Aporia: Beyond The Valley Reviews

6/10

Nothing really wrong with this game, it's just very simple. A walking and looking around type game with some light puzzles. Very short; probably could've finished it inside two hours if I hadn't stopped to smell the roses.

This is probably the most mediocre puzzle game I ever played. I can see the love in it, but I think it's just trying to do too many things at the same time. The open exploration is a nice idea, but half-baked with no clear paths, invisible walls, and other issues. The horror elements are completely useless, glitchy at the point you don't even realize they're there until it's forced on you. To me it felt like an excuse to have an health bar. Also, fall damage doesn't make any sense in a game like this, in my opinion. The art, the way the story is told, are quite good instead, but yeah as a "puzzle game" it just doesn't work that well, it feels disconnected. For some reason I still wanted to beat it, and when I did I really didn't feel it was worth it.

Wonderful world to explore. Puzzles to figure out and the world is full of mystery. The scenes are breath taking and it is easy to navigate. I recommend using a XBox controller. Very happy with this purchase. Thank you

Aporia is unusual in that the main store tags say Adventure, Horror, Puzzle, while some people will go straight to saying it's a Walking Simulator. While not strictly untrue, I find the latter judgement a bit on the harsh side. Aporia is defined as an 'irresolvable internal contradiction' or more simply, 'puzzlement'. As I played the game (exploring, solving puzzles), I came to learn bits of the backstory through animated tapestries. The thing about these tapestries is they are all jumbled up, so you might not necessarily see them in the right order. By watching these, and using a bit of logic, you come to find that there is a strange 'aporia' to the civilisation that makes little sense. One of the great things about this game is the graphics. There is a sense of time with day shifting into night and vice versa, allowing for some spectacular vistas, especially at dawn and dusk where light filters through vegetation. Music is on the minimal side, being quite unintrusive, while sound effects such as birds in the trees, or the sound of running water or waterfalls really give it the sense of coming to life. Gameplay is a mixed bag, but mostly fun. There are puzzle elements, but it isn't consistent - this can be broken up by exploration, or learning about the backstory via the tapestries... there are even boats you can use to make water exploration a bit easier. The main goal of the story is related to the characters presented in the tapestries, and so to finish the game you need to acquire key pieces and hologram fragments in order to progress. My first play through, I actually completely missed the leaf key, so not all of them are necessary. So it all sounds a bit Talos Principle, but why the Horror tag? In chapter 3 and 4 we have a malevolent spirit wandering around, and while there are moments it can inexplicably vanish in a puff of smoke, mostly if it sees you, it will give chase. I think in chapter 4 it can even teleport to you. The thing is, you have a health bar in this game, and you can die, so you really don't want this thing to see you. It's not as bad as all that, as getting caught only robs of of a portion of health, but if you want all achievements you'll have to not get caught at all in a full game. There are loads of other things to do - collectables take the form of drinking potions, lighting torches and eating herbs - but these are only tracked from a steam achievement perspective. Torches have no effect, herbs heal you, and potions charge your vial. So depending on whether you like hunting down achievements or not, the game can be big or small. I think as it is, Aporia stands on its own feet as a solid game, and has enough activities and gameplay to make it worth the experience. No way is it a Walking Sim - if it was, it'd be WASD only. Best thing to do - if you like the idea of trying to do some puzzles while avoiding a black spirit, then this might be what you're after. And as you play, you can work out the backstory for me.