Valdis Story: Abyssal City PC

1. Ezkimo42o

   Nov 5, 2013

   10

   First thing is first, the other reviews I have read on this giving this game a 1 is utter and total ****
   
   Let me start by saying I am aFirst thing is first, the other reviews I have read on this giving this game a 1 is utter and total ****
   
   Let me start by saying I am a metroidvania enthusiast, I live for these games and they are my favorite genre in the fastness of video games. I grew up with super metroid and to this day is my favorite game of all time, the "what the do I do next thing" sold the whole franchise to me. SoTN just nailed it in every way possible. In other words: I've been waiting for Valdis Story: Abyssal City for years.
   
   On the surface the game is tight, as in the controls and the overall JRPG is there, but its a action RPG. It feels sometimes like a action fighting game, kind of like devil may cry, where the combos are so different depending on what you hit (jump included). The combat focuses on melee, and uses magic as a means of navigation, kind of like metroids' ability's.
   
   I will admit the crafting interface could be a little easier to do, like maybe check a item you want to farm for, so you can see your progress. The only way i could do that is wright down the mats needed for it, then go off fighting the mobs who drop it.
   
   The artwork is outstanding, it brings me back to when I was first learning how truly powerful games could really be. All this 1080 HD next gen couldn't make me thing this game looks anything but beautiful. This is hand drawn, and it looks great.
   
   Overall, I can not recommend this game enough, If you liked SoTN, buy this game.
   
   I am using a xbox 360 controller and the controls are very good and tight,… Expand

   • 10 of 15 users found this helpful
2. allenxz

   Jan 26, 2014

   10

   es un gran juego muy entretenido ademas que invita mucho a la exploración
   este juego me recuerda el mítico castlevania y metroid.
   aun quees un gran juego muy entretenido ademas que invita mucho a la exploración
   este juego me recuerda el mítico castlevania y metroid.
   aun que tiene su propia esencia espero esto les invite a jugarlo es genial… Expand

   • 2 of 6 users found this helpful
4. auditionko

   Nov 2, 2013

   10

   i understand why some people don't like this game.the game's challenges are quite hard .it's save system is old and unforgiving but, that'si understand why some people don't like this game.the game's challenges are quite hard .it's save system is old and unforgiving but, that's exactly what i love about old school games.The combat is great.The art style is brilliant .it has a good character customization and a lot of replay value.just buy it it's worth more than 15 bucks.… Expand

   • 4 of 12 users found this helpful
5. Lustner

   Jul 1, 2014

   8

   Though building heavily upon Castlevania, this game has quite a different philosophy behind it. I'd say Castlevania excelled in and emphasisedThough building heavily upon Castlevania, this game has quite a different philosophy behind it. I'd say Castlevania excelled in and emphasised exploring, whereas Valdis Story aims to grip the player with its often cruel platforms and bosses - a moment's distraction usually means death. So we have:
   
   Pros:
   - Well-crafted game mechanics
   - Challenging and not too repetitive bosses
   - Beautiful and fluid visuals
   - Nice soundtrack
   - Good replay value
   
   Cons:
   - Poor map traversal (one often has to fight a long way to get to their objective, even though there is fast travel)
   - Dash (Skill Cancel) is sometimes difficult to get right because it uses the same button as magic. I did not quite understand why it was not set to another button
   - Some events permanently affect your game, making it impossible to obtain gear and such
   - Underdeveloped/underused item and shop systems
   
   Overall, it is that game which brings satisfaction after some suffering from trying to defeat a boss or get to a platform without having to backtrack once again. Recommended mainly for hardcore gamers.… Expand

   • 1 of 3 users found this helpful
6. Growly

   Nov 24, 2013

   8

   This is one of the best metroidvania games I've ever played. The combat system is almost perfect and the story is interesting enough. The onlyThis is one of the best metroidvania games I've ever played. The combat system is almost perfect and the story is interesting enough. The only thing I don't like is the jump puzzles which may be too difficult. Well, there are some technical issues, but not critical.… Expand

