Vambrace: Cold Soul
Vambrace: Cold Soul
Game
Game2025
Vambrace: Dungeon Monarch
Developer Dvora Studio Co. Ltd.
Deck-building, dungeon defense, and tactical gameplay combine in Dungeon Monarch! Recruit warriors and wizards, buff your heroes, and thrash your foes — summon your dungeon monarch to punish interlopers and defeat enemies to increase your dark powers! From the Steam store page
56 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy) · newest Oct 23, 2026 · last updated Nov 4, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
71
Fresh
22 positive · 9 negative
95% range 53–84%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 22 | 9 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 5 | 0 | 17 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 1 | 2 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
23 of 32 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
70% recommend · 21 yes, 9 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 30 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (52 of 71 positive).
Players praise the blend of deck-building, auto-battler, and dungeon defense mechanics. [1][2][3] Many reviewers note poor English translation and UI issues. [4][5][6] Some players find the story compelling despite clunky writing. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [13]
Fun concept for a game. But man, seems like they focused all of their efforts on gameplay and just kind of... gave up on the writing. It was rough in the early-access version/demo, and I'd really hoped that they'd get someone to polish up the writing in between those version, but not only are there typos in the dialogue itself, but it's also pretty weak and clunky. For a game that has a definite story element, it's …
- [17]
Game started out pretty decent, but sadly the front is much better than the back. The base of the game is solid, an autobattler where you build up your forces, upgrade your chosen classes, The 2 problems the game has is the extreme RNG just gets silly, especially getting to higher level synergies. The nature of sacrificing creatures to upgrade synergy classes means that it takes a lot to upgrade to max level, and …
- [1]
First! This game is highly recommended! I have played many cards game and dungeon battlers but I can say that this is the best one! Dungeon monarch contain alot of my favourite elements. Play this if you like : Card game : You really really love card! Turn based and the artwork of the card of dungeon monarch is top class! Unit system : You really love having a bunch of minions under your control Evil Lord theme : …
- [11]
As a challenger TFT player and avid Slay the Spire fan this game feels like a cohesive mix of the two with additional elements. Overall I would say the game is a 7.5-8/10, with only a few issues that can easily be adjusted after the full release. The concept feels unique, but not to the point that players will have no understanding of the game or how to proceed when first starting out. Pros: - Runs incredibly well! …
- [6]
Sideways thumb. The writing it absolutely awful but the gameplay is alright with an interesting mix of deckbuilder for spells and a kind-of 'lane' autobattler. Thankfully you can just skip the story beats every time they come up and it's not too painful. What stopped me playing however is that the UI is unbearably bad: for a game where synergies matter, not knowing what creatures die round to round so you can …
Summarised from 34 of the 55 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 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
70% of the 30 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Vambrace: Dungeon Monarch. The complaint that keeps coming up: poor English translation with many typos. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Reactions
56 of 56 · most liked firstGOG News for Gaming/Linux/Steam Deck. I thought a dedicated GOG News post might be a nice change-of-pace. I'm not sure how much I can find or cover here, that hasn't already been shared in any case...but I *do* love GOG, and I feel they get a little less publicity or cover than the obvious alternative of Steam...so here we go :) ---------------------------------------------------------- # GOG’s Gaming News: ---------------------------------------------------------- # *Authenticator:*…
neutral · AI labelView post →GOG News for Gaming/Linux/Steam Deck. I thought a dedicated GOG News post might be a nice change-of-pace. I'm not sure how much I can find or cover here, that hasn't already been shared in any case...but I *do* love GOG, and I feel they get a little less publicity or cover than the obvious alternative of Steam...so here we go :) ---------------------------------------------------------- # GOG’s Gaming News: ---------------------------------------------------------- # *Authenticator:*…
