Valdis Story: Abyssal City
- October 30, 2013
- Endlessfluff Games
- 9h median play time
Get on Steam"Valdis Story: Abyssal City" is an action/exploration platformer where you play as Wyatt, exploring the ruins of a long-lost holy city. Engage in intense combat against a variety of enemies, from demons to angels and beyond, using swordsmanship, martial arts, and sorcery. Customize Wyatt's skills and equipment to aid in your journey, as you uncover the story of the ongoing war between the goddesses Valdis, Myrgato, and Alagath.
Mac OS
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Reviews
- Great combat system with a focus on combos and skill cancels, providing a satisfying gameplay experience.
- Beautiful art style and an excellent soundtrack that enhances the overall atmosphere of the game.
- High replayability with four distinct characters, each offering unique playstyles and skill trees.
- Controls can feel clunky and unresponsive, particularly during platforming sections, leading to frustration.
- The map system is limited, only showing the current area, which can make navigation confusing and tedious.
- Some bosses and enemy placements can feel unfair, leading to instances of stun-locking and cheap deaths.
- story1,626 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The story of "Valdis Story: Abyssal City" is generally regarded as engaging but somewhat simplistic, revolving around a conflict between angels and demons, with players exploring a richly designed world filled with lore and character backstories. While some players appreciate the depth and replayability offered by multiple characters and branching paths, others find the narrative lacking in depth and coherence, often feeling vague or generic. Overall, the game is praised for its art and gameplay, with the story serving as a backdrop rather than the main focus.
“Fantastic replayability with multiple characters having their own stories and starting positions in the world, story events that are changeable, and many items that change the way you interact with the world.”
“The characters are very charismatic, the story is engaging, and the game rewards you for exploring and returning to try your new abilities; the bosses can be easy or extremely hard depending on when you choose to tackle them.”
“The story has lots of spins and turns that you discover as you unlock more portions in the game that gets even deeper as you start unlocking new things in multiple playthroughs.”
“The story is linear without any choice.”
“None of the characters are sympathetic, and the story felt poorly told, leaving me in the dark half the time as to what was going on.”
“The story is bad, the game constantly kicks you in the nuts every half a second for no reason, the assist characters are basically non-characters, etc. but the combat is good and customization is fun when you can actually enjoy it rather than having 90% of the game's NPCs who sell you stuff perma-killed with no warning and as a result nearly everything locked off.”
- gameplay958 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Valdis Story: Abyssal City" is a mixed bag, with many players praising its engaging combat mechanics, character customization, and metroidvania exploration, while others criticize its frustrating controls, clunky mechanics, and steep learning curve. The game features a variety of characters and builds, offering depth and replayability, but suffers from issues like poor enemy placement, unpolished mechanics, and a lack of clear tutorials. Overall, while the core gameplay can be enjoyable and rewarding, it is often marred by frustrating design choices that may deter some players.
“The gameplay is the best part, as polished and impeccable as it can be - for all four playable characters -, allowing the player to evolve wildly while learning the combat/utility mechanics and keeping the game fun/challenging even after hundreds of hours playing.”
“There’s so much here to love – the art and music are wonderful, there’s robust and in-depth RPG mechanics that really allow you to build and customize a character, and at its best, the combat is technical, methodical, and incredibly satisfying.”
“Valdis Story: Abyssal City takes a bit of warming up, but once you get into the groove, you're in for a great adventure and very satisfying gameplay.”
“There are some things to enjoy here but they're outweighed by all the frustration that results from some obnoxious enemy placement, bad level design, tacked-on RPG mechanics, and a general lack of polish.”
“Without improving the too floaty controls and the mechanics of how the enemy's hits push you back (even when blocked), and how attacks will stun-lock you like crazy via multi-hit attacks from bosses or getting surrounded by several foes, not to mention the annoying status effects like freezing you solid or the Venus fly traps that I don't know how to kill - there's simply no way I could recommend it.”
“The gameplay is a tad clunky at first and there are some doubtful design choices, like the spell casting system and the so-called 'skill cancel'.”
- music784 mentions
- 65 % positive mentions
- 32 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its exceptional quality and ability to enhance the overall atmosphere. Composed by Zack Parrish, the soundtrack features a diverse range of styles, from haunting melodies to energetic boss themes, making it a standout element of the gameplay experience. Overall, players find the music to be not only enjoyable but also integral to the game's immersive qualities, often considering it one of the best soundtracks in the metroidvania genre.
