Valley by Blue Isle Studios

[Delibirb]

 

Explore the vast and beautiful 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.

 

(Image links to Steam Store)

 

[spoiler=My Summary]

You are an archaeologist in search of an ancient legendary relic referred to as the Lifeseed, with the capability to supposedly destroy the world. When you arrive in the area of the Rocky Mountains you believe it to be in, you find that, back in WWII, the US military came searching for the seed too, but they're long gone. Left behind, are audio logs, research notes, and an exosuit called the L.E.A.F. Suit, capable of increasing human speed and agility, as well as manipulating life itself. Yeah. You pull life from living things, toss it into other dead things, or use it for your suits own toys. So, you search around all their encampments and facilities, through the valley's mountains and indigenous ruins, to find the Lifeseed and discover what happened to the people who got here first.

 

 

 

[spoiler=Non-Spoiler Review]

This game is excellent, amazing, and astounding, with some of the most unique takes on gameplay elements I've ever seen.

 

The highlight of the game is it's Valley-Life meter. In this game, you respawn by experiencing "Quantum Rebirth," wherein you are revived at the expense of the nature around you. If you don't put life back into the valley, eventually, it'll die and you'll be unable to respawn, and it'll be harder to recharge you suit to not only use its abilities, but to revive the valley again at all.

 

The graphics and views are breathtaking. The soundtrack is awesome. And the story, oooooh the story. Absolutely unbelievable.

 

You may start to figure some things out as you go, some things you'll be fed, but you likely will not expect the ending.

 

You may know Blue Isle Studios as having created the Slender games. This is not a horror game (Though there is some... roaring...), it's a story-driven masterpiece.

 

 

 

[spoiler=VERY SPOILERY REVIEW]

The game does a very good job of preparing you for new situations. It starts the audio logs referring to them a few minutes before your first encounter with the Amrita Swarms, and keeps you a safe distance back when it introduces how to fight them and how they fight.

 

The story doesn't really pick up until you get the Lifeseed, at which point the horrifying truth of everything you've been experiencing starts to unfold. Shortly, you meet your first Wendigos.

Then when you learn the second facility will kill the valley exponentially without the Lifeseed in the facility you've just unintentionally destroyed, you start to get in potentially serious danger, especially if you ignored the acorn doors.

 

But, back to the ending. I knew from the start the little sprites, which quickly get named daemons, would be important. In what way, I didn't know. As I got closer to what I knew was the end, I returned to speculation. Maybe they're the souls of the people the wendigos killed, who then grow up into wendigos when the valley's ecosystem is threatened. Well, I was almost right. They are baby wendigos, and only become wendigos when the valley is in danger, but they're not the souls of people. You realize that when you see the massive bone nest as you fight the king wendigo.

 

The horrifying part is, the orbs of Amrita energy, which sprout up throughout the valley, and are a safe way to gain life power in your suit without killing things, the orbs which the military was collecting, storing, weaponizing, the orbs you've been nonchalantly throwing around, are the daemons' eggs. As that door slooooowly opens, and you see that dead daemon in its test tube beside an orb, oh my gosh.

 

Furthermore, the game has a good way to convince you to play again, in two ways. Firstly, Steam achievements, as any game does. Secondly, the pyramid. You hear about the pyramid relentlessly throughout the game, hearing how it needs medallions (scattered throughout the game) to open, how the squads of soldiers were essentially racing to open it first, but you never see it until the second to last act. By that time, you generally have enough medallions to get in. But there's a second door. And you probably won't have enough to open that one, too, in your first playthrough.

 

 

 

Discuss the game I am super hyped about and will be for 17 years.

[Mr420QuickScopes]

What kind of gameplay style does it use? If you were to compare it to another game? Just from your summary i want this game in me now haha.

Also, what platform/console can i get it on? Not reading the spoiler part because i want to experience it haha

[Delibirb]

What kind of gameplay style does it use? If you were to compare it to another game? Just from your summary i want this game in me now haha.

Also, what platform/console can i get it on? Not reading the spoiler part because i want to experience it haha

I think I'd describe it as an evolving walking simulator. Your first minute or two are walking, after that it's running, then it's a platformer, then it adds FPS combat, and so on. The combat is simple and streamlined, though of corse increases in difficulty over time.

 

Valley's is on XBOX One, PS4, and Steam. It's $20 on Steam, i'd assume the same is true for the others.

[Mr420QuickScopes]

I think I'd describe it as an evolving walking simulator. Your first minute or two are walking, after that it's running, then it's a platformer, then it adds FPS combat, and so on. The combat is simple and streamlined, though of corse increases in difficulty over time.

 

Valley's is on XBOX One, PS4, and Steam. It's $20 on Steam, i'd assume the same is true for the others.

Sounds very different to anything i've played before, or even seen haha, I'm gonna have to youtube it to see what it looks like

Aaagh darn next gen consoles :( and 99% of every single thing on Steam is for Windows only :/

[Delibirb]

There are Slender pages hidden in the game!

 

So far I've only found 3 (and officially only two cause I didn't think to click on the first one). I assume you'll get an achievement once you find them all. Unsure if anything slenderman-ey happens as you find more though I find it unlikely as they're only attainable by returning to areas after having most/all of the game completed, and as such you're just wandering around, so you'd have to focus on getting all of them which would be distracting.