Valdis Story, A Review

The crew over at Endless Fluff Games have recently released their third game; Valdis Story: Abyssal City. I stumbled upon this game while browsing through the new releases on Steam, and to be honest I saw the logo of the game and figured “Hey, this could be good.” Then I saw the art style and gameplay, and I instantly fell in love. So, let’s get down to business, shall we?

Let’s start off with what I did not like

Just about everything I did not like were small, minor things. Like not being able to recover after getting hit in mid-air (and then falling all the way back down the tower you just climbed). Some enemies I found were near impossible to kill, until I found out the “gimmick.” Like the armored shield angels? They were annoying as all hell. I found that the only way to really kick their butt was to hit their shield, until they parried me and then I had to counter-parry their attack. Which then opened them up for a few hits. Annoying, and it seemed to be the only way to kill them. Even finishing attacks were blocked.

The map is a little confusing. Because there is only “area” maps, not a world map that shows every zone that is in the game. I found myself going “oh, what’s up here? Haven’t been here bef–Oh wait. Yes. Yes I have.”

Other than those few minor issues (some may say I am nit-picking, and to be fair, I am). I really enjoyed Valdis Story.

So lets talk about what I enjoyed

I love the art style of Valdis Story, it reminds me a lot of the “anime” style art. Along with the platforming and sidescrolling? It made me feel right at home. The Metroidvania / Megaman X style gameplay along with RPG elements makes Valdis Story highly addicting. (For me at least). Each of the four playable characters (Wyatt, Reina, Vladyn, and Gilda) have three talent trees, each focusing on attack, defense, and magic. Leveling up grants you one skill point (for Strength, Agility, Luck, etc etc) and one talent point.

Another impressive element to Valdis Story is the music and sound design. Very well done, with catchy and memorable songs, that really catch the “vibe” of each area. Zack Parrish really has out done himself on Valdis Story.

The story is pretty good too. The game starts off with Wyatt and his crew ambushing a demon ship, when these giant whale creatures come out of the ocean and destroy both of the ships. Most of the crew survives the attack and end up in the Abyssal City, where the angelic forces of Alagath and the twisting horrors of Myrgato are at war with one another. Both are trying to consume as many human souls as possible to gain the upper hand.

Overall Valdis Story is a very well done game, with a few minor flaws. I highly recommend you go pick it up on Steam (right now) for $14.99.

A copy of Valdis Story: Abyssal City was personally purchased via Steam. I played as Wyatt on Normal and had a blast!