Aporia: Beyond The Valley

 PC
User Score
6.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 24 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 24
  3. Negative: 2 out of 24

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  1. BlakeArius
    Aug 12, 2017
    6
    There are good qualities about this game, but are ultimately let down by frustration, bugs and busywork.

    Graphics: The game looks amazing, runs terribly. Some of the best fog and godrays ive seen, but the game is brought to 30 fps on a 980gtx. Gameplay: Myst inspired puzzler but ultimately a poor clone, Puzzles are singular and nothing you haven't done before. There's not reason to    There are good qualities about this game, but are ultimately let down by frustration, bugs and busywork.

    Graphics: The game looks amazing, runs terribly. Some of the best fog and godrays ive seen, but the game is brought to 30 fps on a 980gtx.
    Gameplay: Myst inspired puzzler but ultimately a poor clone, Puzzles are singular and nothing you haven't done before. There's not reason to look into the constructed environment beyond finding resource or glass shards, It's all pretty generic.
    Story: interesting enough to have kept me going until the bugs and autosave system became to much. Told in uniquely cool 2D projected scenes, Probs the coolest idea in the game.

    Summary: I feel like this game needed another 6 months to fix up the glitches, optimize the engine and maybe make the puzzles a bit more complex, even then it wouldn;t have the world building myst had.    … Expand
  2. Dubeau
    Jul 24, 2017
    6
    The game is in third person and have puzzles like Myst. The story is told by projectors which is nice. You have a map but it is useless, since it is so primitively done: you have no idea where you are and where to go. And since all the regions are connected, the lack of a proper sens of direction/mini map or mapping system is extremely frustrating. The regions are pretty big and someThe game is in third person and have puzzles like Myst. The story is told by projectors which is nice. You have a map but it is useless, since it is so primitively done: you have no idea where you are and where to go. And since all the regions are connected, the lack of a proper sens of direction/mini map or mapping system is extremely frustrating. The regions are pretty big and some puzzles are too. The graphics are good but I saw a lot of screen smearing. In certain area the game struggle with fps. Good game but the mapping can be a major obstacle.… Expand
  3. Renovatia
    Dec 30, 2018
    7
    This is an adventure game with exploration added to the mix. Meaning, aside from puzzle solving, a great deal of the game is finding your way and explore hidden sections to collect non-essential collectibles, the shards being the most important as it leads to a handy feature - which I won't reveal.

    As you progress the storyline unfold itself via animations without dialogue (cool done)    This is an adventure game with exploration added to the mix. Meaning, aside from puzzle solving, a great deal of the game is finding your way and explore hidden sections to collect non-essential collectibles, the shards being the most important as it leads to a handy feature - which I won't reveal.

    As you progress the storyline unfold itself via animations without dialogue (cool done) and paintings depicting the history of the lost civilization you are exploring. The puzzles you solve usually gains you more shards, which together they form a glass door which will lead to said handy feature. The puzzles are fairly easy actually. Some require more time than the other, but you don't need cheats to be honest.

    You do need cheats though (walkthrough) to find hidden objects. It's kinda annoying. I never liked the good old "pixel-hunting" adventure games and I don't like hidden hard-to find spots to find one or the other object. I'm in it for the intellectual challenge combined with enjoying a story. I'm the person who totally absorbs a storyline in games like these.

    A final criticism, aside from the hard-to-find exploration part, is the graphics. Though pretty for sure, it's not optimized at all. My GTX 680 handles it well, but the programming is obviously not optimal. For example there's a little lag and on high end cards 60 FPS is still not reachable for all. Also, the game isn't good at preloading. AS soon as you walk around the hard-disk gets busy. I mean it's rattling like a maniac until you stand still. This game is not good for your HDD lifespan. That's for sure.

    So performance and the exploration part are bad, the somewhat simple puzzles, though so much fun, are a bit easy and I wouldn't mind more of them with more inspiring rewards. But there's compelling good stuff in it: the story-telling is beautiful, the puzzles are more accessible to more high-school level students but aren't insultingly simple (some are lol). The environment is beautiful as well and the music is spot on: the music is calm and kicks in when needed. There isn't useless artsy noise going on all the time.    … Expand
  4. AbeMC
    Dec 6, 2018
    8
    A beautiful puzzle-driven walking simulator that tells a story via animated wall-paintings (reminiscent of Journey). Recommended for fans of either genre. Go for the Soundtrack Edition (the music is lovely) at 50% off or more (which currently equates to ~$12 or less).
    Total size on my hard-drive: 11.5 GB
    ++ Graphics. This is one you won’t want to miss if you love gorgeous visuals    A beautiful puzzle-driven walking simulator that tells a story via animated wall-paintings (reminiscent of Journey). Recommended for fans of either genre. Go for the Soundtrack Edition (the music is lovely) at 50% off or more (which currently equates to ~$12 or less).
    Total size on my hard-drive: 11.5 GB

    ++ Graphics. This is one you won’t want to miss if you love gorgeous visuals (CryEngine).

