The Vale: Shadow of the Crown

They don't call me Blind Prophet for nuthin'.

I went blindly (heh, pun intended) into this game knowing absolutely nothing about it, and honestly that’s probably the best way to experience it. For a title that had me staring at my own face reflected in a black screen long enough to motivate me to buy better-quality drapes to reduce glare, I was surprised by just how enjoyable it was. What really impressed me is how confident the game is in its design. It doesn’t try to compensate for the lack of visuals with gimmicks; it fully commits to audio storytelling, and that commitment pays off. Instead of reacting to visuals, you react purely to sound; footsteps, voices, combat cues, then your imagination does most of the heavy lifting. Combat, exploration, and navigation all rely on audio cues, and once it clicks, it’s incredibly immersive.

I'm not blind, yet I'm enjoying the game all the same. It's incredibly interesting to play, the story is good and the combat just works.

What an experience!

This is the first video game I've played where the video doesn't matter. The Vale is an immersive 3D audio adventure game about Alex a blind princess getting lost but not stranded 500 miles from her kingdom. Having been raised by her uncle, she was taught to never rely on others. She uses her wits, ears and a sword to make coin, help others and her way home.

The story and mechanics themselves are serviceable, though nothing exciting, and it very slightly overstays its welcome, but the presentation (or, rather, the complete lack thereof) makes for a very unique experience that I do believe is very much worth checking out for gamers of all stripes.

A fun an interesting game that makes you experience playing as a blind person! Played just for a little bit but planing on continuing it soon. Hopefully more games like this will be created!