While the release of the Expedition storyline’s final chapter marked a major milestone for Vagrus, our work is not over. We've continued to actively address community-reported issues, improve stability and performance, as well as further polish the experience through a steady stream of patches and hotfixes across all platforms. We will share a dedicated overview of these fixes with you soon.
Vorax in the Cosmetic Packs
In the meantime, let’s revisit the world of the Riven Realms in one of our latest lore-infused art articles, exploring the inspiration behind everyone's favorite Undead cook, Vorax, and the design philosophy behind his Supporter Pack cosmetics.
Since our last article on the design and lore considerations behind some of our companion cosmetics tied to Supporter Packs, some of you have expressed an interest in reading more about such insights.
So, what would Vorax wear should you choose to support us by picking up one of these packs?
For the ‘Ruinous’ Supporter Pack, Vorax’s appearance was based on a member of the Hollow Men, a scavenger gang of deserters, criminals, and renegades in self-imposed exile at the Mountains of Fire. These brooding warriors hide their faces behind masks of scrap metal fashioned (in fact, hammered onto statue heads) to lend them an inscrutable and threatening visage. These headgears are often the only armor these people wear apart from simple loincloths, for they fight in a phalanx not unlike that of ancient Daromarian warriors. Vorax, well, let’s say, tries to mimic this appearance with his own cosmetic look in this Supporter Pack. You could say he’s half-successful. One can imagine Vorax having wandered to the end of the world, into the hellscape of Dvendar Tharr, joining the Hollow Men out of pity, intent on raising their spirits with his cooking. He’s just that kind of guy.
A Quick Reminder:
The continued development of Vagrus is made possible by the support of players like you.
Only a small fraction of Steam players ever leave a review, yet those reviews make a tremendous difference. A few sentences and a thumbs-up help more of you discover the Riven Realms, improve our visibility on Steam, and support the continued development of the game. If you haven't already, we'd be incredibly grateful if you could leave us a review on Steam. Every single one counts!
For the ‘Cultured’ Supporter Pack, we leaned into some pretty obscure lore as inspiration. The idea was that Vorax is an Undead, which is usually a sort of thrall, albeit he has no master. So we looked for other enslaved creatures and cultures for inspiration, and we found the Quaren. They are a strange race of humanoids whose Realms were conquered by the Damned, the legion of Demonkind that rampages across many worlds. They were subsequently tainted by Demonic blood and embedded with cursed crystals, turning them into red-skinned hulks, lending them uncanny might and durability when enraged. Although Vorax is more akin to a Demonic thrall and not an Undead with this cosmetic, we thought it’s an interesting “what if” look for him. Perhaps, in another life, he underwent the mutations to become a Quaren reaver and not brought back as an accursed Undead.
To be able to change Vorax’s appearance, you have to own the appropriate Supporter Pack, but otherwise, he is free for all owners of Vagrus (the base game) after he’s found in the main campaign area.
Cross-promotion: Project Afterfall
Our friends over at MuHa Games (the devs behind Thea I-II.) have also just reached an exciting milestone. After eight months in Early Access and eight major updates, their project has evolved far beyond its original vision. Featuring 2-player co-op, a refreshed visual direction, and numerous gameplay improvements, Project Thea has now been officially renamed Project Afterfall, reflecting its new identity.
The team is currently aiming for a Version 1.0 release this fall, but there's already plenty of new content and features for players to discover in Early Access. If you're looking for another promising indie title to follow, be sure to check it out!
As always, we are grateful for all the support, feedback, and kindness we receive from you all. Until next time, keep being awesome, stay safe, and conquer the wasteland!
– The Lost Pilgrims Team