Valley Peaks Reminded me What a Good Time Can Be - Game Review
337You can pick up Valley Peaks Here (there's a demo too, which is what initially sold me on the game):
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2107550/Valley_Peaks/
Join my discord (don't forget to drop a comment here too before you go!): https://discord.gg/CJZqUWvKfQ
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Valley Peaks is a game about climbing mountains like a meth head and thinking to yourself, wow what a very chill game OH-
This is a small first person free roaming Indy game about a frog climbing mountains and slowly finding out about their dead dad, who is so cool our protagonist’s own achievements will never be amount to anything in comparison. Wow. That hit a nerve..
You set your own pace with an arcadey movement method that is just begging you to move at speeds which result in you needing to take four times as many goes to complete the route. I fully endorse this. Moving fast and making accidents is how I was born.
I've heard some describe it's crosshatch aesthetic, reminiscent of old postcards as ugly. I don't think it's ugly. I like it for it's personality.
You can tackle each peak in any order you like, and each three routes with varying difficulties and will normally include a different gimmick to shake things things up. This game makes sure early mountain designs never sends you right back to the very start.
There's no fall damage, the only punishment is the time you've squandered and the knowledge that somewhere out there Bennett Foddy is saying something annoyingly aspirational to himself for no reason at all.
The game, like a dead whale full of recycling, has surprisingly more in it than you'd initially suspect. It could have leaned on the fact it's a cute Indy to give us the bare minimum experience but right when you think it's over it breaths into your ear, I'm just warming up. Ribbit.
Ratwife saw me playing this game and she asked why I always play the most stressful games. This surprised me because I thought what I was playing was pretty chill. It certainly looks and sounds chill.
Every three successful climbs unlocks a new gadget or buff to the gadget. On top of that collectables scattered across the park give you plenty to do when you’re wanting to take a quick break from the stress of climbing. Bolts you gather can be spent on repairing random stuff around the map which will unlock permanent character upgrades. Or sometimes just a big spring or whatever, which feels like a cruel trick to loot my hard earned bolts.
I think they've done the map and all it's mini puzzles and collectathons well. It gives you plenty of opportunities to clamber over little towns and finding secrets squirrelled away in the corners.
There are npcs everywhere which makes the world feel lived in although their little lore tidbits don’t have the same zest or personality as something like A Short Hike. I guess not every frog is a special snowflake.
This game is cutesy but people who want to squeeze this game for all it’s worth and want a real challenge can do this after unlocking the route time trials and find out that this game expects you to climb the mountains in seconds. That shouldn’t be too hard considering most of you peaked quickly.
Somehow Valley Peaks has captured the feeling of recreational climbing. And I use the word Recreational because it really does make me feel the same as seeing a climbing wall I’m about to tackle, except without the irrational fear I’m going to be sucked over that bar at the top and then plummet to my death as my friends stand there holding a rapidly coiling rope.
“Recreation” is not particularly a word I use to describe games often. Normally games can feel like competitions at best and jobs at worst. It’s rare one envelopes you enough to make you feel like you are that character and you are just having a casual escape to a nature reserve. It certainly wasn’t something I was expecting from a game where your arms look like sounding rods.