neutral · AI labelView post →Fun concept for a game. But man, seems like they focused all of their efforts on gameplay and just kind of... gave up on the writing. It was rough in the early-access version/demo, and I'd really hoped that they'd get someone to polish up the writing in between those version, but not only are there typos in the dialogue itself, but it's also pretty weak and clunky. For a game that has a definite story element, it's not a great look. Would have loved to see the company put in the same care into…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Lacks QoL. 1. Can't even use keyboard to go through dialogue texts, and no way to skip dialogue either. 2. Bad autosave. I think it only autosave after you beat a stage, so if you go thru dialogues and such but not finish the next stage, then quit, you have to go through the whole dialogues again aggravating problem no 1. 3. Card description is bad. Getting tooltips to come out is a pain, I only managed to do this in library outside of combat. When picking cards you often won't even know what…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really enjoyed the promise of the game. Setting is also nice. Plot seems interesting and engaging. But the lack of polish is a dealbreaker. Basic shortcuts do not work. Lack of tooltips everywhere. Quality of life is non-existing. I hope things will iron out in the full release. Will definitely review again at that time
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First! This game is highly recommended! I have played many cards game and dungeon battlers but I can say that this is the best one! Dungeon monarch contain alot of my favourite elements. Play this if you like : Card game : You really really love card! Turn based and the artwork of the card of dungeon monarch is top class! Unit system : You really love having a bunch of minions under your control Evil Lord theme : You really love being demon lord and killing hero and humans, its really hard…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A first look at Rough Trigger's base system. This is still early but part of how you'll be managing Seiko's PMC, Vambrace Security, in the game. You'll be hiring mercenaries and civilians and also provide shelter for refugees #screenshotsaturday #monogame #indiedev #gamedev #pixelart
neutral · AI labelView post →Game started out pretty decent, but sadly the front is much better than the back. The base of the game is solid, an autobattler where you build up your forces, upgrade your chosen classes, The 2 problems the game has is the extreme RNG just gets silly, especially getting to higher level synergies. The nature of sacrificing creatures to upgrade synergy classes means that it takes a lot to upgrade to max level, and makes it incredibly painful, if not impossible, to switch in mid-game. Then,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Terribly disappointing. Don't actually play a villain and you only have one option as well, unlike something like Dungeon Keepers. On top of that cards don't fully explain what they even do and there's no way to easily check the statuses of allies or enemies to try and use them strategically. A lot of the menus and UI are just confusing and horribly inefficient in design. The writing feels like AI but is riddled with typos, so maybe a bad translation job? Some dialogue just doesn't sound right.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I play a lot of deckbuilder, card battler, autobattler games. For me, this game was a lot of fun. For me it was a great mix of genres and had the right combination and blend of mechanics. I've spent most of my gaming hours over the last couple of weeks getting to know the various factions, card mechanics. It's deceptively in depth from a mechanics perspective with the interplay of floors, buildings, units/factions etc. The developers are serious about feedback and has have a vision for the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An interesting game, with a good story, great art design and characters, and decent gameplay. However, there are two things that really affect the game overall. The first is that the game itself does a very poor job of explaining how to play it. It feels like it tries to be very complex, with factions, synergies, building effects, floor and tile card effects and so on, but nothing is really explained properly. The randomness of unit recruitment and card pack opening also make it difficult to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fails to blend auto-battler and deckbuilder. Both aspects suffer, combat takes too long, and it is neither interesting nor engaging.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →**Baldur's Gate 3** was the best I played this year. There might be recency bias, but I genuinely think it's one of the best games I've ever played. **Persona 5 Royal** isn't super far behind, was also great. Worst game I finished was **Starfield**. Did not see that coming. Worst overall was **Vambrace: Cold Soul.** Incredibly gorgeous game with a complete disaster of a core gameplay loop.
