$24.99Valfaris Heavy metal carnage in space
Fight your way through a corrupted space fortress with guns, swords and far too much electricity.
Is Valfaris worth it?
Valfaris is worth it if…
- you want a difficult run-and-gun that punishes hesitation and rewards aggression
- you grew up on old-school 2D shooters and want a modern take on them
- you care about pixel art and a metal soundtrack as much as the combat
- you like learning a boss's patterns until the win finally lands
- you would rather play four intense hours than forty padded ones
Screenshots
Combat that runs on melee
Every loadout is three weapons: a gun with infinite ammo, a melee weapon, and a heavy hitter that eats energy. The catch is where the energy comes from: you refill it by getting close and cutting things apart. So the rhythm of a fight becomes a decision. Spend energy on the big gun now, or wade in with the blade first and bank the fuel? The same meter powers your shield, and a well-timed block staggers a melee attacker or deflects a shot right back. Hesitate and you are just a target. Get the mix right and rooms turn into a fast, gory loop of slash, blast, block, repeat.
Blood metal and hard choices
The resource you find in the levels, blood metal, is the same stuff you spend on upgrading weapons and stats, so every save is a small gamble: lock in your progress, or push on and come back stronger? Weapons upgrade up to three times for more damage and new effects, and the arsenal runs from pistols and a rail gun to a flame sword and a whip made from a giant spider's leg. The game does not explain what each one does. You pick it up, pull the trigger and find out. On top of that sit secret areas to find and a New Game Plus, Full Metal Mode, where you keep the whole arsenal against tougher enemies and buffed bosses.
What should you know before playing?
How hard is Valfaris, really?
Hard, but in a learnable way. You will die a lot, especially to bosses, and the game expects quick reflexes and constant attention. The checkpoint system softens the blow: beaten sections stay short, so a retry puts you back in the fight fast rather than making you replay ten minutes of platforming. If you enjoy games where progress means finally reading a boss's pattern, this is your speed. If repeated deaths frustrate you more than they teach you, it will test your patience.
How long does it take to finish?
It is a short game. A focused first run lands somewhere in the range of five to ten hours depending on how often you die, and finding every weapon and secret adds a bit more. Full Metal Mode gives you a reason to return with your upgraded arsenal against harder enemies. It is built for intensity over length, and for replaying rather than lingering.
Is the story worth following?
It is a setup, not a centerpiece. Therion returns to his home fortress to find out what doomed it and to face the evil at its heart, and the game gives you that with maximum pathos and minimum fuss before handing you a weapon. Nobody plays this for the plot. The pleasure is in the tone: skulls, gore and grandiose doom in a decaying citadel hanging next to a dying sun.
What is the one flaw to know going in?
Some bosses explode when they die, and if their blast catches you, the fight starts over. More than one player has won a long battle, started celebrating and then had to do it again. It is the kind of old-school cruelty the game wears on its sleeve: fair once you know, brutal the first time.
