Valley
Release Date: August 24, 2016
Adventure, FPP, science fiction, indie games, action adventure, exploration games, singleplayer
OpenCritic
Steam
An FPP action-adventure game featuring sci-fi elements and focusing on exploration. It was developed by Blue Isle Games - a Canadian team popular for Slender: The Arrival. The player is taken to the titular valley, which is a mysterious place located somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. Assuming the role of an unspecified character, the player traverses a set of diversified locations, trying to discover the secrets hidden in the area.
Videos and Screens
[1:23] Valley launch trailer
[2:07] Valley extended story trailer
GamingTrend: 70 / 100 by Travis Northup
The first few minutes of Valley show a lot of potential, but it quickly falls short, and gives way to repetition, a bad narrative, and some downright disappointing game design. Lasting only 3-4 hours, $20 is a steep price for an experience that leaves you bored and frustrated as often as it proves to be an enjoyable experience.
CGMagazine: 9 / 10 by Jed Whitaker
Sonic the Hedgehog and Bioshock had a lovechild and named it Valley, a sleeper hit that deserves your attention.
GameSpew: 5 / 10
It is unfortunate that the game is a rehash of almost every popular indie game from 2012 onwards, because it starts off fairly well
Valley Description
Valley for PC, PS4 and XONE is a first-person action-adventure game featuring sci-fi elements and focusing on exploration. It was developed by Blue Isle Games - an independent Canadian team popular mainly for Slender: The Arrival, which is a sequel to a free-to-play hit created by Mark Hadley - Slender: The Eight Pages,
Plot
The action takes place in the titular valley - a mysterious place located somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. The player takes on the role of an unspecified character who traverses a set of diversified locations (colorful forests or dangerous ruins for example), making use of the L.E.A.F. exoskeleton (Leap Effortlessly though Air Functionality) - one of technology's latest achievements. The protagonist tries to discover the secret of this amazing place.
Mechanics
Valley for PC, PS4 and XONE is a first-person exploration game, that contrary to the majority of relatively static representatives of the genre, delivers substantial amounts of dynamism in terms of the gameplay, through implementation of the exoskeleton. For instance, this allows to move faster and jump higher, so the protagonist can reach locations inaccessible for ordinary humans. L.E.A.F. is also useful in combat against hostile creatures inhabiting the valley.
Alongside progression, the player unlocks new abilities that come with the exoskeleton. Control over life and death allowing both to deprive organisms of life and literally breathe it into them is probably the most important one. However, high price is to be paid for this ability - each time the player-controlled character dies, the titular valley deceases gradually. Consequently, solving the mystery behind the place, as well as both how it looks and what is the fate of the creatures inhabiting it are all dependant on the player's ability to survive.
Technical aspects
Similar to Slender mentioned above, Valley for PC, PS4 and XONE utilizes the popular, multi-platform Unity engine. However, minimalism present in the developer's first game is not part of Valley - the creators made the most of the engine's capabilities, offering a large-sized, diverse, colorful and detailed game world.
Last updated on June 2, 2016
Valley Summary
Platforms:
PC / Windows August 24, 2016
Switch March 7, 2019
PlayStation 4 August 24, 2016
Xbox One August 24, 2016
Developer: Blue Isle Studios
Publisher: Blue Isle Studios
Valley System Requirements
PC / Windows
Minimum: Intel Dual Core 3.0 GHz, 8 GB RAM, graphic card 1 GB GeForce GTX 650/Radeon HD 7770, 5 GB HDD, Windows 7
Recommended: Intel Quad Core 3.0 GHz, 16 GB RAM, graphic card 2 GB GeForce GTX 660/Radeon HD 7870, 5 GB HDD, Windows 7
Slender developer is making Valley – an action adventure game about manipulating life
Blue Isle Studios, which previously gave us Slender: The Arrival, is working on Valley – an action adventure game about manipulating life. The game's main focus will be on exploration of its open world and using superhuman powers.
video games
April 19, 2016