I collect video game strategy guides. They don’t make them much anymore, and when they do, they’re usually way too expensive and more or less collector’s edition books rather than actual walkthroughs. That’s fine. We’ve got the internet. We don’t need them and I still buy them anyway because I’ve got a lot of bookshelves and even more loneliness in my heart. When my family was broke, I’d go to Barnes & Noble and just read strategy guides front to back because I couldn’t actually play the game. In a way, old strategy guides are a strange distillation of the game; you don’t get toplayit, but they tell you a story in their own way. The art, the narration of what to do; there’s a beauty to holding extra materials while playing a game. I literally own three copies of the Nintendo Power Earthbound guide, so I am kind of stupid about this.
Enter Vermis, a dark, gritty, Soulslike roleplaying game that literally doesn’t exist. In fact, if you search for Vermis, you’re just going to find thefirstandsecondstrategy guides for the game. Because that’s all there is. Just two books (and some incredible limited art if you can get it) made by a Spanish artist named Plastiboo. And, again, they’re not just picture books with some fun medieval art. They’re strategy guides that give you creepy hints and tips for a game that feels like you imagined it in a nightmare. God, it’s perfect. I’m beyond kind of stupid here - I’ve advanced to ludicrously stupid.
At first, I didn’t know what I was getting into. I saw the guide for Vermis 2: Mist & Mirrors on a table at a bookstore. On the corner of the cover for the second book is a little torn “Official Guide” logo. The cover art - and, really, all the game’s art - wouldn’t feel out of place inElden Ring. Much likeFromSoftware’sgames, the design of the characters and the monsters in the book possess a vague but bewildering sense of loss. The world seems corrupted. Or, at the very least, it’s not a pleasant place to spend a Saturday in. Flipping through it, I knew I was leaving the store with this goddamn book. I asked the woman at the counter if they had the first entry in the series. She said no, so I bought the second one in the store and ordered the other fromHollow Press, a company that publishes a lot of games, art, and game-art-adjacent material. Then, like, two weeks later, Hollow Press announced hardcover versions of the books and so I bought them both again. I’m a sucker like that.
I’ve talked a bit about the art, but the writing in Vermis is incredible. Much likeDark Soulsor Elden Ring orBloodborne, the world is filled with sorrow and you’re going to die because of it. And because it’s built to feel like a strategy guide that came from another dimension, you get a certain feel for the world you wouldn’t normally get in a straightforward novel or comic. The drab style of the book and the art work often feelsalmostpixelated oralmostlike something from an old DOS game. You get the sense you’re not supposed to know about Vermis, as if it were a cursed game from a copypasta.
Hey, there are even character classes!
None of these classes would feel out of place in a Soulslike game. Hell, some of these classes soundfascinating, albeit impossible to play. None of this information is vital to the ‘story’ because the ‘story’ across the two books are more or less a walkthrough with illustrations. It’s not a grand narrative or traditional graphic novel so much as just a guide that does a little bit of extra ambient storytelling.
In other words, Vermis is the perfect art book for people who’ve read this far in the story. You can open to any page and find something incredible. The books - especially the first book - lean so heavily into the strategy guide theme that it can almost be surprising when a map pops up or details on bosses like The Aspect Of Dream. The ‘hints’ at how to beat them make you imagine grand, git gud battles tried over and over again. It evokes an entire playing experience without having to turn anything on.
Look, a lot of you are probably in an Elden Ring mood. You’re probably trying to fight dancing lions while reading up on how it’s actually two dudes in a suit. If so, you will like Vermis. You will also like Vermis 2, the sequel to Vermis. That’s right, I’m giving this a straight up Reading Rainbow-style recommendation. It’s a Soulslike game that doesn’t require you to git gud, even if it still makes you feel bad. It’s a roleplaying game that doesn’t exist butshould. It’s dark, it’s perfect, and I’m always playing it in my mind.
Or, as the book advises, “While inspecting the fireplace, you might notice a strong stench coming from the chimney. Avoid looking up.”
