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The Seven Elemental Vases capsule

The Seven Elemental Vases

Explore the world in its various biomes, fight magical enemies, meet gods and legends, while trying to prevent your father from obtaining the seven elemental vases in this retro-style story, where gods and humans meet again, thanks to the help of a simple mortal.

$1.992 user reviews
Side ScrollerExplorationPrecision Platformer
Gómez LucasDec 3, 2025

The Seven Elemental Vases scores 65/100 — better than 10% of Side Scroller capsules (n=1,065).

2 user reviews · $1.99 · Released Dec 3, 2025 · By Gómez Lucas

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Quick text summary

The Seven Elemental Vases scored 65/100 on Steam Analyzer — Solid for a Side Scroller capsule. Top priority fix: [title_readability] Simplify the title font to a single solid color or two-tone design with heavier outlines to maintain legibility below 87 pixels.

Capsule scores by dimension

  • Genre Clarity: 7/10 — Clear action-adventure with retro style. The capsule immediately signals retro pixel art action-adventure through the bright, colorful character sprites and magical enemy design on a brick/urban background. At TINY size, the silhouettes and character poses remain readable enough to suggest an action game with fantasy elements, though the specific 'vases' plot hook is not visually apparent. The bright palette and character-forward composition align well with indie action-adventure expectations.
  • Title Readability: 6/10 — Title readable at full, struggles tiny. The title 'The 7 ELEMENTAL VASES' uses a multi-color gradient treatment with solid outlines that works at full and small sizes, but at TINY size the letter forms compress and the color differentiation becomes hard to parse distinctly. The upper-left corner placement is strategic and avoids the busy character area, but the decorative gradient styling and layered outline lose clarity when scaled below 87 pixels.
  • Contrast & Color: 7/10 — Vibrant palette pops on dark background. The bright primary colors—lime green, hot pink, orange, and cyan—create strong value separation against the dark Steam background (#1b2838), and the character silhouettes remain distinct even with the busy brick texture behind them. The colorful gradient title and character outlines maintain edge clarity in grayscale, though the mid-tone brick texture adds some visual noise. At SMALL size the contrast remains effective, with character reads as distinct focal points.
  • Uniqueness & Polish: 6/10 — Competent retro-style execution. The capsule shows solid craft with clean pixel art rendering and intentional character design, but the overall presentation follows familiar indie retro-game visual tropes without a distinctive hook that differentiates it from similar casual action games. The character poses are expressive and the color work is intentional, yet the composition feels like a standard 'heroes with magical elements' template rather than communicating a unique mechanic or story moment. The polish is professional but the visual identity is generic within its subgenre.
  • Brand Consistency: 6/10 — Consistent retro style, no iconic motif. The art direction is internally coherent—all characters and UI elements follow the same pixel art style and saturation level, with a consistent color palette of warm and cool primaries. However, there is no memorable brand motif, signature symbol, or character icon that would create recognizable identity recall; the design could belong to many similar retro indie games. The visual language is stable but not distinctive enough to build strong brand memory.
  • Composition: 7/10 — Clear hierarchy, slight edge tension. The composition has a strong primary focal point with the two characters center-right, supported by the title in the upper left and the brick-and-urban background providing context without overwhelming the subjects. The depth layering—background brick, midground characters, foreground title—creates visual hierarchy that reads well at SMALL size, though at TINY size the character group slightly compresses and the title edges close to the boundary. The overall balance is sound and the focal point remains clear even when scrolling quickly.

What works

  • Vibrant color palette. The bright primary colors and gradients create strong visual pop against the dark Steam background and remain distinct at all sizes.
  • Clear character-forward focal point. The centered character group immediately draws the eye and communicates this is a character-driven adventure with expressive sprites.
  • Consistent pixel art style. All visual elements adhere to the same retro pixel art language, creating internal cohesion and professional craft.

What hurts the capsule

  • Title gradient loses readability at tiny scale. The multi-color gradient treatment and decorative outlines compress into muddy letter forms at TINY size, reducing discoverability at quick glance.
  • Generic visual identity. The capsule follows familiar retro-game templates without a distinctive motif, character icon, or visual hook that creates lasting brand recall.
  • No mechanic or plot visual hint. The 'seven elemental vases' premise is not communicated through visual storytelling, relying entirely on text that becomes unreadable at small sizes.

Priority fixes

  1. [title_readability] Simplify the title font to a single solid color or two-tone design with heavier outlines to maintain legibility below 87 pixels.
  2. [genre_clarity] Add a subtle visual element (e.g., small vase icon or elemental aura) near or within the character group to hint at the unique 'vases' mechanic.
  3. [uniqueness_polish] Introduce a signature color accent or character silhouette motif that appears consistently to build stronger brand identity and recall.

Store copy priority fixes

  1. [hook_strength] Rewrite the short description to lead with the specific high-stakes conflict and the unique angle—e.g., 'Stop your father from unleashing godlike power by recovering seven elemental vases across a mythological world, guided by a sand goddess.' This replaces the generic 'explore biomes' opener.
  2. [feature_communication] Expand the Gameplay Features bullets with concrete, player-facing details—e.g., 'Combat: Master dodge timing and elemental attacks against mythological foes' and 'Platforming: Navigate precision jumps and hidden passages across four biomes' so players understand what they will actually do.
  3. [uniqueness] Add a differentiator statement such as 'Semi-RPG progression with dialogue-driven story choices that reshape encounters' or 'The only retro platformer where boss fights unlock narrative secrets'—something that explains why this game is worth playing instead of similar titles.
  4. [tone_match] Proofread and revise for consistent voice and grammar—fix 'the goodness of sand' and unify formality—to match the polish expected in a narrative-driven indie game and rebuild player confidence in story quality.

Related guides

Steam app ID: 4188320 · Tags: Side Scroller, Exploration, Precision Platformer, 2D Platformer, Hidden Object