The Vale: Shadow of the Crown

An immersive audio-based action RPG you have to play on Nintendo Switch

From its distinctive concept to its terrific use of spatial audio, this sightless adventure is absolutely unique on the Switch

Developer Fallen Squirrel worked with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) to create The Vale: Shadow of the Crown for blind gamers, but it should appeal to anyone who enjoys a good action adventure. What it lacks in visuals it makes up for with its unique use of familiar RPG elements and its stunning audio presentation. The Vale's somewhat repetitive gameplay doesn't outlast its welcome.

The Vale is perhaps one of the most unique titles I have played in recent memory. Hopefully, more developers can take some notes when it comes to making accessible games. It may be a very short adventure, but it's one I won't soon forget.

More than a recommendation for its unique accessibility features, The Vale: Shadow of the Crown is, as a whole, a robust and very well articulated project. Aside from the lack of localization and advanced features of the new generation, it's an absolutely necessary game for each of us, psychics or not.

Overall, I can’t recommend Falling Squirrel Inc.’s The Vale: Shadow of the Crown enough. It’s more than just a video game, it’s an experience that blends in a real world issue with a well balanced gameplay system that just works. Well written and narrated story mixed with an easy to pick up yet hard to master combat system all while seeing nothing more than particle effects on a screen, it’s a reminder that there’s still so much more we can do for those with disabilities.

A unique design concept and a grand adventure await those who venture into The Vale: Shadow of the Crown with some of the finest use of voice acting to date, but those without adequate audio resources might have an incomplete experience.

Lend the Kingdom of Glades your ears in the action-packed audio-based role-playing game, The Vale: Shadow of the Crown. You play as Alex, a blind princess and a skilled combatant, who aims to save her beloved lands from an unexpected evil.

Personally, I’d love to see more games like The Vale: Shadow of the Crown in a wide range of settings. This game helps prove just how widely games can reach and how many players can be brought into the fold. Even with some plot that felt middle-of-the-road, The Vale’s framework sets a great example for zero-vision games. I hope it’s one of many to come.

What it does, it does well, and it leaves open a path forward where complex narrative structures are explored (The Vale has some branching, but like early D&D adventure modules, it's fairly on the rails), or the simple puzzle forms are complicated and expanded. There's plenty of overhead to play with new forms of audio puzzles entirely. And while I wished some of that was in this game itself, perhaps leaving space for the next game is crucial-experimentation should never be final or definitive. But for now, Falling Squirrel has crafted a brilliant next step with The Vale.