Desvelado Review - A Delightful Hand-Draw Bed-Time-Vania

Desvelado is a cute hand drawn 2-D metroidvania indie game with a haunting soundtrack, beautiful visuals, and buttery smooth controls.

Sep 02, 2024

Thanks for checking out the latest Good Game Lobby Review. The sun is about to rise, so let's head to our mansion, and turn off the lights as I dive into my review of Desvelado.

Vampy’s Manor

Desvelado is a hand-drawn 2-D Metroidvania, or "Bed-Time-Vania," as the creators describe it. You play as Vampy, a charming little vampire who needs to turn off the lights in his castle to get some rest. The game is a short, cute, puzzle game designed to be played in one sitting. It took me roughly 1 ½ hours to complete and was a delight throughout my whole play through. Lets get into the story for the game.

Lights Out

The game begins with an fun animated intro that reminded me of a Saturday morning cartoon. Vampy is out enjoying a drink when his alarm goes off, alerting him that the sun is about to rise. He hops in his car and speeds back to his home, only to find that something unusual has happened—the lights are on in his manor. Ghosts are flying around, lighting up his home. Vampy must now navigate through various rooms and chambers of his house, solving puzzles, and overcoming challenges to turn off the lights and finally get some sleep

Gameplay

Desvelado offers some of the best platforming I've experienced. Every jump, dash, and move feels precise, making the gameplay smooth and satisfying.

The manor has over 100+ rooms to explore, each with its own set of puzzles and challenges. You can jump and dash to reach your goal or avoid enemies. The game encourages strategic thinking, especially with the more difficult puzzles. For example, dashing requires you to consume a red flame, and it only has one use. This mechanic is crucial in many of the bonus levels and tougher challenges

You'll also encounter other elements, like switches that create platforms or eyes that trigger force fields enemies cannot pass through. The goal in each room is to extinguish every flame, but there's a catch—as enemies move around the room, they relight the flames you’ve put out. This means you'll need impeccable timing to succeed. With each new element and increasingly difficult room you enter, Desvelado sets up a proper late game challenge.

Bat Out of Hell

Though Desvelado is short, I found myself diving back in to complete rooms faster than I did on my first run. The game’s design is perfect for speed running enthusiasts. At times, I was blazing through rooms so quickly it felt like I was in a speed run myself.

The bonus rooms add another layer of fun, as your friend Bonnie asks you to find their bones hidden around the manor. Each bonus level rewards you with a bone, and there are 15 hidden throughout the game. Each bonus room is placed in a room with an opening with light shining out of it so you can enter it. At times, when you exit the bonus rooms it makes it easier to solve the main rooms puzzle

Hand Crafted

Let’s talk about the visuals. The hand-drawn animations are a true visual treat. Every enemy, room, environmental switch, flame, and even Vampy’s animations are meticulously hand-drawn. I loved the style so much I made a quick GIF (GIF not JIF) to post on social media, showing my appreciation for the hand-drawn artistry.

Indie games like this are bringing back unique visual styles, and Desvelado is a prime example of how effective that can be. My favorite animation, despite its unfortunate context, is Vampy’s death. Whenever he dies, he explodes into a swarm of bats, resetting you at the start of the room. The animation is so quick and fluid that it makes dying less discouraging, even after several attempts at a puzzle. The game’s design, from the promotional materials to the logo and intro animation, is beautifully executed.

The soundtrack is filled with vampiric tunes and hauntingly beautiful arrangements. I’m a sucker for the accordion, so every time I heard it, I was delighted. The music perfectly complements the game’s atmosphere— Here’s one of my favorites from the game.

Soulsprod - Desvelado Soundtrack | Roma Acosta & Alan Tribouley | YouTube

Highly Recommended

This bite-sized platformer is a perfect blend of charming animation and challenging puzzles. The short playthrough is ideal for someone like me, a dad who sometimes only has an hour or two to spare. Desvelado makes every minute count, delivering a memorable experience in a compact package. The combination of haunting music and adorable artistic style makes this one of my must-play games of 2024.

I want to give a special shoutout to the Latin American Games Showcase for bringing Desvelado to my attention. Without the showcase in June, I wouldn’t have heard about this gem or had the chance to play the amazing demo that led to this review. Desvelado now shares space with other fantastic games from the showcase I’ve reviewed, like Arranager: A Role-Puzzling Adventure and Arco.

So, what do you think of Desvelado? Have you played the game, or are you looking forward to picking it up? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Let me know in the comments below!

🔗Desvelado | Steam | Original Soundtrack
🗓️Release Date | Out Now!
🎮Latin American Games Showcase | Website

I was provided the key for the game from Latin American Games Showcase on behalf of the Desvelado team.