Note: Valdis Story began as a short, free game developed by EndlessFluff a few years ago. It was taken to Kickstarter sometime later where it met overwhelming success, easily smashing its funding target. Now that I’ve played it, it’s easy to see why. Valdis Story: Abyssal City is one of the greatest examples of Kickstarter’s success and the impact it can have to games.
I am one of the few people who will openly tell you that he has never played Super Metroid. Not even once. Never had it, always wanted to try it, just never got to it. I also, never beat the original Castlevania as a kid until very recently. This may sound 
like blasphemy to most retro video game players, but its the truth. With that being said, I truly love how the games play and feel not many games can reach that level of difficulty vs. reward. Welcome to Valdis Story ladies and gentlemen. The game that flew under my radar.
On the surface the game is tight, as in the controls and the overall JRPG is there, but its a action RPG. It feels sometimes like a action fighting game, kind of like devil may cry, where the combos are different depending on what you hit (jump included). The combat focuses on melee, and uses magic as a means of navigation, kind of like metroids’ ability’s. I personally like this kind of combat. Makes me feel like it’s not just a button masher, and requires at least some skill to pull off the higher combos.
Oh my god. The music. The music is fantastic. Such a wonderful score. At just the right moments it adds to the beauty, tension and isolation found in the game. Without giving too much away, the story revolves around a character named Wyatt searching for his crew. I won’t say anymore about it because to be fair, the story is a bit lackluster. I never really got into the story myself. I was more interested in the beautiful 2D visuals and music to really care too much, but that can be a turn off to others who enjoy a deep engrossing story, you will not find that here.
Valdis Story rewards those who go out of their way to explore; a vital aspect of this 
Metroidvania-style game. As you leap around the world, you acquire new equipment and spells that allow access to previously unreachable locations. Summoning ice pillars as temporary platforms, short-range teleports and wall-kicking are just a few of the abilities needed to fully traverse the city. Dozens of hidden items, chests and crew members wait to be found, some of which are extraordinarily hard to find, which can also turn off some gamers.
Overall, the game itself is phenomenal. I was really impressed with the art style the creators went with. It really pops on a 1080P screen, and really shows what crowd funded games are capable of. I can at least say for myself that I will be looking at kickstarter projects a little more seriously now, if this is the kind of product that can be released.
Overall Score: 8.5/10
Pro’s: Visuals, Music, Combat, Price
Con’s: Story, Difficulty in some spots.
