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Valfaris
Developer(s)Steel Mantis
Publisher(s)Big Sugar
Director(s)Andrew Gilmour
Designer(s)Thomas Jenns
Programmer(s)Thomas Jenns
Artist(s)Andrew Gilmour
Composer(s)Curt Victor Bryant
Platform(s)
Release
  • Windows, Switch
  • October 10, 2019
  • PlayStation 4
  • November 5, 2019
  • Xbox One
  • November 8, 2019
  • Amazon Luna
  • December 3, 2020
Genre(s)Action, platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Valfaris is a 2D action platforming game developed by Steel Mantis and published by Big Sugar. The game was released for Windows and Nintendo Switch on October 10, 2019, and later for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in November. Merge Games distributed the physical copies of the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch versions in November 2019. Amazon Luna version arrived in December 2020. The game's soundtrack was composed by former Celtic Frost guitarist Curt Victor Bryant.

The game follows Therion, a warrior who returns to his home of Valfaris and finds out that it has devolved into chaos. He goes on a journey to figure out what happened to his home, destroy its demonic inhabitants, and kill his dad in the process.

Valfaris received generally favorable reviews from critics. A sequel, titled Valfaris: Mecha Therion, was released on November 21, 2023 for PC and consoles.

Gameplay

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Therion shoots at an enemy.

In Valfaris, the player controls Therion, who is armed with a sword and a plasma pistol.[1] The pistol can be fired in eight directions.[2] Therion also has access to a heavy gun and a shield. Therion's energy meter is depleted when he uses the shield or the heavy gun.[3] The energy meter is replenished when Therion kills an enemy or loots a supply cache.[4] Therion can use the shield to block incoming fire, but he cannot move while using it.[3] If the shield is used at the correct time, it can send projectiles back towards enemies.[1] Blood metal is used to upgrade Therion's weapons, making guns fire faster and giving swords longer reach.[3] Weapons have to be upgraded at shrines. These shrines are also used as checkpoints. To activate these checkpoints, a green token called a Resurrection Idol must be used.[5] A Resurrection Idol can be found stashed in levels. Saving Resurrection Idols up until a certain threshold rewards the player with higher health and energy.[5][4] Resurrection Idols are not lost if Therion dies.[5]

Development and release

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Valfaris was developed by Steel Mantis, an independent studio that previously developed Slain: Back from Hell.[6][7][2] The game was first revealed through a trailer released during E3 2017[8][9][10] and was originally scheduled for release in 2018 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.[11] In 2018, a 30-minute gameplay trailer was released, showing off the game's weapons, saving system, and weapon upgrades.[12] Valfaris was featured as part of the Indie Megabooth at PAX West 2018,[13] and a game demo of Valfaris was shown at Gamescom.[14] A Nintendo Switch version of the game was also confirmed by video game publisher Digerati.[15] Valfaris was featured at EGX 2018.[16][17]

Another demo of Valfaris was featured at the 2019 Game Developers Conference.[2][18] A trailer was shown off at the PC Gaming Show during E3 2019.[19][20] Steel Mantis also presented a model of the Bringer of Mayhem, one of the weapons in the game.[21] Merge Games distributed the physical copies of PlayStation 4 and Switch versions, starting in November 2019.[22][23] The game comes as a standard edition and a special edition titled Valfaris: Digital Deluxe Edition.[24] The signature edition came with digitally signed artwork, the game's soundtrack, an artbook, two pins, and an art card.[25] The soundtrack of Valfaris was composed by Curt Victor Bryant, a former bassist and guitarist of the extreme metal band Celtic Frost.[26][1][4]

Valfaris was released for Microsoft Windows and Nintendo Switch on October 10, 2019, and later for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in November.[24] The game was also released for Amazon Luna on December 3, 2020.[27]

Reception

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Valfaris received "generally favorable" reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic.[28][29][30][31] It received a score of 31 out of 40 from Famitsu, based on individual reviews of 8, 8, 8, and 7.[32]

Liam Croft from Push Square praised the game's platforming sections, weapon variety, and visuals. He called the boss fights "incredibly cool", but felt that the game's enemies respawned too quickly.[33] Dom Reseigh-Lincoln from Nintendo Life liked the Valfaris extreme metal soundtrack and the visuals. He believed that the Resurrection Idols made saving the game easier. He also felt that enemies respawned too quickly, and thought that the game needed a dodge button.[5]

Windows Central writer Brendan Lowry rated Valfaris 3.5/5 stars, writing that it was an "excellent" game, but felt that it was held back by design and technical flaws.[34] James Cunningham of Hardcore Gamer praised the game's "brutal" environments and liked the "monstrous abominations" of its bosses.[3]

Kellen Beck from Mashable complemented the game's metal soundtrack, and believed that Valfaris was a combination of "really well-done" elements. He called the boss fights "unique" and recommended the game for those looking for a "fun" action platformer.[1]

Sequel

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A sequel titled Valfaris: Mecha Therion[35] was released on November 21, 2023 for Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S,[36][37] published by Big Sugar.[38]

Unlike its predecessor, Mecha Therion is a 2.5D shoot 'em up.[39][38] Steel Mantis originally planned to make a sequel to Slain!, but Andrew suggested that the team make a sequel to Valfaris. Thomas agreed, writing in a PlayStation.Blog that he was "immediately enthused".[35]

