Art is such a subjective term. We use the word to describe masterpieces like the impressionism of Claude Monet or the glasswork of Dale Chihuly. However, the word has also been applied to a work that sold for $58.4 million dollars called “Balloon Dog (Orange).” Before you click this link, expecting to be blown away, it was exactly as the name suggests. In a world of such fluid tastes, is it any wonder that graffiti finds itself the rebellious lovechild of social commentary and modern art? This is our review for Vandals.
Developed by French indie developer Cosmografik and released on iOS, Android, and Steam, Vandals is a stealth-based puzzle game with creative expression in mind.
Vandals functions very much like the tabletop game Zombicide: every turn, you have an “activation” – move, whistle, or throw a bottle if you have one. Your moves result in a move by anything else on the map that is “active” and they will follow the noise you create. Each one of the 60 maps in Vandals has you traverse the landscape for the perfect spot to tag, all while avoiding the prying eyes of police, cameras, and dogs!
(Real talk: if you haven’t played Zombicide, make friends with someone who owns one of the more recent editions and enjoy hours of madness!)
What sets Vandals apart from the pack of puzzlers is that the game is one part puzzle, one part art history, and one part creative expression through graffiti of your own! Since we already covered the first part, let’s dive into the other two.
Over the course of the game, Vandals tells the stories of forty real-world street artists from all around the globe. You will find clues hidden within levels to unlock information about their influence on urban culture and even see depictions of their work in the coinciding areas of the game. These info bytes will give you insight on the development of the art form and the cities that they can be found in, such as New York City, Paris, Berlin, San Paulo, and Tokyo.
Above all, one of the best features of Vandals is that you don’t simply click a button on the right spot to tag a building, you get to make your own mark. Equipped with your own spray can, you can choose nine different colors and three size adjustments, along with some preset stencils for whatever name you began the game with. The paint runs like real spray paint, but I wish that there were options for different misting techniques to better layer the colors.
And if you thought the game was the only place to display your painting prowess, Vandals lets you post your work to social media. While this is a nice touch, I simply enjoyed the free form nature of just drawing whatever came to mind first.
For me, Vandals fell into an interesting category of games. Puzzlers like this have never been my forté, but I can respect it for what it is. I like that it doesn’t pigeon hole you into drawing specific things or grade your artwork, but I would have liked better control over the spray cans. The mechanic brought me back to the days of dinking around with MS Paint, but without the variety of tools and an only slightly muted sense of middle school humor.
Since drawing on walls is about as natural to mankind as breathing, it is rather interesting to read the history as you play the game. If you are into games that give you real world information as you play, this one takes the “story as auxiliary” approach. Unlockable, yes, but not necessary to understand the game.
If you like games like Hitman GO and want to trade in a suppressed pistol for a spray can, the streets are your canvas. Go paint the town red… or orange, for that matter. I hear it’s in right now.
Note: Our copy was reviewed on PC with a code provided by PR.
COMPARE TO: Hitman GO, Zombicide (table-top game – to a point)
OVERALL SCORE: 6/10
PROS:
- The graffiti mechanic is fun
- Interesting history weaved into the game
- Social media integration – hang your work on the digital fridge
CONS:
– The graffiti mechanic, while fun, is limited by the options for spray can usage
– A rather slow burn
