A Valley Without Wind 2

 PC
Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 6
  3. Negative: 1 out of 6
  1. Game Informer
    Mar 6, 2013
    68
    I salute indie developers like Arcen Games for putting unique and creative designs like this out there, but every great idea needs to be executed well to reach its potential. A Valley Without Wind 2 just doesn't get there.
  2. PC Gamer UK
    Mar 30, 2013
    58
    Procedurally generated levels and items offer plenty of possibilities, but if they're not guided by a designer's hand, it's always going to feel amateur. [Apr 2013, p.109]
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User Reviews

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User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 32 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 32
  3. Negative: 6 out of 32
  1. Billick
    Feb 19, 2013
    9
    A Valley Without Wind 2 is essentially two different games. The game play alternates between a turn based strategy game and a platformA Valley Without Wind 2 is essentially two different games. The game play alternates between a turn based strategy game and a platform shooter. In the strategy portion of the game, the player manages a resistance against an oppressive overlord, moving units around the board like chess pieces in order to gather resources, capture strategic targets, recruit new resistance fighters, or battle enemies. In the platforming segments, the player performs various missions that either open up new locations on the map, or otherwise make their character more powerful. The strategy segments are where the game really shines. While not quite rivaling hardcore strategy titles, the game does have a surprising amount of depth, and gives the player a lot of interesting choices. In the platform segment, the player starts with a choice of five different classes, each having four spells to work with. New more powerful classes are unlocked as the game progress. The player also gains perks which give bonuses to things like damage, movement, and health, and feats which gives special abilities like double jumping. There are a huge variety of enemies, and levels are procedurally generated, so you will generally have to use different spells depending on the situation. The platforming segments are fun in small bursts, and fortunately that's exactly what the game provides. They would start to get tedious, but the strategy game does a nice job of breaking things up. The artwork is improved from the first game, although the animations could have probably have been better. Most of the music is recycled from Valley 1 and Arcen's strategy game AI War, but everything seems to fit nicely. There's also an epic new track that plays during the title sequence.
    Although Valley 2 isn't for everyone, those who buy into the concept will find a rewarding game with a lot of replay value.    … Full Review »
  2. Paikia
    Nov 20, 2013
    8
    This game is a platformer strategy hybrid, which kind of reminds me of an old SNES game called "Act Raiser". Much like in Act Raiser, in "AThis game is a platformer strategy hybrid, which kind of reminds me of an old SNES game called "Act Raiser". Much like in Act Raiser, in "A Valley Without Wind 2" you split your game time between the strategic "map view" interface, where you have to think, plan ahead and prioritize, and the platforming-action based "area purification" phase.

    The game offers a variety of characters to choose from. I still haven't wrapped my head around the mechanics and differences between those characters, their classes or whatever it's based on, but it does look promising when considering re-playability value, as it looks like it could be interesting to try the game again using a different type of character.

    Also on the re-playability subject, you can choose different difficulty levels for the two different aspects of the game one for the action parts and another for the strategy part. This way, everyone can choose his or her favorite level of challenge for each part. Personally, I'm more into strategy, so I'm more likely to choose a higher strategy difficulty level, to make the game more challenging in that aspect, while I might leave the action difficulty level as it is, although at least during the first few hours of the game, the action is pretty easy and relaxed on the default difficulty level, so I might take that one a notch or two as well.

    So far (a few hours in), this game looks like it's a lot of fun.    … Full Review »
  3. Jadexter
    Jun 22, 2013
    3
    I was a massive fan of the first game, A Valley Without Wind, so naturally I was looking forward to this. The music is great, but allI was a massive fan of the first game, A Valley Without Wind, so naturally I was looking forward to this. The music is great, but all greatness ends there. The removal of mouse controls was a bad move, and the controls they put in it's place are appalling. The new story looks promising, but lacks depth, which is required in an RPG, though this is a hybrid between strategy and RPG granted, but Arcen Games could do better. The enemy design is basic, and the difficulty increase is a huge jump from the standard difficulty in the first game, which might not be appreciated by those who were not veterans. I liked how Arcen Games set up the first game, but the attempt to add a detailed story takes away from the main game and slows it down, which is not good for a platformer at heart. My view may be outdated, as I played the game in very early alpha, but recently I did play it again and not much had changed. I recommend heading to the Arcen Games website, downloading the soundtrack to A Valley Without Wind 2, then jump on Steam and buy the first game. Right now this is definitely not worth it.… Full Review »
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