It was half a year ago when I last wrote about A Valley Without Wind, a very artistic platformer/shooter. Back then I was writing about my impressions of it from the open beta, I generally liked it back then, despite it's troublesome controls, steep learning curve and confusing gameplay. Even then it had a great deal of promise with it's huge randomly generated worlds and settlement system that had you build a futuristic city throughout the game. You can read about that more here, but it is a bit dated, although, from the looks of the release trailer and reviews it doesn't look like a ton has change, besides more content and finer tuning, since I played it then. A Valley Without Wind (AVWW) is made by Arcen Games, the folks who made the wonderful space RTS A.I. War. With AVWW they went in an entirely different direction with this open world 2D sidescroller. Your character in the game is customizable with spells and enchantments, which can change the way you move or jump. You start with a fairly empty settlement and throughout the game you can find other people, who you can rescue and recruit. Before I say anymore look at this launch trailer, the game just came out today PC/Mac and will be coming onto Steam eventually.
As you can see this game is definitely not for everyone, it has very unique features and it has a great deal of content, but it is easy for many to find the art/graphics unpleasing and the gameplay to be repetitive. If you are on the fence about A Valley Without Wind, then do head on over to their main website and check out the demo, it should give you a really good idea of whether or not it will appeal to you. Before I finish take a look at the features that come with the full game, which costs $13.49 at the moment, while it's on sale (normally $15).
-Travel alone or with friends across an ever-expanding world of dangerous creatures, powerful magic, high technology, and mysteries.
-You have choice. The world of Environ is procedurally generated, and lets you go anywhere you see -- including right into the overlord's keep at any time. (Good luck with that.)
-Environ is endless. When you save one continent from an overlord, a larger and more complex continent appears.
-The game adapts to how you play: as you demonstrate your proficiency, monsters upgrade accordingly. Killed 100 bats? Okay, time for... bats on fire!
-Crazy amounts of character customization. Combine a multitude of spells, enchants, and equipment to create specialized character builds.
-Play as a long line of brave adventurers. It's not a question of IF your character is going to die, but WHEN.
-Any character that dies is permanently lost, but you keep all your inventory, enchants, and general progress in the game.
-Become a community leader. Rescue NPCs, have them join your settlement, and construct buildings for them -- they may return the favor and help you.
-Be a clever problem-solver. Challenges have more than one solution, each with its own pros and cons. You get to figure things out rather than just jumping through a set of hoops.
-Difficulty levels give exactly the challenge you want, from casual to hardcore on both platforming and combat independently.
-New updates are arriving all the time packed with additional content, improvements, and more.
Check out more on A Valley Without Wind on Arcen Games' Website. It is definitely a unique game, one that might really entice some people out there, especially with it's multiplayer capacity that is kin to Terraria or Minecraft. Thanks for reading and check it out, be back with some more tonight.
-Written by Sean Cargle
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