Vermis is one of those projects that defies easy classification, born from an idea as simple as it is brilliant: creating a strategy guide for a video game that never actually existed. The artist Plastiboo constructs a fake gaming artifact—seemingly unearthed from a dark era of video game history—and fills it with maps, creatures, items, characters, and fragments of lore.
The first thing that strikes you is the aesthetic. The illustrations resemble corrupted screenshots from an obscure and forgotten dungeon crawler, featuring images that are gritty, distorted, and intentionally hard to decipher. The effect is strangely nostalgic: despite never having played Vermis, you feel as though you already know this world, as if it belongs to some lost gaming memory. Influences from Dark Souls, King’s Field, and classic dungeon crawlers are evident, yet they do not prevent the work from forging its own unique identity.
However, its greatest strength lies in how the world is conveyed. Vermis rarely explains things directly. The story emerges through descriptions, images, unsettling names, and seemingly insignificant details. Readers must piece together events for themselves, transforming from mere spectators into explorers. This approach makes the universe fascinating, albeit intentionally cryptic.
It is not a perfect book, though. Those seeking a traditional narrative or easily accessible lore might find it frustrating. Some sections seem more concerned with atmosphere than concrete information, and this very ambiguity can be as captivating as it is disorienting.
Vermis succeeds because it makes us yearn for something we cannot actually play. As you flip through its pages, you naturally wonder what it would be like to explore those dungeons, face those monsters, and discover what lies beyond the final door. Ultimately, Vermis is much more than just an artbook: it is an exercise in world-building and imagination—a phantom video game transformed into a physical object. It is an experience especially recommended for those who love dark fantasy, horror, and stories that deliberately leave more questions than answers.
