The Vale

The Vale: Shadow of the Crown

Release Date: August 19, 2021

Adventure, fantasy, RPG elements, indie games, experimental/artistic, action adventure, singleplayer

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An action adventure game with RPG elements, which is entirely based on the sound. In The Vale: The Shadow of the Crown we play the role of a blind heir to the throne, who traverses The Vale, trying to find his way home.

Plot
Mechanics
Technical aspects

The Vale: Shadow of the Crown is an action adventure game with RPG elements, and stands out from other games of this type due to a total lack of graphic design. The game was developed by the independent Canadian studio Falling Squirrel, which helped to create such projects as Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, Embers of Mirrim or Lost Orbit.

Plot

The Vale: The Shadow of the Crown takes us on a journey to a fantastic realm inspired by medieval Europe. The main hero of the game is the younger heir to the throne, who after his older brother took over the kingdom, was sent to a small fortress on the outskirts of the country. On their way to the castle, the blind protagonist and his caravan are attacked by an army of invaders. Hero manages to escape, but afterwards he is left completely alone in an unknown and dangerous place - The Vale. In order to return home, the hero has to face the threats waiting for him, counting on the help of friendly people. On the way, young hero discovers the secrets of the kingdom as well as his own family.

Mechanics

During the game in The Vale: The Shadow of the Crown screen is wrapped in darkness illuminated only by small bright points, and it shows only the direction in which the protagonist is looking at the moment. For this reason, during the game we have to rely entirely on the sounds and the vibrations of the controller, regardless of whether we are exploring or fighting.

The rest of the game is no different from what other games of this type have accustomed us to. So we travel around the world, talk to the characters we meet and perform various tasks for them or side missions, pushing forward the plot, as well as fight the enemies, using cold weapons or magic. As we progress, we also increase the hero's combat potential, developing his skills and getting better equipment.

Technical aspects

As the audio layer plays an extremely important role in The Vale: Shadow of the Crown, it was prepared with attention to small details. The surround sound allows us to get to know our surroundings, various footsteps are a marker of what kind of ground we are walking on, and for example, the rasp of steel hitting the wood informs us that the blow against the enemy has been blocked by him (and vice versa, if it is us who are defending ourselves at the moment). The full sound dialogues are also noteworthy - thanks to an appropriate selection of actors who play specific characters, we can learn about their intentions relatively quickly.

Videos and Screens

[1:22] The Vale trailer #1