Valley Peaks

very cozy and difficult at the same time :)

A bit of a hidden gem! It's got some satisfying rock-climbing mechanics, an immersive world to explore, some fun and occasionally ridiculous gadgets to unlock and use (much of my playtime is just experimenting with these gadgets and the movement system), and even a decent little narrative twist. I found the performance to be excellent as well, which helps immensely given the nature of the game. Don't be fooled the aesthetics and that "Cozy" tag though - there are some genuinely challenging obstacles and routes that'll probably take you at least a few tries to complete. I played through on the Normal difficulty mostly with a controller, and I found it more fun but notably more difficult than KBM - but, outside of the 'Speedrun' conversion of each route post-completion that basically requires the more powerful gadgets, the difficulty is never overwhelming, and it's always very satisfying to get to the top of a mountain. I also appreciate the fairly approachable learning curve as you go through each mountain and their routes, the solutions to which are generally pretty clear (even if you don't execute it right away and fall... a long way). Also - the soundtrack is excellent, with some real boppers (hoppers?) - I would buy it in an instant if made available for purchase. Even at full price, strongly recommended.