Valkyrie Saga

Retro style platformer with fresh movement. It's not perfect (I found a way out of bounds in one of the side levels, the one that gives the guard ability and darkness spell, wasn't even a glitch, the wall was just too short and had a gap), but none of the problems so far have actually worsened my experience with the game. I really like the sprint, it's satisfying to use. I'd imagine the exploration could seem rather aimless for some, but so far I've had a pretty easy time of it. This game reminds me of a short hike in it's gameplay, with the upgrade system and main goal being similar. It also greatly reminds me of Psuedoregalia. That said, its certainly an original experience. So far it seems the lore is interesting, but I'm worried it might turn out to be darker than I'd like with the way the story goes. But I haven't actually made it that far yet, I think I might have found an unusual amount of the dark parts for how early into the game I am.

Definitely a maybe... If you like Pseudoregalia you will most likely enjoy this game, at least until the final encounter. You could argue that this game and Pseudoregalia share some design philosophies. This isn't inherently a problem though. We need more of this type of platformer, but this specific one needs a bit more time in the oven. What I like: - Platforming has some depth to it, and has some interesting (and very powerful) tech. - The NPCs often have useful information, or something comical to share. - The game is structured in an open-ended way, meaning there's not really any order in which you have to visit places. - Collectable things in awkward places to think about. - Dungeon-esque areas, making the world a little bit bigger than it seems. Apologies in advance for the presence of more criticism than praise, that's just how I work. What I don't like: - Combat is so-so, enemy variety is very low, and huge areas of the game don't have any enemies whatsoever. - Some abilities are a bit lackluster in presentation. - The final encounter is a frustrating experience, in my opinion. - The world map looks a bit out of place and doesn't seem very useful. Potential issues: - There's some places where your character can get physically stuck. You can always go back to your last checkpoint though, so it's not a game-breaking issue, and there's a lot of checkpoints so you won't lose too much progress. It's still an issue though. - The movement tech completely destroys any level design once you get 5 or more crystals. I did enjoy this game, by time of writing I haven't beaten it yet because of the final encounter, I guess I'll get to that later.

Just beat the game tonight, and I think I got the default ending? At least, the game seems to hint that there's more than one ending. All in all, I enjoyed my time with Valkyrie Saga. The controls work well enough (except for the on-ground dash, which likes to get stuck on random geometry) and the movement options fit well with the design and scope of the world. Exploring the world and looking for secrets was interesting, and I'd like to revisit it someday to see if there really is another ending, or if there's any more lore to what happened in the game world, and with the Valkyries like Roll. Ascending through the different levels of the island was cool, and reminded me of the "only up" style of indie games - but better done, since all the platforms and content in Valkyrie Saga fit the theme, story, and aesthetic of the game world, and aren't just Unity assets randomly set as floating platforms in the air. There are SOME changes I would make... like, say, not having so much of the game be pastel colors, but all in all, the game is fine how it is. If anyone is interested, here's a bluesky reaction thread as I went through the game: https://bsky.app/profile/vidya2.bsky.social/post/3mn3h3u4xxc2k

A surprisingly varied open world platformer! I think it could do with some small visual touchups in the environmental texturework, but the character models are extremely charming, and otherwise I've never seen a game look quite like it, and I do enjoy the very saturated character and "objective" models (crystals, halos etc) contrasting with the more washed out environment, makes it very easy to read.

Valkyrie Saga fühlt sich an wie ein Computerspiel aus der Kindheit: ein geheimnisvoller, langsam aufklappender Kosmos, den man sich durch stundenlanges Erkunden Stück für Stück erschließt. Wenig Erklärung, viel Entdeckung – genau das macht den Reiz aus. Sehr empfehlenswert!

peak

The movement is fun and satisfying to master. The style is great. The world is interesting and fun to explore. What more do you need to know?

The open world is too empty and bland, the enemies are all basically the same and easy, there are tons of bugs with movement (ie. getting stuck in the ground constantly), the story is pointless and just a checkbox for word count, the map does not tell you where you are or what you've finished which is overwhelming. The music and aesthetic is nice. Honestly if the map at least showed where we are and what we finished, it would be more tolerable but I can't stand just endlessly looking for things with no guidance in a world full of issues. It's a nice concept but in execution, not much of a good time.

This feels like Psuedoregalia but just worse. Idk, that's all I can say about it.

Loved the demo, if you like it the full game is worth it, looks retro but plays as smooth as a modern game.