Valfaris
Developer: Andrew Gilmour; Steel Mantis
More volume, more metal, more better. Diving straight back to Hell, bullets first and balls out, in the sequel to Slain.
Valfaris is more of a spiritual successor than a direct sequel. There’s some shared lore, but there are a lot of changes from the origin. Bursting from the chest of its predecessor, Valfaris is a high-action, low-mercy retro action platformer, with all the arcade charm of the previous instalment. But where the first game was set in a heavily gothic-themed world, now we’re thrown into the depths of space on a revenge quest.
Our protagonist, Therion, is hunting for his father, Emperor Vroll - the same Emperor from Slain. But Therion isn’t just armed with a sword and a bit of magic, he’s brought a whole arsenal. Primarily you will be using a sword - the legendary Bathoryn - to smack sci-fi nightmares across the face, but if that gets a little boring, there’s a plethora of guns and special weapons to bring chaos and ruin. Everything from a beam weapon that summons wolf spirits to an all-out rail gun that’s good for tearing holes through crowds.
Some guns are more situational than others, but you’ll probably latch on to one or two that work for your playstyle, and max them out. All the weapons can be upgraded at checkpoints with Blood Metal, which is scattered through the levels. Some are easy to find, but most will need to be sought out from hidden paths. Some sections give access to a giant mech, great for turning enemy insides to outsides. Therion also has access to a shield, capable of deflecting projectiles, or reflecting if timed right. Heavy weapons and the shield both draw from the same energy pool, so you’ll need to strike a balance between offence and defence.
Another big change from Slain is there’s much more of a risk/reward system. You can’t upgrade your health as such, but you can increase it if you’re brave enough. You acquire resurrection tokens throughout the levels, used for activating checkpoints (where you upgrade weapons). However, resurrection tokens give you more health, and that health lowers when you spend them. You can only hold so many at a time, so you can’t abuse it, but dying with a lot of tokens means you’ll probably be replaying a large section.
And die you will, a lot. Moreso if you’re wandering around with starting health. It’s a conundrum for sure. Whilst checkpoints aren’t scarce, some of them are just far enough apart to be annoying if you want to hold on to tokens, giving a real incentive to “gitgud”.
Valfaris is a 2D affair, with beautifully detailed pixel art. The corrupted city, infested with all manner of alien parasites and cybernetic machines, shines through. Once again, the music is what stands out. The heavy metal is back, but this time it’s not as gothic. There’s a distinctly electronic feel, with big, heavy guitars and distortion. Gone are the lilting violins and creeping dread, in are the thumping drums setting pace for the speed metal. Curt Victor Bryant knows how to flesh out the world and pump just enough adrenaline to hold the atmosphere.
Whilst Valfaris may be a distant cousin to Slain, it’s impossible to deny it shares the same genes. It’s hard, it’s heavy, and it’s a lot of fun.
