The pen is mightier than the sword! This week we crack open that new book smell with a first edition copy of Vellum: the third-person literary hack-and-slash game. We navigate the maze-like stacks, pet some colorful wolf friends, and talk about how many puns is TOO many for understanding a game properly. Don’t be quick to judge a book by it’s steam store page! There’s plenty of spells and quills and swords, but remember: A game a lone a last a loved a long the-

• 1:22 - game stats
• 2:50 - one sentence description
• 6:47 - Hub world complexity and literary theming commitment
• 12:37 - Overly complex terminology and ability descriptions
• 19:04 - Enemy design and literary theme implementation
• 25:33 - “One more run” phenomenon and replay motivation
• 29:17 - Positive aspects including UI and visual effects
• 33:00 - Inscription system and meta progression mechanics
• 38:26 - Vignette encounters and their effectiveness debate
• 42:54 - Tome selection system and special level rules
• 48:07 - Progression gating and attunement level complaints
• 55:39 - End game content and endless mode discussion
• 1:01:29 - Boss strategy discovery and magical lamp exploit
• 1:14:13 - rankings and final thoughts
• 1:22:08 - similar games
• 1:24:50 - listener correspondence: does the GROGPOD need a public discord channel?

Next episode: 2025 Summer Music Fest

Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com!

https://grogpod.zone

Intro music: My Little Brown Book - Duke Ellington, John Coltrane

Outro music: Vellum OST - Boss Battle