Valfaris

Valfaris is a superb action-platformer filled with violence, a killer soundtrack, and some gorgeously grotesque pixel art.

83%Game Brain Score

music, graphics

story, grinding

88% User Score Based on 1,432 reviews

Critic Score 85%Based on 17 reviews

Platforms

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About

Valfaris is a single player arcade hack and slash game with horror and science fiction themes. It was developed by Steel Mantis and was released on October 10, 2019. It received positive reviews from both critics and players.

"Valfaris" is a single-player Horror Hack and Slash game with outstanding gameplay, graphics, and beautiful music. The challenging experience is enhanced with the addition of Full Metal Mode, a New Game + variant with increased enemy stats and aggression, carrying over all upgrades and weapons from the previous run. With dense atmosphere and lots of grinding, the game offers a rewarding and difficult experience for players.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

88%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,432 reviews

music231 positive mentions

story10 negative mentions

Valfaris features stunning pixel art and a heavy metal soundtrack that perfectly complements its gameplay.
The game offers a challenging yet fair difficulty, with a unique risk/reward checkpoint system that encourages exploration.
The variety of weapons and engaging boss fights provide a satisfying and rewarding experience for players.

The controls can feel clunky and unresponsive at times, making gameplay frustrating.
Some players find the difficulty spikes to be unfair, particularly in certain boss fights and sections of the game.
The game can become visually cluttered, making it difficult to distinguish between platforms and enemies.