negative · AI labelView post →Liked: - core gameplay loop is solid and holds up really well for almost the whole game (maybe slightly samey towards the end but not too bad) - surprisingly good storyline Disliked: - going for certain synergies seemed kind of pointless since I ended up with a bit of everything every time - the English translation has quite a few typos
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Early Access Review: Excellent core system, mergin autobattler with rpg and strategic elements. Fun game, requiring both strategic and tactical decisions. 9/10 game
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'll be grabbing some of these games because: 🕹 Vambrace: Cold Soul is a simpler version of Darkest Dungeon. 🕹 Gordian Quest is a simpler version of a D&D game. 🕹 Aggelos is like combining Monster Boy and Zelda II, but a much shorter version. 🕹 Book of Demons is like a simpler Diablo game.
neutral · AI labelView post →I enjoyed the demo of this so i ended up buying the game. I don't have much time in the full version but the reason for that is the reason I am not giving it a recommendation: I hate the story. The story points are so boring and drawn out, when I'm not in 'a mission' I just want to turn the game off. Could do with some better writing and more simplistic camp management. I know that's probably a 'me' thing, but I just don't have the attention span for half-baked stories. No offense writing…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Probably one of my favorite high/dark fantasy universe, I found this game very addicting for me personally and would really like if they added a romance or a bonding system like they did for cold soul, and perhaps add some unique voice lines for heroes (non renegade), overall I enjoyed the game-play quite a bit, I loved watching units both allied and hostile move about fight in the dungeon in nearly real time, and the soundtrack is good and i especially love the art style ever since Cold-soul…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a challenger TFT player and avid Slay the Spire fan this game feels like a cohesive mix of the two with additional elements. Overall I would say the game is a 7.5-8/10, with only a few issues that can easily be adjusted after the full release. The concept feels unique, but not to the point that players will have no understanding of the game or how to proceed when first starting out. Pros: - Runs incredibly well! No lag or glitch on startup, and no issues with moving from room to room or…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great start, and once again a game that is not far from nice playability on the steam deck (with tcursor). Texts are a little small on unit inspection. Keys for end turn, send monach and cards by numbers are missing. Also the click and drag should optionally be click and click to place units/spells. Otherwise it plays nice and feels good for a EA starter.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This may be the most unbalanced game I've ever played. It's mind-blowing. The enemy will send waves of legendary swordsmen during boss battles. These are units that can take 80% of your MONARCH'S HP in one shot. That's effing ridiculous. They will just flood you, and that's before their boss even shows up. You can summon reinforcements, but only up until about wave 16. Since the enemies mostly kill off your units AFTER that point, you essentially do not get reinforcements. That seems…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Take on the role of the Dungeon Monarch, the chosen protector of your master's domain. Armed with potent magic and an endless legion of summonable troops that work in harmony, your task is to defend the dungeon from invading adventurers, jealous rivals, and powerful deities who seek to conquer and destroy your stronghold. The stakes are high, and only your strategic prowess can maintain control. Vambrace: Dungeon Monarch offers a distinctive and fast-paced gameplay experience that blends…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I found this game's plot....weirdly compelling. (it is at times very poorly translated, and the philosophical parts of the character development I thought were weak, but the espionage plot threads were very fun) Also the mechanical mish mash of a long-form roguelike auto-battler deck builder was really interesting, if at times slightly grating. There are a couple of significant UI issues, and I have experienced a few critical bugs in the free play mode. But overall solid. Worth it at full…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sideways thumb. The writing it absolutely awful but the gameplay is alright with an interesting mix of deckbuilder for spells and a kind-of 'lane' autobattler. Thankfully you can just skip the story beats every time they come up and it's not too painful. What stopped me playing however is that the UI is unbearably bad: for a game where synergies matter, not knowing what creatures die round to round so you can replace that exact one is.. frustrating. And that frustration spills over into…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I see the vision, but it's not executed well. # Mechanically First: It takes like 20+ minutes to play the game AT ALL. There are two separate tutorials, one "simple" tutorial which is essentially drag and drop 2 things then read through the story for the next 15+ minutes. The tutorial is just... It's not designed into the game, but feels like an afterthought. A good tutorial should introduce you to mechanics as they're needed while allowing the player to practice the previous mechanics…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A fun tactical game. It takes about 12 hours to beat the story mode and then you get the free play mode if you want more. The tactical gameplay is fun and intuitive after you learn the kinks of it which could take some time as the tutorials aren’t the best. The story is fun if somewhat cliche. There are still some bugs but nothing gamebreaking that re-launching the game would not fix, fortunately the autosave is decent. English translation is manageable but could be much better. All together…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i personally dont play games like these but i really enjoyed it! would definitely recommend to try it out even if it might not suit everybodys taste. its a really interesting take on all those card combat games :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →(FREE) on GOG Vambrace: Cold Soul The offer ends on January 3rd, 2025 www.gog.com/en/game/vamb... #free #GOG #pcgaming #videogames #gaming
neutral · AI labelView post →More free PC game news. Kung Fu brawler Sifu is free on the Epic Games Store until 11:00 am EST tomorrow, and Vambrace: Cold Steel is a GOG Winter Sale freebie for the next three days. Each is for keeps if you act in time. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/279541/ More: www.bluesnews.com/s/279540/
neutral · AI labelView post →Vambrace: Cold Soul is free on GOG www.gog.com/en/game/vamb...
