Much like Gemini: Heroes Reborn before it, Valley has a lot of great ideas that deserve to be explored in full at a later date. In another time, it might have done well as a Blockbuster exclusive. It fully engages you throughout your journey, but it’s all over before you know it. For those who can’t get enough of weird first-person treats, this will be a smorgasbord. For everyone else, it’s the perfect game to throw on for an evening’s worth of entertainment. Just don’t expect to retain much of it past your brief fling.
Valley
Blue Isle Studios · Aug 23, 2016
About
Explore the vast and beautiful game world of Valley using the power of the L.E.A.F. SUIT: a fierce exoskeleton that grants exceptional speed and agility along with the phenomenal ability to manipulate the life and death of all living things.
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Critic reviews
- 6.1Valley is an enjoyable experience that tells a comfortable narrative through brilliant music, exemplary writing, and a creative setting. It doesn’t quite hit all the notes of what we ought to know for a satisfying ending and it is, unfortunately, plagued by a lack of map, lighting issues, and terrible frame-rate drops.
- 8.0Valley might be more like a book than a video game; you pick it up, you experience its story to your satisfaction, you put it down. Given the low impact of the bulk of its gameplay, it’s almost puzzling that they bothered to include a few moderately challenging sections at all amid what is mostly just a pleasant jaunt through an appealing world.
- 8.0So much of it is spent scaling walls, jumping from formation to formation, and jumping, running, and swinging around the map. But there are layers here, and it all meshes wonderfully; the story, playing out like a radio drama as you explore the locations in which it took place; the Valley as this beautiful, vulnerable, and magical location; and the themes, which explore life, death, and purpose with surprising nuance.
- 7.5Valley was a game that started slow for me and grew more and more. It has a decent story that involves morality in weapons and new technology, gameplay that is fun and invites exploration, and has a unique if oddly familiar world to explore. It’s only about a 3 to 4 hour experience but with the ability to replay earlier levels with the new upgrades, it adds to the game time if players want to explore more.
- 7.5In the game, each action and each death is a decision that has to be made with care since everything affects everything else. Ultimately, this is Valley’s greatest strength; its ability to connect gameplay, narrative, and the environment to form a holistic experience. Some of the puzzles and platforming may not ground-breaking, but Valley excels in almost every other department. Be it the LEAF suit’s wonderful athleticism or the vast and lively world, you’re sure to find something you’ll enjoy here.
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