Vellum: Everything We Know

Have you ever played a game on a magical book before? One that gives you the power to cast ink spells and the freedom to team up with your best friends against enemies? If you have, I bet you haven’t had the chance to tinker with your enemies’ powers and upgrades. Can you imagine the strategic play you can come up with, tinkering with the difficulty level yourself?

Fortunately, you don’t have to wait around too long to experience what that might look like. With the upcoming game Vellum, your success will quite literally be in your hands. But what exactly do we know about the game? Is there a trailer, gameplay, or trailer out yet? Here’s everything we know about Vellum.  

What is Vellum?

Vellum is an upcoming cooperative action roguelike game. It tasks players with jumping headfirst into the magic tomes, where you’re free to sling colorful inky spells on foes. You’ll unlock incredible power and, in a unique twist on gameplay, decide how your foes will evolve.

Story

From the nitty-gritty breadcrumbs we could find, Vellum will thrust players into the corrupted Tomes of the Illuminated Library. Here, they’ll be trekking treacherous grounds called the “Torn,” where the mission challenges will take place. At the center of your ventures will be a monochromatic enemy, who, in a unique twist, you’ll have the power to decide how they evolve “to match your strength.”

While deciding how foes evolve is different from the norm, Vellum has the interesting idea of allowing players to choose how enemies evolve. You’ll decide which upgrades to slot in for enemies, as well as which spells they can use. This changes the strategy you’ll use to approach combat, where you’ll likely decide whether to make it so enemies go easy on you or the opposite. For a more detailed story description, check out the official storyline via Steam:

Band together with your fellow Scribes while shaping your inky spells into unique tools against your enemies. Strategize together to invoke group-wide boons from the Font, reshaping the Tome battlefields.

Fight your way through the echoes of familiar tales and fables as the Torn finds new ways to corrupt the Tomes. Apply higher and higher Bindings to each journey and overcome even the toughest obstacles. The dreaded Torn bosses await…

Gameplay

Vellum will be a drop-in/drop-out cooperative action roguelike that players can choose to venture into solo or as a group. Either way, the quests will take the form of 30-minute quick runs and dynamic roguelike play infused with synergy and strategy to explore. At its core, the game will feature the magic tomes of Vellum. Here, players will discover a profound power that allows them to sling colorful palettes of ink-infused spells against enemies. 

Your elementary spell casting will create a spectacular effect, with vibrant colors splashing the screen as you slay foes. Plus, with the whopping 100+ spells available, the options for coming up with slick combos and replayability are unfathomable. You’ll also have the power to mold how your enemies evolve throughout the game, which is a game changer in itself and influences the game’s difficulty. 

However, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the battles will be easier, as the Torn will likely evolve at pace with you. The only difference is that you have the freedom to choose the “how.” Plus, more significant challenges will bring greater rewards. With such a wide variety of spells and upgrades to choose from, you'll no doubt run into some enticing head-scratchers here and there. 

Key Features

Feel free to check out the official key gameplay elements you can expect to see in the final game via Steam:

• Swift Tales: Approachable 30-minute roguelike runs crafted for quick gameplay sessions for 1-4 players.
• Torn Pages: With over 100 upgrades and spells to choose from, only you will decide how your foes evolve throughout the course of battle.
• Scrolls of Power: Tear through enemies with over 300 powers for you and your team. All powers can be build-makers, no filler.
• The Font: Invoke majestic powers as a team through the mystical Ink Font in combination with your individual builds.
• Fabled Scribes: Take ink to paper and infuse your Scribe with colorful ultimate and signature powers, creating over 70 loadout combinations.
• Brutal Bindings: Increase your challenge by affixing bindings to your Tomes. More significant challenges bring greater rewards!
• Reference Section: All the high-quality literature puns you could ever desire.

Development

Indie developer Alvious Games and publisher Alvious, Inc. are currently working on Vellum. They’ve put out an official game store page on Steam. Additionally, they’re preparing an Early Access release on Steam sometime next year. So, make sure to keep your eyes peeled for that.

Trailer

While Vellum is still relatively new on the gaming radar, Alvious has been kind enough to put out an official announcement trailer already. It draws a picture of what to expect in the final game, including gameplay and environments. We see a wide variety of spells on display, like the arrows that rain down from the sky or the floating shield. 

Since you have the freedom to choose your power and that of your enemies, it’ll no doubt create exciting scenarios for both discovery and challenge. You’ll need to consider how certain upgrades affect your build and vice versa. Also, since individual abilities will combine to “invoke majestic powers” as a team, it’ll likely open up more room for strategic play and critical thinking.

Release Date, Platforms, & Editions

Unfortunately, we don’t have an exact release date yet, with the Steam description saying it’s “Coming Soon.” With no rough idea of when to expect Vellum, perhaps you may want to add it to your Steam wishlist to get a notification as soon as the game drops.

Vellum will launch on PC via Steam. However, we don’t know of the editions that’ll be available to pre-order. But, hey, keep an eye out for the Early Access version set to drop on Steam sometime next year. 

So, what’s your take? Will you be picking up a copy of Vellum when it drops? Let us know over on our socials here.