Valakas Story
- December 3, 2019
- Narko Games
"Valakas Story" is an open-world, action-adventure game set in a fantasy world. Players assume the role of a young warrior on a quest to save their village from destruction by a monstrous dragon, Valakas. Along the way, they'll explore diverse landscapes, battle a variety of creatures, and interact with non-playable characters to uncover the mystery behind Valakas's wrath.
Reviews
- The game offers a unique and humorous experience, often described as a 'meme game' that can be oddly enjoyable.
- Despite its flaws, many players find the combat system fun and engaging, with some comparing it to Dark Souls in terms of challenge.
- The game is praised for its low price point, making it accessible for those looking for a quirky and entertaining experience.
- The game suffers from poor controls, bugs, and a lack of polish, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
- Many players report that the English translation is inadequate, making it difficult to follow the story and quests.
- The combat can feel unbalanced, with enemies regenerating health too quickly and bosses having excessive health, leading to tedious encounters.
- story106 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 81 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The story of "Valakas Story" is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating its unique and humorous narrative set in a fantastical world, while others criticize its convoluted plot and poor translation. The main quest revolves around a rescue mission, but many side quests lack resolution, leading to frustration. Overall, while the game offers engaging character interactions and a variety of quests, its execution suffers from design flaws and translation issues that detract from the storytelling experience.
“The game's fantasy world, storyline, and role-playing elements are positively evaluated by players.”
“I just finished the game, played all missions and the main story, which is very original, emotional, and exciting.”
“Man, the situations Valakas gets into, but the story is great and there is quite some ground to overcome, lots of interactivities, lots of quests, lots of storytelling, lots of street fighting, lots of absurdities...”
“Valakas story is a digital homicide style asset flip, or what Valve calls a 'fake game'.”
“Hardly a success story; gamers just weren't all that interested in the game.”
“Another issue I had with some of the quests is that I often had no idea where to go. Sometimes the game does a poor job in helping you find out where to go, and I found myself circling the map 2-3 times to finally find the place I had to go to in order to advance the story.”
- humor44 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised for its childish and absurd qualities, often likened to fifth-grade jokes and meme culture, which many players find hilarious. Boss battles and character interactions are particularly noted for their comedic value, with exaggerated voice acting and unique introductions adding to the fun. While some players appreciate the humor's charm, others find it can become annoying during gameplay, but overall, the game is considered a delightful experience for those who enjoy quirky and offbeat humor.
“The story is hilarious and absolutely doesn't take itself seriously, the characters are unique and funny, the voice acting is hilariously exaggerated, each boss battle is unique and absolutely hilarious in their own way.”
“Wow, this game was such a treat and is absolutely hilarious.”
“The humor is outstanding!”
- graphics22 mentions
- 55 % positive mentions
- 32 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The game features vibrant, cartoon-style graphics that enhance its fun and lighthearted atmosphere, with various locations and customizable characters. While many players praise the graphics as impressive, particularly when played on ultra settings, some express dissatisfaction with the overall gameplay experience and balance. Overall, the visuals are generally well-received, though opinions vary on their quality relative to gameplay.
“The game features colorful and cartoon-style graphics, showcasing various locations and characters that create a vibrant atmosphere.”
“This graphic style adds fun and lightness to the game's atmosphere.”
“I really enjoy this game; it was a new experience. Narko Games really knows how to use the Unreal Engine, and the graphics are amazing.”
“Definitely you need to play this game in the highest setting; graphical settings are extremely sensitive. The high setting is still poor but less laggy, while ultra gives the best results!”
“Even for that low of a price, just don't bother unless you want a ridiculously hard game but with some comedy and poor graphics and sounds.”
“The graphics are cartoonish and lack detail, making the game feel less immersive.”
- gameplay16 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some praising the fighting mechanics and humor, while others criticize the overall balance and structure. Many players find the minibosses excessively difficult due to poor health regeneration mechanics and unbalanced damage ratios, leading to frustration. Additionally, issues with save file management detract from the overall experience, making it challenging to progress without external assistance.
“Fighting and fighting mechanics are very good.”