   • 3 of 6 users found this helpful
7. sh4dow

   Jan 3, 2015

   7

   It's a decent enough game and I didn't really mind the platforming puzzles but I find it disappointing that the game was released unfinishedIt's a decent enough game and I didn't really mind the platforming puzzles but I find it disappointing that the game was released unfinished and over a year later, there still has been no update on the other content that was supposed to be there.
   Also, if I remember correctly, the difficulty is a bit all over the place, with a lot of fights being manageable while others are just insane. This has kept me from finishing the game a second time with the second character and on the highest difficulty. I got to the first boss just fine but then I was like "You got to be kidding!"
   That said - it DOES take a while to get through the game even just once, so depending on what price you pay for it, it is still absolutely worth it. I just find it unfortunate that it possibly will never be finished and I'm also not a huge fan of the art style. It looks more like what you would see from a hobbyist on deviantart rather than a professional game artist (even if it's indie games - just check out Bastion, Braid, This War Of Mine, etc.).… Expand

   • 1 of 2 users found this helpful
8. cornfingers

   Dec 3, 2014

   0

   Valdis Story: Abyssal City: A game that only got a high rating because nobody actually finished it and definitely a true gem in examples ofValdis Story: Abyssal City: A game that only got a high rating because nobody actually finished it and definitely a true gem in examples of why people actually have to use Game Maker Studio... because through all the poor design choices and clunky menus... it's obvious that this game only made it because of the artwork.
   
   The kickstarter promised great fighting mechanics and combos, but all everybody really got was the same three moves repeated over and over along with poorly placed, unrebindable controls and the worlds most annoying cancel... which is really JUST a glorified dash, that other games let you bind to the proper keys. But hey! The enemies can infi-combo you, so maybe the kickstarter was talking about how good the combos would be for them! Oh and the spikes... apparently those can infi-combo better than the player character as well. In the end though I guess you can't really talk about how responsive controls are when a game even has slow down issues on an i-7 processor... I guess it should just be expected at that point.
   
   The controls are definitely not stellar, no matter how many die-hard fans accost you with "git gud" memes and an obvious attempt at feeling superior for once in theirs lives. No, the controls are bad and unresponsive... yes, you can make them work, but that doesn't mean it's an excuse to have them and the difficulty shouldn't be in fighting them to do what you want. The real truth is it's a platforming game, with bad platforming and a wall jump mechanic that seriously needs a revision.
   
   The bosses start off fun and challenging, but soon spiral down into mass projectile and minion spamming nonsense, and by the end of the game you're fighting a screen of bright colors and no discernible hitbox while you're being infi-comboed because you missed one dash because the game felt like being unresponsive that one time. I guess it's hard to invent a new boss pattern after you've used up all the ones you know on the first two...
   
   The story is terrible and the writing makes you wonder if they've even written anything before, as it's littered with bad habits and constant references to things that have never been previously explained... similar to a fan-fiction, but imagine the subject the fan-fiction was about simply didn't even exist... The ending was anti-climatic and left the feeling of "So? Big whoop? Was that supposed to be surprising?" It's not a twist if it isn't even relevant to the story and came off as nothing more than a corny way to end the game. Overall, unenjoyable story and definitely worth mashing your buttons through.
   
   The artwork is great, and definitely the best, if not only (read as only) aspect worth playing the game to experience.... although, just like the combo system... the artwork is repetitive and doesn't have a lot of variety. The townsfolk all consist of the same 3 character designs and the portraits next to the speech dialogs always show the same emotion; lending absolutely nothing more than getting in the way of reading the situation properly. In fact, the whole game comes off as a concept or prototype that you'd pitch to a publisher... and not a final game.
   
   To summarize, if you want to play a good game, just go play SOTN or co. and if you want to play something obviously made in game maker... don't... or better yet, just hire their artist and make something yourself, because it'd be hard pressed not to be a hundred fold better.… Expand

   • 1 of 9 users found this helpful

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