Valdis Story: Abyssal City is one of the best games i've played so far, i've been so hooked on to it that i have yet to become bored of doing the game over and over, it feels like each playthrough is a challenge and the hardest difficulty which is unlocked after your first playthrough really puts your skills to the test.

The storyline is quite a fun turn of events as neither hell or heaven is the good guy here!
You start off on a ship with your crew then some giant monster comes and crashes your ship and you all sink and end up in Abyssal City which is deep under the sea, it turns out that you have been caught up in the middle of a war between angels and demons and your only way out is to battle your way through hordes of angels and demons as you search for your missing crew!

Currently there are 2 playable characters out of 4 which will be available in an upcoming patch. The 2 currently available characters have very different playstyles, one of them is a monk which starts by using only fists while the other starts with a sword, both have their strengths and weaknesses which makes it really fun to play through the game a second time.
I started out playing the swords man in the hardest difficulty and finished the game and it was quite rewarding as i had to put some effort in to it, later i decided i was going to try out the monk and oh my did i get a surprise, it was like playing a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT GAME! i died a couple of times to bosses here and there which i had considered mastered, but because of the different playstyle and spells it really shook me up and made me have another blast through the game!

The game also features a leveling system and a talent tree system which is pretty rare for a sidescroller, it brings out allot of possibilities while leveling on what path you wish to take and what stats you require for your skill tree... Want to be a MONK MAGE?! no problem... Want to be a barehanded swordsman!? again no problem... the game is very well built to give you the different options of choosing what ever path suites you best!

The item system in the game is very pleasing, it's not to complex and not to simple, you will grind enemies along your travels and they will drop a variation of items for you, later in the game you will be able to use the items obtained to upgrade your weapons or armor as you see fit or even expand your mana or health pool.
This really brought out the good old RPG feeling in me and made me want to try to obtain all the items in the game in my first playthrough, i then realised that there are some items in the game that are only obtainable from chests and you will have to think wisely before you upgrade your weapons or armors as you may not be able to upgrade any other weapon or armor in your current playthrough!

While gliding through the game you will fight vicious bosses that will show you no mercy at all, you will struggle and enjoy the sensation of progressing them til you finally deliver the final blow! you will be required to try out various combinations of armors or spells in order to find out what the best possible way to kill the bosses are.
Every boss in the game has some sort of weakness and it's yours to figure out!

The game it self is well designed, the story is great, has beautiful graphics which are all hand drawn as well as amazing music that really puts you in the zone when fighting bosses or while you are exploring the world of Valdis Story!


Pros:

- Playable multiple times
- Very fun combat system
- Challenging boss fights
- Multiple characters to choose from
- Great leveling system with a unique leveling tree
- Difficulties made to please the average player to hardcore player
- Upgrading system

Cons:

- Map can be frustrating for beginners who have not played the game yet
- You will become hooked to the game and not want to leave your computer!


My Ratings:

Graphics: 94/100
Combat System: 91/100
Storyline: 89:100
Music: 95/100

Overall: 92/100


I highly recommend this game to everyone and if you have any questions, feel free to hit me up on twitch.tv/icyd3mon even if im not streaming, i'm usually in the chat channel!

Valdis Story is one of these rare Metroidvania-games that actually incorporates all the attributes of metroidvania-games which properly used and combined. Decent story? Well-developed and complex battle system? RPG elements? Exploration aspects and secrets? Beautiful 2D visuals and animations? All check.

It took almost 7 years for the game to crawl out of the concept cradle but it sure worth it. And the result? Unique combination of old-school gameplay core ideas with a modern approach.

Personal score; 8.5/10

I Kickstarted this one and it finally got Greenlit on Steam. This game is tough and I'm playing it on normal. It hearkens more to the mega man days where movement is very stop and go, and taking damage will completely destroy your momentum. The non-combat timed puzzles are brutal and require nothing less than perfection. I spent a lot of time repeating them over and over to get them right.

Combat is pretty complex, combining light and heavy attacks, along with a block, dodge (cancel), and parry system. It takes a bit to get used to, learning when to heavy attack to break a block, or block yourself. There's a lot of trial and error in discovering exactly which attacks can even be blocked or which ones you should use the "Cancel" dodge. But like the non-combat puzzles, every boss or enemy has a pattern, and this is one of those games that gives you warm fuzzies when you finally get the pattern and beat the boss after the tenth time. Until you figure it out, expect frustration and what will feel like cheap hits. Also, it keeps things fresh when you backtrack through previous areas because the enemies level with you and gain new abilities to attack you with as your progress through the game.