neutral · AI labelView post →I had a lot of fun with this game. The synergy system is fun; leveling up your factions and fortifying the dungeon allows for a feeling of constant progress that drives things forward. The story had its ups & downs, but I genuinely liked the main characters and was interested in what was going to happen. The art style was charming. That said, there are a number of bugs, translation issues, and the interface is a bit cumbersome. Nothing that kept me from being excited for the next round, and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Grandia is one of my two favorite PS1 titles. I got an easier version of Darkest Dungeon to try, out of curiosity. It's called Vambrace Cold Soul. The game looks beautiful and it has been described as a simpler version of Darkest Dungeon.
neutral · AI labelView post →I'm a huge fan of auto-battlers and deck builders and this game does both genres justice! I keep coming back for more! I am very excited to see where the story takes us and what new buildings, baddies, and heroes they have in store for us! Definitely early access as the story isn't finished and the variety starts lacking after a few hours of playtime but even with the lack of variety, I am still hooked! Worth every cent; excited to see what else the devs come out with.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →In which I apologize to Devespresso and @headup.bsky.social for my 2019 review of Vambrace: Cold Soul, which I enjoyed considerably more 5 years later. Read it, add 2 points, then grab while it’s on sale in the eShop. purenintendo.com/review-vambr.... Oh, and listen to the podcast!
positive · AI labelView post →💯🆓Grab a free copy of ☁️"Vambrace: Cold Soul"☁️ at #GOG for the next 3 days and keep it forever! Link:⬇️ gog.com/en/game/vamb... 🗓️Available for free until January 3rd, 2025, at 2 PM CET. #GOG #FreeGame #GOGGame
neutral · AI labelView post →Vambrace: Cold Soul - Free game until Jan 3, 2025 at 7:30 PM on GOG. 😍🎁 #VambraceColdSoul #FreeGame #GamingInfoAndNews #Gaming #GOG #Lazyajju
neutral · AI labelView post →We're checking out the demo for Vambrace: Dungeon Monarch! Deck Building and Dungeon Defending? Absolutely! Thanks so much for sponsoring our look as this awesome game @HeadupGames <3 Wanna check out the demo yourself? Check out this link here! bit.ly/VDMbilly1kirby #Sponsored
neutral · AI labelView post →So I bought a few games and one of them is me finally getting around to the other Vambrace game I tried the demo of. There's zero way that our boy Septhis from Cold Soul is in here. Bro this truly is a prequel, I thought it was lowkey cope lmao. Now we off to something good and fun
positive · AI labelView post →For positives on the gameplay, I was hesitant about this game because their previous entry in this series had different gameplay mechanics but I thought they did a good job with combining the deck builder + unit defense game. The best way I can describe this game is that its Teamfight tactics deck building. There are many different units / factions in this game so its fun to mix and match to figure out what type of comp you enjoy. I enjoyed resetting the comp and trying out different factions…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Story : 4/5 A good story, arround 15h to finish Graphic : 4/5 Nice, simple but good Gameplay : 2.5/5 Lack QoL, you can't build properly, too random, not equilibrated, too funky, still cool & simple, but need to be improved Sound / Music : 3.5 Music are ok, some are good, but lack a lot of sounds Globaly a good game (mostly for the story), but wich need to be polish and have some rework. 10 bucks is a good price.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Overall a great experience, the combat is pretty nice and being able to affect directly the tide with the Monarc's abilities was fun. The only boss fight that I truly didn't enjoy was the one with the map-wide reflect damage buff hah! But other than that building armies and optimizing synergies was pretty nice! The story was great with a interesting twist on illusions and dreams. One thing that really stands out for me tho is the art work! Characters are truly unique and you can tell a lot of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Developer Dvora Studio and publisher @headup.bsky.social have announced an updated Early Access release date for Vambrace: Dungeon Monarch. The game is a mix of deck building, dungeon defense, tactics and automated combat. It will be released later this month. www.gamesmarket.global/publishing/p...