References

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Notes
  1. ^ Score based on 12 reviews.
  2. ^ Score based on 9 reviews.
  3. ^ Score based on 8 reviews.
  4. ^ Score based on 19 reviews.
References
  1. ^ a b c d Beck, Kellen (10 October 2019). "'Valfaris' is a blast of sci-fi metal action". Mashable. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Shive, Chris (3 April 2019). "GDC 2019: Valfaris Could Be The Greatest Sci-Fi Heavy Metal Adventure Since 1981 - Hardcore Gamer". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e Cunningham, James (10 October 2019). "Review: Valfaris - Hardcore Gamer". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  4. ^ a b c Jones, John-Paul (20 November 2019). "Have You Played 'Valfaris'? A Perfectly Irresistible Marriage Of 'Doom', 'Contra' & Heavy Metal". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e Reseigh-Lincoln, Dom (9 October 2019). "Review: Valfaris - Heavy Metal Mayhem That's Rough Around The Edges". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  6. ^ Horti, Samuel (28 September 2019). "Heavy metal platformer Valfaris gets October release date". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  7. ^ Prescott, Shaun (25 August 2021). "Hellish pixel platformer Valfaris goes 2.5D in forthcoming sequel". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  8. ^ Barrett, Ben (14 June 2017). "Unto the End is a bloody, brutal Viking side-scroller". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  9. ^ Goslin, Austen (10 June 2019). "Valfaris is a heavy metal side-scroller from the creator of Slain: Back from Hell". Polygon. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  10. ^ Shuman, Sid (13 June 2017). "E3 2017: Highlights From the Media Showcase and Beyond". PlayStation.Blog. Archived from the original on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  11. ^ Taylor, Craig (13 June 2017). "Valfaris Preview - Steel Mantis Teases A Metal-Inspired 2D Shooter Set In Space". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  12. ^ Saed, Sherif (6 June 2018). "Watch gameplay from Valfaris, the new game from Slain devs". VG247. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  13. ^ Hall, Charlie (17 August 2018). "Indie Megabooth's 20-minute highlight reel helps you pick your next obsession". Polygon. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  14. ^ Boudreau, Ian (23 December 2018). "You can try out Valfaris, the upcoming heavy metal sci-fi shooter, in a free demo". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  15. ^ Romano, Sal (21 August 2018). "Valfaris adds Switch version, new screenshots". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  16. ^ Welsh, Oli (20 September 2018). "Here's a full list of the 265+ games playable at EGX this week". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 3 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  17. ^ Nunneley, Stephany (20 September 2018). "EGX 2018 has tons of playable games at the show - here's the list". VG247. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  18. ^ Singletary, Charles Jr. (20 March 2019). "Dev interview - Metal and mayhem in 2D platformer Valfaris". Shacknews. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  19. ^ Romano, Sal (10 June 2019). "Valfaris E3 2019 trailer". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  20. ^ Kane, Alex (10 June 2019). "'Valfaris' Gets a New Gameplay Trailer at E3's PC Gaming Show". Variety. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  21. ^ Brown, Fraser (10 June 2019). "Action-platformer Valfaris gets a heavy metal trailer at the PC Gaming Show". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  22. ^ Romano, Sal (6 August 2019). "Valfaris PS4 and Switch physical edition launches in November". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  23. ^ Sheehan, Gavin (7 August 2019). ""Valfaris" Physical Edition Coming To Nintendo Switch & PS4". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  24. ^ a b Romano, Sal (26 September 2019). "Valfaris launches October 10 for Switch and PC, November 5 for PS4, and November 8 for Xbox One". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  25. ^ Wilson, Mike (29 September 2019). "Heavy Metal Action Game 'Valfaris' Raises Hell October 10th". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  26. ^ Chapstick, Kelsey (27 September 2019). "'Valfaris': See Wild Heavy-Metal Video Game Scored By Ex-Celtic Frost Guitarist". Revolver. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  27. ^ New on Luna+: Valfaris, archived from the original on 2022-12-18, retrieved 2022-12-18
  28. ^ a b "Valfaris for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  29. ^ a b "Valfaris for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  30. ^ a b "Valfaris for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  31. ^ a b "Valfaris for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  32. ^ a b Romano, Sal (22 January 2020). "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1625". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  33. ^ a b Croft, Liam (10 November 2019). "Mini Review: Valfaris - Heavy Metal Headliner Is Hellishly Worthy". Push Square. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  34. ^ a b Lowry, Brendan (15 November 2019). "Valfaris Xbox One review: A brutally tough platformer that's good, but could be better". Windows Central. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  35. ^ a b Jenns, Thomas (25 August 2021). "Valfaris sequel switches genres, but stays true to its roots". PlayStation.Blog. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  36. ^ Croft, Liam (25 August 2021). "Valfaris: Mecha Therion Brings More Heavy Metal to PS5, PS4 Next Year". Push Square. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  37. ^ Romano, Sal (25 August 2021). "Valfaris: Mecha Therion announced for PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  38. ^ a b Craddock, Ryan (25 August 2021). "Valfaris: Mecha Therion Is A Genre-Switching Sequel Headed To Switch". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  39. ^ Parijat, Shubhankar (25 September 2021). "Valfaris: Mecha Therion Interview – Enemies, Weapons, Progression, and More". GamingBolt. Archived from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
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