the wish to overcome this godforsaken continent. Highlights: *…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A labor of love. Great depth. But too much text reading for me and too difficult to figure out the convoluted GUI menus. I have no idea what I was supposed to do in early game to get a good start. It's a hard game, that's how they want it to be. If you love reading lots of text, long hard RPG games, RNG, etc., then this game could be for you. I would advise reading the other reviews to decide. I ran into no bugs, etc. The game has unique artwork. The writing is good. I just wish I could advance…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Vagrus - The Riven Realms. Essentially it's Oregon Trail game in fantasy world. But effectively, it consists of many different genres. There's caravan management, choice making, strategy, tactical combat, profit making, cRPG... It's highly complicated, challenging but also very fun.
positive · AI labelView post →The game is constantly telling you how important its writing is, but no one making the game seems to agree since the text is... not great. There's a few formatting errors like percentages showing two signs, e.g. "15%%" and there quite often seems to be double spaces after certain words. Hardly the end of the world, but it makes it a little annoying to read and I wonder why no one proofreads or fixes the very important text. Some phrases used just feel out of place too, such as us "hauling ass"…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ngl this game is PEAK. Worldbuilding and stories are straight up bussin fr fr, characters freaky af. The learning curve filters everyone but top Gs, with a tiktok-fried brain its over, but if you love reading its a true hidden gem, lowkey hits like crack, no cap.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The premise is interesting enough and the world seems worth exploring, but the combat system killed it for me. I think the gamer would work better with either the combat being entirely automatic (maybe with general orders by the vagrus here or there) or being more "strategy game". As it is, the combat system sits in the uncanny valley for me.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game seems absolutely incredible do far. Immersive, engaging world. Just the right amount of struggle. It's relaxing and challenging somehow at the same time. Additionally the dev's seem to deeply care about their game and have added tons of content over the last few years while continuing to improve the base. Exactly the type of developer I'm happy to support
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Incredibly luck based. Really wanted to have fun but I don't like having to start over 10 times just to have my starting guys get a crit so they won't die in the MANDATORY battles in the campaign.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fully recommend this game to people who are tabletop game people. There’s a lot of theater of the mind, a lot of resource management and actual consequences for your actions. There’s bugs here and there, less since a few patches have come out (it’s an indie title after all). Base game is great, but the DLC has added much. Honestly just looking forward to when they bust out more additions to the world, looking forward to exploring them.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very rich lore, although the combat system is quite basic. Surviving can be a bit difficult at the start, but once you figure out how to do quests and move around efficiently, it's actually pretty easy. I love how intricate the world feels, and that you build up from being a nobody to actually having impact on the world.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Amazing game for anyone looking for Sunless Sea-type games. Insanely immersive and detailed worldbuilding and lore coupled with fun managament mechanics.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Brutal and extremely difficult, but worth the payoff for succeeding. Storylines are well written, gameplay loop is decent. Requires a lot of patience.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nice interface, crew management, top.... but the story is rigid as a steelbar You are responsible of a crew and the first thing you have to do is to put everyone in danger for Zealot Empire reasons and you cannot stray as the scenario is blaming you everytime.... (it offers choice like reporting the guy but it stray outside scenario so you have to reload) if you cannot stray then this is not a RPG but a sad pretense.... everything is good but this bad scenario..... and scenario is everything to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Overall I like the game and the gameplay but i think the game hurts itself by basically not giving more insight (exp) and the morale debuff once you get to around 50 people in your caravan. Feels like both of these really hurt you once you hit that mid game and the gameplay loop which i do get emersed in (route planning and such) feels held back to me by no insight gain via combat (which you get hit with atleast once depending on the contract) or contract completion. I enjoy the gameplay and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What a lovely game this turned out to be! I was itching for something story rich and immersive, and found the demo of Vagrus. It was great! I played through the tutourial, soaking up all the lore I could while immersing myself, and then was able to free roam play for awhile too. It was brutally hard, just as advertised, but I was hooked! I'm 100 hours into the full game now, and the lore just keeps expanding! So much world building knowledge and things to learn. Combat can be fun once…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The story text is very engaging, and although the combat system is simple, it is still fun. I have a suggestion: the background images for each oasis are all the same, and the tavern images in each city are also identical. The repetition of images is too high, which feels unrealistic. I hope that in the next update, each location can have its own unique scenery images, making the overall game more immersive.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Do you like the challenge of being confused after reading a detailed tutorial? Do you like it when your games tell you that you will likely end your first playthrough or three in a death spiral? Do you enjoy death spiraling playthroughs in order to learn how to play a game? Did you read and enjoy the Malazan Book of the Fallen or other wandering, verbose epic fantasy novels? Do you hate gameplay? Do you like managing spreadsheets? Do you like punishing slaves? If you answered one or more of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Talk about a TOP SHELF, amazingly intricate and IMMERSIVE turn-based experience!?! Look no further than this gem right here! Absolutely exquisite stuff, truly, one of the big handful of recent-year releases that has just been an absolute DIAMOND and true labor of Love to make! You can feel the quality of this one oozing off every aspect of it, it's really that good, just wish the ENTIRE map was playable, but what IS playable is already huge and will take you over 100 hours to properly get into,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Deep (maybe a little too deep even?) survival management meets rpg. Has a lot of stuff and really gets you into it. Be prepared to read a lot, and enjoy it! The game can be brutally challenging, depending on your difficulty level of choice.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very buggy and most bugs go unresolved. Only about 1/4th of the actual map can be unlocked, and all the things that seem to be something that you could resolve, like the howling winds blocking access to here or there, and any of the mysterious things happening in the beginning of the game, cannot be solved and there are no quests for it. The game is locked to the small area you have right from the beginning. Not worth playing.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Didn't know if I loved or hated it for the first 12 hours. Enjoyed the tutorial part of the "tutorial", both for tutorial and the narrative world building, then I went in to the main game. I made a number of mistakes and eventually just put myself in a frustrating position where I felt like starting over with all that I'd learnt, and man it's been a blast since then. Despite reading other reviews I really don't find myself save scumming that much, and if you're having to save scum a bunch…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Reminded me of the Oregon Trail - except, instead of dying of dystentery, I got my entire comitatus eaten by sand wyrms in an epic battle. 10/10! In more detail - this is a very fun game with a story in which decisions matter. Gameplay is tough at the start while you struggle to get established and manage your inventory, employees, and money (bross), but it really feels like being a succesful merchant as you slowly establish trade routes and build up your caravan's (comitatus') capacity.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is great, so much little details you will miss while questing that can have good or negative consequences, makes you want to start over and find those hidden little gems. Only 2 areas which i found was very tedious to farm specific knowledge or items, but farmable they are. Hope this game keeps getting major builds released for years to come, want to be able to explore the whole map, fight dragons, get caught up in the gods ambitions and plans, exploring all types of magic and the arcane,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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