Valdis Story: Abyssal City

Valdis Story: Abyssal City is a 2013 action-adventure platform game developed by American indie studio Endless Fluff. It was funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign which concluded on April 27, 2012 with $49,574 raised, over six times its $8000 goal.^[2]

Plot

While on a sea voyage to search for his missing father, Wyatt is sucked into a submarine city where angels and demons vie for supremacy. Wyatt sets out to find his ship's screw, from whom he has been separated.

Gameplay

Valdis Story is a side-scroller in which the player controls Wyatt and has him run, jump, traverse obstacles, and use his sword and magic to defeat enemies. The player can also use Wyatt's crewmate Reina, who fights with her fists. The undersea city consists of several zones, between which he player can freely move. The player will acquire many items throughout their journey, and some of them will grant new abilities; for example, they will be able to create platforms out of ice, which will allow them to access areas that were previously inaccessible. The game contains many RPG elements; enemies will drop loot (i.e., better equipment), and the player character gains experience from combat. As they level up, the player will be able to acquire new combat skills from the in-game skill tree.

Reception

Valdis Story received positive reviews, and currently sits at 83/100 on Metacritic.^[3] Andrew Barker of RPGFan gave it 93%, saying he "had a wonderful time playing Valdis Story. Time and time again it exceeded my expectations, and it's a privilege that I was able to play and review it."^[4] Destructoid awarded the game 9/10, concluding that it "simultaneously succeeds as both an action platformer and a Metroidvania with RPG elements, and it's a must-play for fans of either genre."^[5] GamingTrend scored it 8/10, criticizing the game's control scheme; it said the "[j]umping has an uneasy float to it", and was particularly critical of the need to do a "Street Fighter-style 'hadouken' movement" to perform a dash, noting that this requirement was "[a]ll the more confounding [given] that the left and right bumpers on the controller go entirely unused while combinations of buttons are needed for things like menus and special attacks." However, it still recommended Valdis Story overall, saying, "Valdis Story makes you earn your progress, and that makes success all the more satisfying."^[6]

References