Classic Games Revisited
Vaporum Walkthrough
Authored and tested in November 2025 by gibberishh.
Lexicon
This guide expects you to follow maps in numerical order, though there are some things you can do in a different order and some things you can skip. The game is almost entirely linear though. A numbered marker always refers to the corresponding numbered entry in the text. Apart from numbered markers, the maps also use several icons to depict interactable elements of the environment. Shortcuts for speedrunners are not described in this walkthrough: this guide is intended to take you to every single item, puzzle and secret.
Hidden buttons come in various forms in the game: either a small button camouflaged between bolts, above or below wall fixtures, tiny knobs on the wall that can be rotated, or handwheels on pipes. Levers refer to the large levers bolted into floors, and switches are wall switches that can be flipped up or down. Many switches have green or red lights indicating their on/off or active/inactive state.
The automap does not show pits that can be closed or opened, so be careful when running around.
This walkthrough does not recite the various notes and phonodiaries. In fact, very few of the notes have actual clues that help you deduce something.
Strategy
Melee weapons come in various flavors and you can pick one that suits your style. Guns, on the other hand, have very specific types. Handguns are decent and have a range of three tiles. Shotguns only have a range of two tiles but their damage spreads in a cone. Rifles can reach up to four tiles (five tiles with a couple of special ones). To me the point of ranged weapons is exactly that—to take down enemies from as far away as possible, so I always prioritize weapon range. Plus, there is an extremely powerful rifle to be found towards the end of the game: the protagonist’s personal beauty.
Whether you are a dedicated gadgeteer or not, assess each one you pick up and hold on to at least the most useful ones. Some gadgets mete out AoE damage, which you can discharge in a pinch when you can hear something creeping up from the side or get surrounded. The Life Drainers are extremely useful to keep your HP up. Once you find more advanced versions of gadgets, don’t be shy to equip both (or more) versions of the same gadget: you can fire off the other while the first is still recharging. Gadgets cannot be swapped out while they are cooling down, but deft players will be able to switch out gadgets even in the heat of battle to pick the most useful ones for that situation.
If you are able to max out your levels (17), you will get a total of 20 circuit points. In other words, you will get up to 16 circuit points from leveling up and 4 circuit upgrades. Keep this in mind when you are deciding which skills to upgrade and how far you want to take each tree.
All but one pit are instant death. Unlike other games, you cannot jump into pits to access new areas. The walkthrough will point out the one pit you need to jump into to be able to complete the game.
Quality of Life
Vaporum was designed to run on both PC and consoles. There are a few features that you can use to your advantage to minimize clicks. Although not relevant to this guide, this is particularly useful for speedrunners. Traditionally, when you want to ‘use’ an item, many games expect you to lift the item out of the inventory and drop it on the target. You can still do that in Vaporum, but it is much easier to face the target (say a keyhole), and simply right-click the item in the inventory. This both uses the item as well as closes the inventory, all in one click. This works for the Abrogator too, and you will probably find not having to fiddle with targeting pretty good during the final encounter.
If you have just earned a circuit point, the first time you attempt to open the inventory, it will take you to the skills tree instead. Great: I no longer need to remember (or even assign) the hotkey for that tab.
Speaking of hotkeys, I don’t like many of the default assignments. From Legend of Grimrock 2 I am used to having the Tab key for weapon swapping. From other games I am used to having the Spacebar to pause time. Take a minute to assign keys that work for you and your experience will be much smoother.
Legend
The legend below describes the purpose of the various icons on the maps. Sometimes I have used different colors for the same icon, either to distinguish them from others, or to highlight a specific purpose. The colors will be described in the text when you reach there.
The spectral orbs and various traps also depict the direction they travel in.