neutral · AI labelView post →@kpopalypse.bsky.social free game [6] -90% Vambrace: Cold Soul on GOG.com www.gog.com/en/game/vamb...
neutral · AI labelView post →Vambrace, a roguelike-roguelite is free on GoG. #gaming #game #games #GoG www.gog.com/en/game/vamb...
neutral · AI labelView post →exist that allow you to play your game into CYB (but ideally it shouldn't be a one card, hard counter either). Something like Vambrace but a bit stronger ... like a generic arms piece that said pay two: the next time your opponent would gain life this turn prevent it 4/x
neutral · AI labelView post →I think this is okay... not really sure
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I just finished the first part of story mode and OMG, this game is incredible!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →How tf an auto chess game got a story this good?? Yeah it starts pretty simple but as the game goes on, it gets bigger and slightly complex. And when you new cards, stronger units and buildings, it's a steamroll. But the game at its core, relies on RNG which can be good or bad. You may get the units/cards/buildings you are seeking to upgrade and synergize with your dungeon but sometimes you gotta reroll and pray you actually get them. At worst, you may load a previous save when you can't get…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"FantomFang" I at first hoped it was just an intentional joke and not that level of awful translation, but then the last game pulled shit like: Berserk -> Belselk Vambrace -> Van Burace Homunculus -> Holmcross that's on me for questioning, I suppose.
neutral · AI labelView post →Vambrace: Dungeon Monarch Review #Xbox #XboxSeriesX www.thexboxhub.com/vambrace-dun...
neutral · AI labelView post →Finally beat Sundered for the first time. Next Monday I will start a new game. Trying to decide what I want to do next: - Silksong - Tevi - Last Faith - Vambrace Cold Soul - Death's Gambit Afterlife - Biomorph - Itorah Or something. I will figure it out by next week. But I will say Sundered was fun.
neutral · AI labelView post →It's like Monster Train + Fire Emblem + Dungeon Keeper had a baby. I thought I would just immediately go into the free mode and never touch the story, but 2 hours in and I can't put it down.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Also Vambrace: Dungeon Monarch is really neat. We hit a soft-lock in the demo, but the concept is fantastic and I'm sure they'll have that fixed in the full game.
positive · AI labelView post →"Vambrace: Cold Soul" is currently FREE on GOG til 1/2 www.gog.com/en/game/vamb... #Vambrace #freegames
neutral · AI labelView post →Vambrace: Cold Soul is free on GoG today. Decent game worth trying out!
positive · AI labelView post →amazing game aka Vambrace cold soul is on giveaway that i finished once, its kinda korean darkest dungeon and worth checking it out www.gog.com/en/game/vamb...
positive · AI labelView post →
Posts are quoted from public profiles with links to the original. Want yours removed? Contact us.
