Valfaris

 PlayStation 4
Valfaris Image
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
6.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 34 Ratings

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  • Summary: Set in the far reaches of space, Valfaris is a heavy metal infused 2D action-platformer and the next game from the team behind Unity Awards finalist, Slain: Back From Hell. Brutal combat. Deadly enemies. Stunning pixel art. Savage soundtrack. Get ready to rip the galaxy a new wormhole.
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Valfaris - Announcement Trailer - E3 2017

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. God is a Geek
    Feb 11, 2020
    85
    Valfaris is a superb action-platformer filled with violence, a killer soundtrack, and some gorgeously grotesque pixel art.
  2. PlayStation Universe
    Nov 5, 2019
    85
    A heavy metal steeped side-scrolling blaster that is awash in blood, gore and super solid platforming shooter beats, Valfaris is essential for anyone looking for a challenging affair that does ample justice to Konami's poorly treated Contra franchise.
  3. Meristation
    Dec 28, 2019
    84
    Valfaris is incredibly polished visually, but the best news come from the core gameplay and the shining variety of its level design. Something pretty much needed for Steel Mantis to become a new promise among indie developers, we must say.
  4. Push Square
    Nov 9, 2019
    80
    Some may struggle with enemies that feel like they respawn a little too often, but this is by no means as tough as Dark Souls. Valfaris doesn’t do anything noteworthily new, but the hectic, intense, satisfying experience it offers shouldn’t pass you by.
  5. PlayStation Country
    Feb 18, 2020
    80
    To just say ‘this game is fun’ would be the easy way out. It’s a brutal challenge with hellish visuals, doom-laden soundtrack and blood-soaked anarchy. If you like your retro shooter platformers to look, act and feel like they belong in the metal section of your local record store, then Valfaris is one hell of a good time.
  6. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Dec 17, 2019
    80
    One of the best retro shooters in a long time, Valfaris mixes a smart combat loop with pixelperfect design, wrapped in a bombastic heavy metal silliness that oozes fun. [Issue#170, p.91]
    All this publication's reviews
  7. DarkStation
    Nov 4, 2019
    70
    Slain: Back from Hell was a master class example in teaching how to play well. Valfaris, on the other hand, doesn’t understand the same rewarding philosophy. Luck plays too big a part in beating all the hardship in Therion’s way, controls are unfortunately sloppy (again, it could be a console-specific issue) and the game even falls to punish players with its dubious risk/reward system. Valfaris looks great and at its best, can make your hands sweat when tackling its steep challenge but ultimately, for all that the game is, it more talks the talk than walks the walk.

See all 10 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 11
  3. Negative: 4 out of 11
  1. Brainiac13
    Nov 26, 2019
    10
    What a Masterpiece! Every contra/metroidvania even soulslike fans around there will love it!
    Challenging as fak
    Beautiful pixel art level    What a Masterpiece! Every contra/metroidvania even soulslike fans around there will love it!
    Challenging as fak
    Beautiful pixel art level design
    Many weapons to help you in situations
    Too many bosses
    Metal soundtrack with guitar solos and melodic ballads
    An experience definitely worth playing!    … Expand
  2. zencube
    Jun 21, 2020
    10
    Hail to the King!

    Yes, it is difficult, yes it is frustrating and yes some people just can't beat it and therefore want to punish it with    Hail to the King!

    Yes, it is difficult, yes it is frustrating and yes some people just can't beat it and therefore want to punish it with bad ratings - i fully understand! But in the end it is Valfaris, a beautiful straight forward 2D-Pixel Art Game with tons of bosses, levels and very great style. I don't even like Metal Music but i did in this weird 'little' game. Of course it could have been easier and allot of levels can only be mastered by repeating them a bit too often. On the other hand, if you can memorize everything the first time, especially Boss movements, you'd probably get through much easier.

    I didn't, i died allot, i was yelling and crashed parts of my sofa (poor thing) and wished all of the people involved in this game to hell for all eternity! Yeah, i'm pretty wasted by this game and suffered somehow but went through till the end and then: HEAVY METAL Mode, from the beginning - even harder! Thought i would get through faster, as I know things now, but not really. Everything is a bit more harder, few more enemies and bosses have some extra pain i-t-a things to offer you. So i had to study them way better and exploit their bloody weaknesses in the end - every victory felt GREAT! After finishing the second run (especially the last a-hole boss) the developer compliments the gamer and congratulates him/her for mastering this second run through in hard-mode.

    The game runs perfectly, no crashes, absolute accurate fights and superb designed levels with allot of different graphics to show. Did i mention, there are ALLOT of bosses? And not all of them are difficult by the way. Music is always full on and supports the shooting and slashing perfectly. Allot of weapons (i basically used only the same) to level up and hey, nothing to loose if you die.

    So, be warned, Valfaris is not a casual Jump & Runer with fast progression and a constant flow. There is allot of repeating but you will get better and finally win! Hilarious story within a twisted heavy metal space opera, that makes no sense at all but banging your head to the god of metal.

    I hope there will be another one, as the ending is an ending, but would just continue to the next adventure in this universe...    … Expand
  4. Kekmedve
    Feb 9, 2020
    10
    I really enjoyed this game, it's tight, vibrant and fun. It might not be the easiest game, but we need challenge or what's the point?
  5. vevo00
    May 30, 2020
    10
    Epic , get gud nooobs! This game is amazing ! Hard, beautiful ,masterpiece!
  6. Steyraus
    Jun 16, 2020
    9
    Stunning visuals, best pixel art ive ever seen. Absolutely amazing and fun gameplay that separates the dedicated from the people that a simplyStunning visuals, best pixel art ive ever seen. Absolutely amazing and fun gameplay that separates the dedicated from the people that a simply have no life. And the music is wicked, metal riffs as sick as any we heard in the 90s.
    But yeah , I would love to see a game like Valfaris and Slain with the challenge toned down and more levels. I love a challenge been beating hard games since Super Contra and Castlevania 4 on SNES. But there is a point where it going from being challenging to being just punishing and these games cross that line unfortunately. Most people these days wont dedicate a Hugh chunk or their lives to getting through one part of a side scroller, like we would back in the day. There is other stuff to play.    … Expand
  7. Catperson
    Jan 3, 2020
    4
    To all aspiring developers : Videogames are meant to be fun and Valfaris is as fun as trying to chew rocks.Most people DON'T like hard gamesTo all aspiring developers : Videogames are meant to be fun and Valfaris is as fun as trying to chew rocks.Most people DON'T like hard games and just want to relax,Valfaris is anything but relaxing.Besides that,beautiful aesthetic/tight controls/stellar soundtrack.It's a shame a good game fails because it's annoyingly hard.4/10 just for the difficulty.… Expand
  8. Rush--21
    Dec 14, 2019
    0
    Biggest waste of $25. I've platinumed Dark souls 1, 2, 3, Bloodborne, and Sekiro. I don't mind difficult games. This, however, is nothingBiggest waste of $25. I've platinumed Dark souls 1, 2, 3, Bloodborne, and Sekiro. I don't mind difficult games. This, however, is nothing more than a monotonous exercise in frustration. Do not buy.… Expand

See all 11 User Reviews

Trailers

Awards & Rankings

55
#55 Best PS4 Game of 2019