Galactic Vault Review

Not too long ago, I wrote an article about the problems with most modern video games. Tedious tutorials, bloated runtimes and live service nonsense are all staples of the medium. There are exceptions, of course, but they’re rare. Too many developers seem intent on creating experiences that feel like a second job — something few people want after finishing their first. Galactic Vault sidesteps that. It doesn’t reinvent the roguelite genre, and it doesn’t need to. It’s simply fun, and in this case, that’s more than enough.

The premise of Galactic Vault is exceedingly simple. You play as a nameless, faceless mercenary in the distant future, boarding enemy ships via brief cutscenes, then clearing them room by room. Each vessel is made up of roughly a dozen encounters, culminating in a fight with its captain. Survive, and you’ll earn XP to upgrade your starting weapon before doing it all again. Die, and you’ll still make some progress, just not as much. It’s a familiar loop, but an effective one.

That core loop probably sounds familiar if you’ve ever played a roguelite before. For better or worse, Galactic Vault doesn’t break from genre conventions, it refines them — and shifts the perspective. Instead of the usual top-down approach of titles like The Binding of Isaac or Rogue, this is a first-person shooter in the vein of modern DOOM. The first couple of rooms in all of its procedurally generated vessels contain only a handful of space-themed minions. As you delve deeper into the depths of hostile warships, though, your opponents frequently outnumber and outgun you. You have to jump and dash, but not roll, around them while firing hitscan weapons. 

And it’s absurdly fun to do that. Galactic Vault is a genuinely great FPS. Its pool of levels is relatively small, but each one is thoughtfully designed, packed with chokepoints, verticality, and environmental hazards that keep encounters engaging. Enemy variety is similarly limited, yet each type serves a purpose and even the repeated bosses manage to stay interesting thanks to occasional twists in their behaviour. 

The best part about Galactic Vault, though, is its gunplay. All of its weapons are super satisfying to use, and there’s a near-infinite amount of variations of them to play with. At the start of each raid, you choose from a selection of a dozen-odd firearms. Each time you survive a room, though, you can upgrade it. You decide which type of mod you want, then the game’s RNG gives you three options to pick from. Sometimes you’ll be offered simple damage or rate of fire boosters, but you’ll frequently be able to equip attachments that add unique firing modes or underbarrel launchers. At the end of any given run, you’ll always be rocking a Borderlands-esque amalgamation of parts that barely resembles the gun you picked when you crashed your ship into your enemy’s, and it’ll always be entertaining to use. 

Even though you lose those upgrades when you die or complete a run, and the boosts you can spend your earned XP on are marginal, you never know what you’ll get the next time around. You’re always chasing the next absurd combination, and that sense of discovery carries the experience far beyond what its simplicity might suggest.

This is especially impressive because there’s literally nothing else to Galactic Vault other than its gameplay. There’s no real narrative, no meaningful lore, and its meta progression system is minimal to the point of irrelevance. In most other games, that would be a glaring issue. Here, it’s a strength.

‍Galactic Vault respects your time. Whether you play for an hour, a day, or a week, your experience will always be cathartic. You don’t need to keep a note about what you did during your previous session, nor will you ever need to consult a wiki page. You can save and exit mid-raid if you have to attend to something in the real world, and the game is never overly punishing. It’s a game designed around immediacy—one that prioritises moment-to-moment enjoyment over long-term obligation.

In an industry increasingly dominated by overdesigned, overlong, and often exhausting experiences, Galactic Vault stands out simply by being enjoyable. It’s not especially innovative, and its limited content is noticeable. But its tight design, satisfying combat, and pick-up-and-play structure make it easy to recommend. If you’re looking for a deep narrative experience, the game isn’t for you. But if you want something that lets you blow off steam after a long day, Galactic Vault delivers exactly what you’re looking for.