Valley Peaks

Release Date: July 24, 2024

Arcade, FPP, sandbox, 3D platformers, adventure elements, indie games, exploration games, climbing, cozy game, singleplayer

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An arcade adventure game in the first person, in which we climb mountains and explore the titular valley. Valley Peaks is made in cartoonish graphics, and in addition to climbing it also offers numerous mini-games and an array of interesting NPCs.

Plot
Mechanics
Technical aspects

Valley Peaks is an abstract climbing simulator in which our goal is to explore a valley in the mountains inhabited by many eccentric individuals. It is the debut project of the small studio Tub Club.

Plot

The story of the game focuses on the frog-like inhabitants of the valley, facing various problems that the main character can solve. Most of them require climbing high peaks and hills, where we will come to repair broken equipment or acquire items needed by the residents. The tone of the game focuses on relaxation and casual fun, hence most of the tasks do not offer elaborate stories.

Mechanics

The action in the game is observed from a first-person perspective. The world presented is open and not very large, but filled with content. We climb the available mountains with the help of special "paws", which we launch forward and hang with them against rock protrusions, then pull ourselves up to them and jump to the next ones. Each mountain is different and has been implemented as an environmental puzzle, thus requiring a different approach to reach the goal. While exploring, it's worth looking around for rare golden mushrooms: with their help we can trade with NPCs we meet in the game, thanks to which we acquire new equipment or upgrade the equipment we already have. This provides us with new options when climbing or when repairing equipment found on mountain tops. We are commissioned to make these repairs by valley residents, who need functional equipment for daily functioning.

While climbing, we have to watch out for various dangers: loose stones, sliding mining wagons or sharp rocks are the order of the day here and can prematurely end our efforts. In addition to the basic mechanics of play, the game also offers various mini-games related to the repair of equipment and challenges posed to the main character by the local climbing club, the completion of which provides us with additional rewards and goodies.