“The soundtrack is absolutely divine.”
“I legitimately feel that this game has my favorite soundtrack of any game I've ever played.”
“The music is wonderfully atmospheric, but in a way that makes me come back to this soundtrack and actively listen and enjoy it (even made me buy it).”
“So ugly... controls feel unresponsive, stunlocks, the boss-reward system is meh, low level-cap, music is all over the place, itemization sucks...”
“The artwork is pleasing, the music and sound however, I found to be boring.”
“The music is honestly not amazing, it's just there.”
- graphics602 mentions
- 62 % positive mentions
- 37 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beautiful and unique art style, often described as charming and reminiscent of classic 2D games. Many reviewers highlight the hand-drawn quality and vibrant visuals, although some note that the graphics can feel low-resolution or pixelated, which may detract from the overall experience. While the aesthetics and animations are generally well-received, there are mixed opinions on the technical performance, with some players experiencing issues related to resolution and hitbox alignment.
“The visuals of the game are stunning, very pleasing to the eyes.”
“The graphics are beautiful and even cute, while the soundtrack is really good - particularly amazing for the bosses.”
“The graphics are incredibly charming, and the music is top-notch, again hearkening to Castlevania in terms of the musical style.”
“Graphics are weird, like from portable games.”
“The only malus is that it shows its age, the platforming can feel clunky and slow, I wish there were more options for increasing speed and jump, and the graphics are low quality.”
“The graphics looked pretty but none of the textures aligned, leaving boxes around almost all of the background and level art blocks.”
- replayability302 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The game boasts high replayability, primarily due to its four playable characters, each with unique skills, playstyles, and storylines that encourage multiple playthroughs. Players can experiment with various builds and difficulty levels, enhancing the overall experience and providing ample opportunities for exploration and mastery. Additionally, the inclusion of unlockable characters, hidden secrets, and different endings further enriches the replay value, making it a standout title in the metroidvania genre.
“Incredible replay value with unlockable characters, stat and ability (build) variations for each character, and unlockable higher difficulties.”
“This is a great and lovingly crafted metroidvania with unusually high replay value.”
“The depth and replayability is surprisingly deep as there are 4 characters to play with and each one has 3 skill trees to draw abilities from, making you actually want to try multiple runs with different playstyles between those options.”
“The gameplay is fairly typical metroidvania, but with 4 unique characters, each plays very differently from the other, on top of which every character has potentially a multitude of possible builds, giving quite a bit of replayability to it all.”
“Between s-ranking the bosses, finding 100% of the collectibles, and trying to go through the game quickly, as well as many levels of difficulty (including one that removes the ability to save completely for an ultimate test), the replayability is quite high - which is only complemented by its incredible soundtrack.”
- grinding128 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and frustrating due to excessive backtracking, limited fast travel options, and a low level cap that makes progression feel slow. While some appreciate the opportunity to refine skills through grinding, others criticize the repetitive nature of farming for materials and the lack of clear navigation, which can lead to prolonged periods of aimless exploration. Overall, the grinding is seen as a significant detractor from the gameplay experience, overshadowing the game's artistic merits and combat mechanics.
“I tried to like this game because the art and all is really cool, but I won't spend another 10+ hours doing this, running around not knowing where to go, everything is a dead end, every backtracking is tedious, and every tiny room is clustered with enemies without end.”
“In my personal opinion, the game should be considered more a combat-oriented platformer than given the title of 'metroidvania.' Simple backtracking over and over to grind for enemy drops to upgrade your gear gets very tedious.”
“Fucking destroying crystals to stop a passive regen on a boss only to have the crystals respawn 30 seconds later for you to run around and destroy again is not fun, it's tedious as all hell.”
- atmosphere52 mentions
- 62 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its exceptional sound design and music, which significantly enhance the overall experience. Players appreciate the intricate visuals and detailed world design, creating a captivating environment reminiscent of classic metroidvania titles. While some critiques mention mobility and terrain issues, the overall ambiance, combined with a compelling soundtrack, leaves a lasting impression on players.
“The music is wonderfully atmospheric, but in a way that makes me come back to this soundtrack and actively listen and enjoy it (even made me buy it).”
