I love games that heavily feature climbing. I’m not just talking about the simple, ‘push forward on your left analogue stick and the x button’ approach of games like Uncharted either. I like the broad spectrum of offerings, whether it’s the picturesque journey found in last year’s Jusant or the gruelling hellscape of difficult climbing and platforming in Beton Brutal or Bennet Foddy’s Getting Over It. Adapting a little bit of all of those is Valley Peaks, a colourful and endearing game that has you climbing difficult summits as a frog.
Your call to adventure is that you are to follow in the footsteps of your deceased father, climbing eleven different mountains to complete what he couldn’t. Depicted in an open-world sandbox, you can tackle any of these at any given time, but some will certainly require the expertise and assisting gadgets you’ll obtain along the way.
The hero’s left and right hand movements are simulated by left and right mouse button clicks. What this looks like in motion is that you’ll often be feathering your fingers between the two as you navigate from handhold to handhold. Your limbs are, of course, amphibian-like, being long and stretchy. This can be bent to your will, allowing you to swing and make good horizontal leg way from a handhold above you or as a means of bouncing and propelling yourself vertically.
Get to the top and you’ll be rewarded with a stamp on a card. Additional bonus completionist tasks are available, including restoring a radio satellite at a peak or touching all the wooden pikes along the length of a mountain in a required order. Fall and there’s no fall damage, but you’ll certainly have to start that ascent again.
The climb back up is never all that much of a hassle thanks to various upgrades. A mid-air time freeze helps recover from that one missed jump while a glider is just good for soaring above the beautiful rolling hills. These go a long way in not only keeping things fresh but also preventing frustration for long stretches.
Valley Peaks is incredibly simple, quite short and also just a joy the whole time. With collectathon elements that can net in cosmetics, silly quests from quirky locals and just good vibes all around, it’s well worth your time.
Valley Peaks is available now, check it out.
About the Author
Charlie Kelly
She/Her, They/Them
Charlie loves her video games as much as she loves dumb, charming JRPG protagonists: probably way too much. You can often catch her spending too much time being emotional over LGBT stories in games. She also thinks Yakuza 6 is the best one.
