Valley of Shadows
- March 7, 2024
- BadTaste Studio
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Get on itch.io StoreValley of Shadows is a short psychological horror game. The events take place in an ordinary American suburb, with an ordinary family man, but the events that happen to him are not quite ordinary. The protagonist returns home to his family late at night after a hard day's work. But the house is empty, the wife and daughter suddenly disappeared somewhere, and a videotape left by a stranger on th…
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Great atmosphere with effective tension building throughout the storyline.
- Unique retro-horror aesthetic with nicely stylized visuals and good sound design.
- Engaging story with some spooky moments and decent voice acting.
- Very short gameplay with a lack of real scares and predictability.
- Numerous bugs and stability issues, including missing options and poor performance optimization.
- Dialogue feels unnatural and the ending leaves much to be desired, making the experience feel incomplete.
- story10 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The story is praised for its gripping narrative and well-built tension, keeping players engaged and eager to see the conclusion. However, some users noted that unnatural dialogue detracted from the overall immersion in the storyline.
“A gripping story.”
“The story was great.”
“Still, I am intrigued enough to see how this story ends.”
“The dialogue felt a bit unnatural, which kept removing me from the story.”
- gameplay8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay is described as engaging and suspenseful, keeping players on the edge of their seats, but it is criticized for being too short, somewhat predictable, and lacking depth.
“Details below (beware of spoilers) and full gameplay here https://youtu.”
“Gameplay impressions: https://youtu.”
“Very short, had me on the edge of my seat, but a bit easy to predict, and not enough gameplay.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is consistently described as highly atmospheric, featuring an eerie quality that effectively builds suspense throughout the experience.
“The eerie atmosphere builds suspense throughout the game.”
“The eerie atmosphere builds suspense throughout the game.”
“Eerie atmosphere that builds suspense.”
“Eerie atmosphere that builds suspense.”
- graphics4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The graphics are praised for their high minimum quality and a unique, nicely stylized aesthetic that features camcorder-esque visuals, creating a distinct visual experience.
“The graphics are nicely stylized, featuring camcorder-esque visuals that add a unique charm to the game.”
“The graphics are nicely stylized, featuring camcorder-esque visuals that add a unique charm to the game.”
“The game requires a high graphic minimum, which limits accessibility for players with lower-end systems.”
“The graphics are disappointing, especially considering the high graphic minimum required to run the game.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed feedback, with some users reporting poor performance optimization, while others experience smooth gameplay on their systems. This suggests that performance may vary significantly depending on individual hardware configurations.
“The game runs smoothly on my system.”
“The game suffers from poor performance optimization.”
“The performance optimization is lacking, leading to frustrating gameplay.”
“There are significant issues with performance optimization that need to be addressed.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Many users express concerns about stability, noting that some releases feel like a gamble due to their tendency to be generic and plagued by bugs.
“I feel like you gamble on some of these releases because they end up being a generic, buggy mess.”