music
427 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
45%
1%
The music in "Valfaris" is widely praised for its heavy metal soundtrack, which complements the game's frenetic action and retro aesthetic. Many reviewers describe the soundtrack as engaging and intense, enhancing the overall gameplay experience, although some note that it can become monotonous over time. Overall, the music is considered a standout feature, appealing particularly to fans of the metal genre and old-school platformers.
- “The soundtrack of 'Valfaris' is a masterpiece, composed of a mix of metal and rock that perfectly complements the frenetic action of the game.”
- “The music is a banger and keeps you pumped through the whole game.”
- “The heavy metal music pairs well with the aesthetics, capturing the frenetic onslaught of enemies leaping from all directions.”
- “Another thing that disappointed me was the lack of awesome and memorable metal music since a lot of the ads about the game were going on about how 'metal' it is.”
- “As much grinding as is required you can hear the songs loop at times, and for me it became very boring.”
- “If the music angle is bringing you to the table for this game, prepare to be underwhelmed.”
graphics
307 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
54%
3%
The graphics of "Valfaris" are widely praised for their stunning pixel art and vibrant, grotesque aesthetic that pays homage to retro games while incorporating heavy metal influences. Many reviewers highlight the game's colorful and imaginative visuals, though some note that the cluttered design can make gameplay challenging. Overall, the art style is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's atmosphere and appeal, despite some criticisms regarding gameplay mechanics.
- “The game features hand-drawn 2D graphics, which create a world that is both vibrant and grotesque at the same time.”
- “Incredible visuals that look like Warhammer 40k and H.R. Giger had a lovechild.”
- “The pixel-art style looks incredible in the screenshots but to see it in motion is unreal!”
- “The game is unfair and it has terrible pixel graphics.”
- “But the graphic is miserable, I understand that it is made like this from nostalgia but why the hell do I have an expensive video card if I have to play a pixelated game that looks like 640 x 480 or even 320 x 240?”
- “The visuals are noisy making it difficult to decipher where platforms end and there are some wonky hit boxes at times, while the upgrade system is somewhere between crappy and genius, what with it having an interesting risk/reward system, but at the same time also one that prevents experimentation.”
gameplay
286 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
56%
6%
The gameplay of "Valfaris" is characterized by fast-paced, challenging combat that blends metroidvania elements with run-and-gun mechanics, reminiscent of classic titles like Contra. While many players appreciate the fluidity, aesthetic appeal, and engaging soundtrack, some criticize the clunky controls and frustrating mechanics, such as instakill elements and awkward aiming. Overall, the game offers a rewarding experience for those who enjoy mastering its mechanics, despite some notable flaws in execution.
- “The gameplay is centered around fast-paced combat, requiring quick reflexes and a good understanding of enemy patterns.”
- “The gameplay is fast, brutal, and fun (but challenging).”
- “The challenging gameplay will reward the risks you take during fights, giving the player the potential to master their own way of addressing problems while figuring out their favorite weapons.”
- “Everything is attacking you, even the environment, and cheap mechanics like poison clouds make it more frustrating than fun.”
- “Thought it would be more than just aggravating... wanted to like this, but there is difficult and then there is just plain stupid chaos on a screen with mechanical feeling controls.”
- “Highly disappointed.. the aiming is clunky which makes the difficult gameplay annoying and unfair instead of delightfully challenging..”
story
74 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
75%
14%
The story is generally described as simple and straightforward, often likened to an 80s action movie, focusing on Therion's quest to save his world. While some reviewers found it effective and fitting for the gameplay, others criticized it as lackluster and thin, suggesting that it serves primarily as a backdrop for action rather than a compelling narrative. Overall, the consensus is that the story is present enough to provide context but is not the main draw of the game.
- “The plot revolves around Therion's quest to save his world and face the forces that threaten it.”
- “The story of the game was good, nice and simple, nothing too complicated.”
- “There's just enough basic story to make it feel like the adventure has a purpose without ever bogging the gameplay down.”
- “Not recommended if you want a story or more than just shooting.”
- “Without spoiling, story-wise, basically nothing happens; the entire game could've not occurred and literally nothing would have changed.”
- “Then came a bland story and very punishing gameplay that I could not get past.”
atmosphere
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
32%
8%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its meticulous level design, which features a diverse range of settings from dark industrial to fantastical environments, each enhanced by a fitting color palette. The engaging heavy metal and retro soundtracks significantly elevate the experience, creating a unique and immersive ambiance that complements the game's art style, even if it leans towards an intentionally chaotic aesthetic. Overall, the combination of music, visuals, and world-building contributes to a compelling and atmospheric gameplay experience.
- “The level design is meticulously crafted, ranging from dark and industrial settings to more fantastical natural environments, each with its own color palette and atmosphere.”
- “The art and atmosphere in this game is incredible.”
- “It's super atmospheric and I love the synths.”
- “Art style is a bit of a mess as it's no doubt meant to be intentionally ugly with the 'hellish' atmosphere.”
- “While Super Metroid had responsiveness and an intense atmosphere back in 1994, the recent Valfaris suffers from sluggishness and a surprising lack of world depth.”
- “It's 'pixelated' 3D models and it just works so well for the gore-heavy, metal, grunge atmosphere of the game.”
replayability
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
52%
11%
The game boasts high replayability due to its variety of unlockable weapons, secret items, and the inclusion of a New Game+ mode that allows players to retain upgrades while facing increased difficulty. Players can experiment with different weapon combinations and strategies, encouraging multiple playthroughs to discover all secrets and maximize their experience. While some find the game linear, the overall consensus is that the engaging combat and challenges provide ample motivation for replaying.
- “All this means the game has high replayability; you can try a second run with a different set of weapons, go fully upgraded health route for instance, and collect anything you missed in your first try.”
- “It’s just about the perfect length for replayability, and the solid variety of weapons to upgrade on your way lets you try something a bit different each time.”
- “The only real complaint is that I wish it was longer, but there is a ton of great content packed into its relatively short length, and there's a lot of secrets and challenges that encourage replayability, as well as a new game + mode coming sometime in the near future.”
- “The only replay value is the new game +, which lets you keep upgraded equipment and increases the difficulty of the completed save file.”
- “The game is short; people have speedruns of this game in an hour or so, but this game offers a lot of replay value.”
- “[Some parts are pretty annoying, fairly linear without much replay value.]”
grinding
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
89%
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being tedious and repetitive, leading to a lack of enjoyment and creativity. Players find the need to grind for resources and upgrades monotonous, with many weapons feeling useless and the gameplay quickly becoming stale. While some appreciate the strategic elements, the overall consensus is that the grinding detracts significantly from the experience.
- “It's not very tedious or anything; you're meant to go through some areas a few times until you figure out a strategy, like understanding the enemy spawns so you can easily rush them down.”
- “The game gets stale and tedious rather quickly with no break in its monotony.”
- “It becomes repetitive and tedious very quickly and is just not fun at all.”
- “As much grinding as is required, you can hear the songs loop at times, and for me, it became very boring.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by a tongue-in-cheek tone, featuring witty dialogues and clever references to Viking culture that juxtapose its dark setting. Players appreciate the self-confident writing and find the comedic elements, including ironic death messages and a metal-inspired soundtrack, to be both entertaining and memorable, despite some criticisms of the game's overall quality.
- “The reason is that Slain has a more humorous and tongue-in-cheek tone, with funny dialogues and references to Viking culture, that contrast with its dark and grim setting.”
- “The writing is so funny and self-confident it just blows me away every time anyone talked in this game.”
- “The soundtrack is decent and the metal inspiration is awesomely hilarious.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game evokes a sense of nostalgia, particularly for players who enjoyed classic titles like Contra, while promoting themes of wholesome masculinity. This emotional connection resonates deeply with those reflecting on their gaming past.
- “This game evokes a special nostalgia for those who enjoyed classic games like Contra.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
50%
The game's optimization appears to involve some performance compromises to support additional visual enhancements, leading to occasional stuttering and lag in specific levels. Despite these issues, players have generally managed to complete the game and still found enjoyment in the experience.
- “There seems to be a reliable performance compromise to accommodate these extra flourishes.”
- “The optimization in this game strikes a perfect balance between visual fidelity and performance.”
- “I appreciate how the developers have fine-tuned the game to run smoothly on a variety of systems.”
- “Here it does seem there is some reliable performance compromise to accommodate these extra flourishes.”
- “However, I experienced some stuttering/lag in two certain levels mid-game, but I finished it anyway and enjoyed it.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game has received criticism for not delivering on its promises, particularly regarding the lack of engaging and memorable metal music, which was heavily promoted in advertisements.
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features appealing graphics, but players have reported experiencing noticeable glitches that affect overall stability. Despite these issues, the gameplay remains enjoyable.
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews highlight a strong appreciation for the final boss character, noting improvements in both character design and gameplay compared to previous encounters, particularly referencing the boss from "Slain." This suggests that character development is effectively showcased through engaging and visually appealing antagonists.