Valley (2016)

This game hits all the right notes when it comes to a "walking sim" style game. The biggest things, for me, when playing a game like this is atmosphere and story. This game had it in spades.

The graphics, while older, still manage to shine. The world is gorgeous to look at, and the settings are varied. There was an excellent use of lighting throughout. This was all supported by an amazing musical score. It has to be one of the best I've experienced in a long time.

Story wise, this was a lovely mix of history, mystery, and fantasy. It is conveyed through audio logs that automatically play when reaching the right area and documents found hidden throughout the world. It was an engaging tale with a satisfying ending.

One thing I don't have to talk about with most walking sims is combat. This one has some. Overall, it's not difficult. Which is probably another reason I found the boss fight to be so needlessly hard. Especially in this style of game. It rather comes out of nowhere and could be a frustrating thing for players who came for the atypical walking sim experience.

That said, this is a lovely game and was quite fun. Would recommend it to fans of the genre, and also as an intro to those looking to get into it that are used to more combative games.

I went into this thinking it was going to be a largely chill platformer about, I don't know, becoming one with nature or something.

And it is. For a bit. Until it isn't. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just say if you've passed on this because you also thought it was just a chill platformer about nature, consider giving it a look. Also, running really fast and then jumping really far is very fun.

I also didn't think I was going to care about the story, that it was largely there just to provide some kind of progression for the game, but by the end I was fully invested. And for a story delivered entirely though audio logs and notes it's pretty good, both in terms of the writing (which while relatively broad is still engaging), and in terms of the pacing; the audio logs are cued automatically at various points in the game and don't interrupt the action, while the notes that you find scattered about are usually relatively short, so you don't feel bogged down by lore dumps.

My complaints about the game are largely minor level design quibbles that aren't worth going into. There's also the fact that the game has you choose your character's gender but then you never actually see your character or hear them outside of the two times in the entire game where they make like a gasping/grunting noise. It's just kind of a weird choice, you know? Oh and also it feels like your character is crouching the whole time when it should feel like they're 8 feet tall given that they're in this giant exoskeleton. I don't know if this is a camera thing or the environment wasn't scaled properly or what, but it really bugged me, especially when I was walking upright through seemingly normal-sized air vents (i.e. the kind you would normally be crawling through).

Anyway, overall this was a surprisingly good game and I don't why I'd never heard of it until I happened to see it in a PS Store sale. Seems like a game people should know about.

p.s. There's a bit where the game refers to quantum immortality in a way that is just not at all what quantum immortality is, which was annoying, but then later there's another reference to quantum immortality that actually describes it correctly (which references then gets restated as the incorrect version again, but whatever) so, in case that bugs you too, I just want to make it clear that they do actually know what quantum immortality is, they just explain it badly at first.

I had low expectations for this, but bought it because it was on sale and was supposed to be short. I enjoyed it immensely. It had some issues – I don’t know why any game that excels when moving at speed would spend so much time in bland, claustrophobic corridors. Despite this I thought it was an interesting blend of walking simulator, FPS and platformer.

I particularly liked the FPS elements, though they felt a little underdeveloped. It was thrilling to use a weapon that gave life to your surroundings (trees, animals and weird little valley spirits). Using this weapon decreases your energy/health bar. This was a nice touch, because it meant that every time you encountered a hostile entity there was strategy involved, having to balance using your weapon with managing your health.

This tied into an interesting ‘Valley Health’ mechanic. Every time you die the valley’s health decreases, it’s eventual death resulting in a game over. You replenish the valley’s health by breathing life into your surroundings. You can also absorb energy from your surroundings, which will also cause the valley to suffer.

I spent most of my time trying to heal my surroundings. It felt therapeutic. It lead to a really memorable gaming moment. I was approached by multiple hostile entities while I had very little energy. I had no choice but to absorb the energy from all of my surroundings, draining the life out of a group of small forest spirits. It was weird and sad and a really cool moment, especially due to not having enough energy after the encounter to replenish the life I had taken. I think this game only really scratches the surface of some pretty interesting life and death mechanics. I think the developers have the potential to make a really great game, though they didn’t quite get there with Valley. Despite this it is still a decent way to spend a few hours, and I think Blue Isle Studios are a dev team worth keeping an eye on.

This is a story driven game with some simple puzzle elements and basic fighting mecanics. For me you have to see it like a walking simulator (not pejorative) upgraded to abvoid usually boring long walks you find in mostly all games of this kind (yes Kholat I'm speaking of you). The suit you unlock at the very beginning of the game will follow you during your exploration of the beautiful (but not exeptionnal) maps of the game permitting you to evolve through obstacles in your way to solve all the mystery of the Valley and I have to admit it, it was fucking amazing. The story is kinda simple but do the work and keep you alert with the audio records and the life and death system is just amazing, one of the best I saw in a game and I won't spoil it. It keep you in a logical universe far from the reality (despite the big HUD).

I wanted to put 4 stars but there is only one other evaluation with 2, so I want to see the real note of this game in the general score.

One less star because of the graphics, very important in a contemplation/story/walking game.