Vigil: Blood Bitterness

Originally conceived as the first entry in the French episodic adventure game series L'Aventure Originale,[1] Vigil: Blood Bitterness was created with the Torque Game Engine. Its art style was inspired by Frank Miller and Philippe Druillet.[2] The game features a guttural soundtrack and a constructed language with English and Latin elements.[3]

Vigil: Blood Bitterness was initially released in February 2006.[4] Microapplication began sales of physical copies in June.[5] In June 2007 Steam released the game for online distribution,[6][7] under the title Vigil - Episode 1: Blood Bitterness.[8] On June 1, GarageGames announced sales on their site.[9]

Vigil: Blood Bitterness received mixed to negative reviews.

The most positive reviews praised its graphics and visuals. Gamesradar liked the "gorgeous" visuals and backgrounds[10] and Absolute Games thought the visual quality allowed it to stand out from the crowd.[11] Just Adventure praised its atmospheric elements.[12] 4 Players deemed it "unusual".[13] Gry Onlien thought the graphics were surreal and economical.[14] PC World noted the "interesting" art style[15] while Meristration noted its comic book aesthetics.[16] Destructoid compared the art to Sin City.[17] Multiplayer felt the developers were courageous and original.[18] Jeuzactu appreciated the game's low price.[19]

Adventure Gamers felt the game would inspire feelings of hopelessness and frustration,[20] while Jeuxvideo wrote that the game plays like a demo.[21] Gamekult felt the game left a lot to be desired.[22] Onet criticised the game's difficulty, deeming it near impossible to complete without the aid of a walkthrough.[23] While originally thinking the project was promising,[24] upon release Factor News wrote that the game failed on all levels.[25]

• Official website