Along with that is a fairly deep magic system and your customization through both stat increases and a talent tree, that definitely changes the way you play your character in many places.

The graphics have a nice retro sprite feel, without reverting to the overdone 8-Bit style so prevalent, lately, falling somewhere between the quality of the PS1 and PS2. The soundtrack is superb, combining a lot of retro synth, metal guitars, and symphonic instruments and spans something like four hours.

This is one of those games that will challenge you, but reward you when you succeed and I'm really digging it. It really does feel more like the toughness of the original Super Metroid or Symphony of the Night to me than most games in the genre have presented lately. And I'm just playing it on the easiest of four modes... O_O

It's like a combination of Dark Souls and Metroidvania! A side scrolling action game with RPG elements and an occasional wicked difficulty curve. There was one boss I encountered that I spent two hours on, memorizing patterns and learning how to exploit gaps in their attack pattern. I whittle them down one sliver of health at a time... it was great. Of course, I then watched somebody wreck that same boss in 30 seconds at a lower level then I was thanks to careful planning and exploitation of their abilities! So it's a game with lots of depth, and it will give you whatever you want to put into it.

To me Castlevania: Symphony of the Night rates as #2 greatest game of all time, bested only by Unreal Tournament 2004. It started the entire metroidvania subgenre and made a rather large impact on many people, including me. This game is made by someone who no doubt shares great love of SotN and metroidvania in general. If you are one of those fans you don't need to read any further, this is as good as it gets, the finest metroidvania I played since SotN.

For those not familiar, this game is set in a large two dimensional world where to progress to new areas you need to acquire keys and abilities (metroid style), but at the same time you procure new equipment, level up and specialize. The biggest strength of this game lies in it's combat system. This is a perfect mix of min max stat gameplay with skill based reactive 2d brawler. What this means is that you will have to take great care of how you invest your stat points, skill points what you upgrade, what you use and most importantly how well you understand and play the game. The combat system is simple at overlook: light attack, heavy attack, block, cancel dash and magic, but undrneeth there is a whole deep level that will make fans of stylish action games rejoice. There are lifters, slams, blocks, parries, force blocks, secret techniques, stealth, backstabs, criticals, magic oriented attacks, stuns,assists, crazy combos etc etc. In all honesty this game is rather overwhelming how much there is to the actual combat. To someone who invested time it's second nature but the sheer amount taken into consideration when creating a build for your character far exceeds what I ever thought a game like this would offer.

Currently there are two characters (there will be two more with a forthcoming free update). Each character has their own three skill trees to spend points on. Each character has different weapons to use and completely different playstyles. There are four main stats (strength, agility, inteligence and luck), you get to put a point in this as well as picking a skill when leveling up. It opens up a tremendous amount of specialization and replaybility for each character. Upgrading gear needs to be done wisely because the materials needed are finite, and for certain item types you will only be able to upgrade one item to maximum (weapon for example). Choose wisely which weapon, armor or spell you upgrade. Speaking of gear, everything is a sidegrade. There are no upgrades in this game, each piece of armor, accessory or even weapon is suited for a specific build or playstyle. Each armor has special properties and unique benefit. This alone expands the amount of possible play styles and builds significantly.

The game's combat challange is done correctly. The more I play the better I am. I started and i would get thrashed by every boss I'd encounter, barely able to finish it. Now I'll get an S rank on every boss encounter(tip, better rank on bosses gives permenant stat increases). It feels like Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden, where the game teaches you the hard way to play well. On the other hand the platforming portion of the game is not so ideal. If I had any setbacks for this game it's that platforming does not work as well as combat does. Sure after some time it becomes trivial because you get used to it, but at first the platforming will be a chore, mostly because the way movement works. It's difficult to pinpoint your character, don't expect perfect pixel platformer controls like in Mega Man. Though after time it goes away and you learn it like it happened with the combat. A very minor setback to overall fantastic experience otherwise.

So yes, I absolutely endorse this title. For the amount of replaybility and content this game offers, along with free future updates to come this game is an absolute steal even for it's full price. For you metroidvania fans, I swear you will get that feeling that SotN had you as you explored, grinded and fought in Dracula's castle. Just an absolute blast of a game.