“Really interesting story and gameplay, but the game balance and mechanics are poorly structured.”
“Funny moments and good graphics.”
“Gameplay: 3/10”
“Funny moments and good graphics, but the gameplay and balance are poor.”
“The game has a really interesting story and gameplay, but the balance and mechanics are poorly structured. Unless you use a cheat engine, the minibosses are nearly impossible. Both the player and the bosses have health regeneration, but 100 vs 500 HP and at least 50 full hits vs 1 shot are too much on normal difficulty. Additionally, the save files are messy; you can save, but if you interact with an NPC and it gets triggered, it continues to be triggered even after restarting from a previous save file.”
- stability12 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is frequently criticized for its lack of stability, being described as "riddled with glitches" and experiencing occasional crashes. While some players find humor and enjoyment despite these issues, the overall impression is that the game lacks the polish expected from modern titles, making it a mixed experience for those willing to overlook its numerous bugs.
“To say that the game is imperfect would be an understatement, as it's riddled with glitches and lacks the polish of modern console games.”
“I did also run into a few glitches here and there and it did crash once or twice, so do keep that in mind.”
“This is Dark Souls but Russian, buggy, and vodka.”
- optimization8 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game is highly inconsistent, with some users reporting perfect performance with no frame drops or crashes, while others describe it as clunky and in need of significant improvements. Additionally, there are complaints about excessively long loading times, which some players perceive as a joke by the developers.
“Perfect optimization, 0 FPS drops, 0 crashes.”
“Could be fun, but requires tons of optimization.”
“The developers made a joke about the performance and loading screen taking forever.”
“It's clunky, weird, and poorly optimized.”
“The devs made a joke out of the performance, making the loading screens take forever.”
- monetization6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has been heavily criticized for being exploitative and unethical, with accusations of plagiarism and cash grabs through the use of uncredited assets from other developers. Users have noted a pattern of suspicious activity, including fake reviews and the use of multiple accounts to promote these low-effort, asset-flip games. Overall, the monetization approach is viewed as a blatant attempt to profit from the work of others without proper acknowledgment.
“The developers here didn't credit any of the artists and real, actual game developers who created the assets, so this is plagiarism, as well as a cash grab.”
“Narko games have shown a repeat pattern of unethically dumping other people's work onto Steam as a cheap, nasty cash grab, through this account or through closely linked/alternate accounts.”
“They're all written in either Russian or broken English, appear at almost exactly the same time, very shortly after the game launched on Steam, all have a direct Steam purchase of the game, and the accounts are used consistently to write fake reviews for asset flips and other cash grabs/scams.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be quite extensive, often requiring significant time investment, which can lead to boredom, especially for those not engaged with the combat system. The grinding constitutes about half of the gameplay, with the remainder consisting of fetch quests and platforming elements.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“One of the major issues is that it is pretty grindy, and if you're really not into the combat system, you might get bored as it makes up about half of the content. The rest involves fetch quests and some platforming.”
“It is pretty grindy, and if you're really not into the combat system, you might get bored as it makes up about half of the content.”
- music4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received negative feedback, with users describing it as poor and unappealing, contributing to an overall disappointing experience. Despite some attempts to find relaxation in the music, it ultimately fails to enhance the gameplay.
“It plays like a$$, controls are a$$, movement is a$$, camera is a$$, music is a$$.”
“I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is characterized by its vibrant, cartoon-style graphics, which create a fun and lighthearted environment across various locations and characters. This colorful aesthetic enhances the overall enjoyment and appeal of the game.
“The game features colorful and cartoon-style graphics, showcasing various locations and characters that create a vibrant atmosphere.”
“This graphic style adds a sense of fun and lightness to the game's overall atmosphere.”
“The combination of colorful graphics and diverse environments contributes to an engaging and lively atmosphere.”
- emotional4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the game's emotional narrative to be both original and inspiring, often leading to tears during its impactful conclusion. The story's depth and excitement contribute significantly to its emotional resonance.
“I just finished the game, played all missions and the main story, which is very original, emotional, and exciting.”
“Truly inspirational, many a tear was shed at the emotional conclusion to the Valakas saga.”