“Aesthetically, the game is incredible, with atmospheric music, magnificent visuals, and an incredibly detailed world.”
“Great atmosphere, lovely music, fantastic combat design, intricate city and dungeon design, very challenging platforming (also present in boss fights), hell even a good story.”
“Despite my complaining, the story does have a quality for helping the abyssal city atmosphere the game tries to create, and isn't by any means bad, it just does the gist of a good story and stops there.”
“The soundtrack is well thought out and adds to the game atmosphere.”
“Each song lends itself to the different atmospheres very well and the boss fight theme, especially, the way it starts out, really gets you in the mood for a confrontation.”
- optimization36 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 78 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with players reporting laggy controls and frustrating performance issues that detract from the overall experience. While the performance-based rewards system encourages skillful play and adds depth to combat, the technical shortcomings, particularly in control design, hinder enjoyment. Many hope that future updates or titles from the developers will address these optimization flaws.
“It has a great incentive to push yourself for speed and/or skill with stat bonuses for boss fights based on performance.”
“Boss battles are graded, after which you receive higher rewards based on your performance.”
“Combat is easy to learn and hard to master, with grades awarded based on performance on boss fights and numerous rewards for good play.”
“There are some major problems in control design (you have to push 2 buttons for lots of simple actions) and there are some major performance issues in control too (control is laggy and wall grabbing is frustrating).”
“It's hampered, however, by horrendous performance issues.”
“There's no reason for this slowdown other than terrible optimization.”
- stability30 mentions
- 7 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 93 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a significant concern among users, with reports of frequent bugs, including audio crackling, interface glitches, and crashes on multiple systems. While some players have experienced smooth performance on specific platforms like the Steam Deck, many others have noted frustrating issues such as freezing during gameplay and unreliable achievements. Overall, the game appears to be plagued by instability, leading to a mixed reception regarding its polish and reliability.
“The game runs great on Steam Deck at 60fps.”
“The game runs great on Steam Deck at 60fps.”
“Heard good things about this game but unfortunately it's buggy and seems abandoned by the devs. I've tried to play this game on three different PCs over the years, the latest problem being the game will freeze then crash without warning.”
“God, this is horrid. It's buggy, the slowdown is awful if two things are on the screen, the controls are meh at best, and honestly, the story kind of sucks.”
“They put out a beta option to make the game playable, but the screen flickers and there are multiple graphics glitches.”
- character development24 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 21 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is praised for its unique and visually appealing character designs, which enhance the overall lore and context of the story. However, some players feel that the narrative and dialogue do not sufficiently support character growth, leading to a mixed reception regarding depth. Overall, while the art and combat mechanics are well-received, the strength of character development varies among players.
“The plot is good enough to keep you going, but the good part is all the lore and character design created to give the story context and meaning.”
“It has a fantastic story, great character development, a lot of awesome music, beautiful art, and a combat system that suits everyone's personal playstyle.”
“Great story, character development, gameplay, music, and art.”
“The story (up to the point I've reached) isn't very strong, and the dialogue fails to pick up the slack with character development.”
“The fact that many of the bosses spawn enemies during the fight is a total cop-out in character design.”
“The game is big, the story is decent, and the combat is brutal but heavily rewards both tactical skill and wise character development.”
- humor14 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its fun story and interesting characters, though it lacks the quirky charm found in titles like Rogue Legacy. Players find the limitations of the fast travel system amusing, and there's a nostalgic humor in the reactions of newer gamers to the game's difficulty. While some builds can be funny, the competitive nature of gameplay may discourage players from experimenting with less effective options.
“The story itself is fun and the characters are funny and interesting.”
“If you played video games in the 80's/90's, you might pee your pants laughing at the people saying this game is too hard on even the easiest difficulty.”
“The 'fast travel' system (if you can even call it that) is almost hilariously limited, so you'll be trekking around the entire map for hours to get all the stuff you want.”
- emotional8 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The emotional impact of the game is largely negative, with players feeling frustrated by its shallow story and flawed gameplay mechanics that detract from the overall experience. Many reviewers noted that the combat system is overly complicated and unengaging, leading to a sense of fighting against the game itself rather than enjoying the challenges it presents. Overall, the game fails to evoke meaningful emotions, leaving players disappointed and disengaged.
