Valley

In moments of immense speed, Valley’s basic first-person platforming creates some excitement. But those are just moments, and they’re spaced too far apart with empty environments and forgettable combat between them. There are some interesting ideas scattered throughout the world but they’re very hard to care about, since there’s nobody around to be influenced by your actions. A seemingly pointless resource management system presents some interesting aesthetics, but overall, Valley very rarely presents the challenge or consequence it really needs to be addictive.

Valley is an exciting experience in motion, but its momentum is cut short by the all too brief adventure.

A strange, yet satisfying experience with roots in first-person storytelling, but it wants to be a superhero game at heart

I cautiously recommend checking Valley out regardless, because, dreary exposition, excessive darkness and a cruel and unusual checkpointing system aside, it does what it does with polish and expertise.

Valley's heart is most definitely in the right place, and for the most part it succeeds in the execution of its gameplay mechanics. Unfortunately, the game's technical faults can't be ignored. The sloppy framerate in particular damages the experience far too much, and has held back what would otherwise be a great game.

In a games market often trying to operate as either an endless buffet or a sticky-sweet dessert parlour, Valley is a satisfying meal that doesn't outstay its welcome.

A very basic and reductive way to describe Valley would be to say it’s a virtual jungle gym riddled with various toys and obstacles that are complemented well by the LEAF suit.

Valley plays host to movement mechanics that feel awesome to use and a story that eventually becomes worthwhile.

Explore gorgeous lands, revive the dying valley, and discover a sentimental story while you run and jump through the vast worlds to find collectables to learn more about the lore that Valley has to offer.

Despite the lackluster narrative, the stretches of running fast and swinging around are wonderful, which are unfortunately buried by choppy visuals and frame-rate drops.