Valley of Shadow is a unique game about loss, healing, and family that blends an emotional narrative with thought-provoking puzzles. As you journey through the temples of light, force, and fire, solving puzzles with your magical staff, you'll uncover details of the protagonist’s childhood, his relationships, and the traumatic event that has led him to explore the vaults of forgotten memories.

The game contrasts the mysterious, ambient atmosphere of the temples with exploration of the family home, filled with nostalgic references to '90s video games, as well as real family photos and home videos.

I found the puzzles both challenging and satisfying. There are also a number of optional, more difficult puzzles that don't hinder progress in the main storyline if you're unable to solve them. The narrative unfolds entirely through a therapy session between the protagonist and his therapist. While the story can be heavy at times—tackling themes like generational trauma and depression—it’s balanced by the therapist's retorts and challenges to the protagonist's views. Ultimately, the story is hopeful and bittersweet.

If you enjoyed the unsettling, deeply human stories of Gone Home or What Remains of Edith Finch, or the mind-bending puzzles of The Talos Principle or Portal, Valley of Shadow is well worth a try!

This game is a deep dive into the developer's life. You'll split your time between their real world experience & a fantasy world, used as a tool to deep dive into the past. The fantasy world is full of nostalgic game references & complicated puzzles & is fun to get lost in while you walk around taking it all in.

It's definitely one of the most unique game experiences I've had. Definitely recommend.

If Talos Principle and What Remains of Edith Finch had a baby, it would be Valley of Shadow. I've been waiting a few years for this to come out (I played it at MAGfest a while back), I'm a few hours in at the time of writing and loving it.

So far, the focus of the puzzles seems to be on view based puzzles. e.g. the first world's mechanic involves placing a light such that it casts shadows (or doesn't) in the right places. This gets fleshed out surprisingly well. The next world introduces a related mechanic that I won't spoil that adds a lot of depth, I'm anticipating eventually using them both together.

The narrative is well done, I don't think I've played a game this personal before. I'm not sure what it is about this type of atmosphere that feels so condusive to puzzle solving, but it works really well.

Overall, based on what I've played so far I highly recommend this to people who like puzzle games!