Xenon Valkyrie+ Game Sample - PS4
30"Xenon Valkyrie+" is an improved version of "Xenon Valkyrie" which was released for Steam back in early 2017. It's a neat little indie game developed by Spanish developer Daniel Fernandez Chavez of "Diabolical Mind" and ported to PS Vita, PS4 and XBox1 by CowCat Games (Run by French developer Fabrice Breton). Remarkably, both are solo developers, though CowCat Games was asked to port the game to other platforms due to prior experience porting games. Some improvements include typographical improvements, better button-mapping, more language support, specific buttons for each action, the ability to look above and below, etc. While all this sounds fairly minor, it blends together to create a much better gaming experience. For what it's worth, the game is quite ambitious for one person to develop too!
The story reads:
"A long time ago... the legends spoke of great battles... that history since forgot. The world was thriving and humanity lived in peace. Rumors were heard of a nearby moon where darkness emerged from hiding. Death and destruction crept over the world and humanity prepared to fight. Machines and other creatures were manipulated by evil... and a god rose from darkness to destroy it all. But when everything seemed lost... a beacon of light appeared..."
At its core, Xenon Valkyrie is a "Rogue-Lite Platformer" with procedurally generated levels, random item placement, stage bosses, etc., but it borrows some core elements from "Spelunky" as well as incorporate a few RPG elements. Players start at the top of a level and work their way to the bottom while defeating enemies, leveling up, grabbing treasure, and using tools or special items to progress. One major tool is a time bomb to blow up terrain and carve paths to places that might otherwise be inaccessible. Between levels, you can chat with NPCs, buy items using Cells (Cash), Teamerite (Rare Cash) and Gold Keys (also used for most chests). When you die, you lose nearly everything but Teamerite and special events that were triggered during gameplay, which can be used to buy special upgrades that make trying again a little easier along with the special characters who aid you quite well.
With a mildly inspired anime aesthetic, sci-fi setting, pixel graphics, multiple playable characters, multiple endings, secret routes and cool Chiptune music by Giorgiost (Jorge Olivares), this game is a good time waster that can be played in 20-60 minute intervals in most cases. One thing to note is that the game isn't that difficult for a Rogue-Lite... even though health is almost scarce, bosses can only be fought with your blade, and certain things are cryptic like what items do, there are a few things you'll discover that greatly mitigates the challenge. I won't say what these things are, but for this reason, I would say this is a great entry point for people trying to get accustomed to this type of game. Play on a bigger screen if you have trouble with visibility as most objects are quite small.
This is a video of the game in action. Enjoy.
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