    + Uses level design to provide direction. So even though there are a number of places to go, I never felt lost.
    + Beautiful, peaceful soundtrack.
    + Puzzles are not overly simple, but most can be solved without spending too much time on them.
    + Good story. We wake up in some sort burial chamber, go outside, and being searching the ruins of a long-dormant civilization. The animated memories tell a drama of the discovery of a unique resource, and its use (and possible abuse) that led to the civilization’s decline – or was something else at work?
    + I was going to say I disliked the stealth sections (one region of Chapter 3 and a large part of Chapter 4). But the creatures that hunt you are incorporated into the story in a way that makes a great deal of sense. And the stealth changes up the gameplay a bit later in the game, which is a good thing.

    +/- The ability to view some animations in the order in which you stumble upon them can make the story feel fragmented.

    - Those stunning graphics aren’t for potato computers. It is CryEngine, after all. On the Medium preset @1080p, my Radeon RX 470 was frequently on its knees begging for mercy, dipping to 30fps on occasion, fans roaring. Since there is no combat, frame-rate isn’t as important here as in other sorts of games, but if you’re someone who is sensitive to frame-rate, you’ll notice it. On the other hand, Aporia is an excellent choice if you’ve got a mega gaming rig and want to see what it can do.    … Expand
  5. broxxigar
    Jul 24, 2017
    8
    The game is reminiscent of the original Myst games. You explore the remnants of an ancient and strange civilization, by discovering their world and solving puzzles.
  6. dilanakia
    Jul 27, 2017
    10
    The story reveals gradually, it is stylized, mystical and immersive.I am looking forward to learn more about the story. Not being able to see the character created even more mystery for me. I realized there were some old paintings around the world and they give some clues on story and they were adding a lot to the world which is already very beautiful.

    Visuals of the game creates the    The story reveals gradually, it is stylized, mystical and immersive.I am looking forward to learn more about the story. Not being able to see the character created even more mystery for me. I realized there were some old paintings around the world and they give some clues on story and they were adding a lot to the world which is already very beautiful.

    Visuals of the game creates the feeling of a magical world and they are well polished. I liked the visual effects. The same location has a total different feeling when it becomes night. Many times I just stopped and looked at the assets around the world, so detailed and beautiful. The sound and the visuals supports this mystical, enthusiastic feeling and the story even more. I will have the soundtrack to listen when I go for a walk. I definetely recommend to play this game with nice headphones. I felt l like I m living in that world.

    The puzzles are well balanced on hardness. They were not so hard or too easy. The atmosphere you experience while solving the puzzles are stunning. I felt rewarded and statisfied after solving puzzles. I havent seen any bugs or any disturbance on the flow fo the game. The world is too big and from the map I could see that I didnt visit all the puzzles. Cant wait to explore more.

    good job    … Expand
  7. GReviews
    May 2, 2018
    8
    On a personal level I thoroughly enjoyed the game and it took me round about 10 hours to fully complete and that is exploring every part of the land I could. Even though I have finished the game something is still drawing me back for a second go, whether it’s the graphics, the sound or maybe just because I’m a sucker for a good old exploration game, I know at some point travelling beyondOn a personal level I thoroughly enjoyed the game and it took me round about 10 hours to fully complete and that is exploring every part of the land I could. Even though I have finished the game something is still drawing me back for a second go, whether it’s the graphics, the sound or maybe just because I’m a sucker for a good old exploration game, I know at some point travelling beyond the valley will happen again… Expand
  8. Ramnond
    May 4, 2018
    9
    This game tells an amazing story with just visuals. I enjoyed this game with all my heart.

    I would give it a 10 but it had some minor graphical bugs (which didn't really affect my enjoyment of the game. i mostly ignored them). But the fact that they appeared more than just once or twice makes me drop the rating by 1. The game also had slight elements of horror, not really scary but    This game tells an amazing story with just visuals. I enjoyed this game with all my heart.

    I would give it a 10 but it had some minor graphical bugs (which didn't really affect my enjoyment of the game. i mostly ignored them). But the fact that they appeared more than just once or twice makes me drop the rating by 1.

    The game also had slight elements of horror, not really scary but enough to keep you aware.

    In the end I enjoyed the game completely and would definitely recommend you to play it.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. Everyeye.it
    Sep 4, 2017
    75
    For those who come from the frenetic world of arcades or shooters, Aporia might be a good excuse to start a new, fascinating gaming experience.
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  2. PlayGround.ru
    Aug 23, 2017
    85
    A great emotional journey.
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  3. Eurogamer Italy
    Aug 16, 2017
    70
    Quotation forthcoming.
    Read full review
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