An amazing recreation doesn’t must be lots of of hours lengthy, and video games like Firewatch have proved that. Campo Santo’s single-player journey recreation is among the all-time nice compact video games, with roughly 5 hours of brilliance on supply. Nonetheless, the studio’s subsequent recreation, Within the Valley of Gods, might by no means come to mild resulting from Valve’s acquisition of it. Effectively, listed below are six gorgeous seconds of what you might’ve received.
First revealed seven years in the past on the 2017 Recreation Awards, In the Valley of Gods, like Firewatch earlier than it, was billed to be a narrative-driven adventure game – though this time your guiding companion can be exploring alongside you, moderately than speaking through walkie talkie. Set in Egypt within the Twenties, this single-player game places you within the sneakers of a former explorer heading out on one final expedition, eager to really feel the fun of journey as soon as once more.
Introduced whereas Campo Santo was nonetheless impartial, it initially needed to get the sport in gamers’ palms in 2019. Nonetheless, after being bought by Valve in 2018, Within the Valley of Gods was put on hold indefinitely. It’s not been formally axed, and nonetheless even has a Steam web page with a placeholder launch window of 2029. However seeing as so many Campo Santo devs went on to work on varied Valve initiatives like Half-Life Alyx, it’s unlikely that the band will get again collectively to select the challenge again up.
Its visuals already seemed spectacular (even by right this moment’s requirements) when that 2017 reveal trailer dropped, and this clip posted by Valve visible results developer Matthew Wilde solely builds the case that this could’ve been a really stunning recreation with some intelligent graphical tech powering it.
Noticed by ‘Gabe Follower,’ Wilde posted a brief snippet of a gameplay check for Within the Valley of Gods on his Bluesky web page. Whereas it’s simply six seconds of the primary character wading by a cave behind companion Zora, it demonstrates simply how a lot effort was going into making a visible spectacle. The gorgeous water physics function ripples reacting off of each other, shadows, and distortion of the submerged determine of Zora. Wilde is one thing of a liquid graphics specialist, as he has additionally posted clips of labor he did on Half-Life Alyx and Counter-Strike 2. Sure, this clip is from a check so isn’t totally consultant of what the ultimate water results of the sport might’ve been, however they’re fairly spectacular.
Matthew Wilde, the Valve developer behind the water shader for Counter-Strike 2, has shared a uncommon gameplay footage. It reveals the water expertise that was examined for In The Valley of Gods earlier than Valve acquired the corporate Campo Santo. Group shelved the sport not so lengthy after… pic.twitter.com/wIs6Im8KYx
— Gabe Follower (@gabefollower) November 11, 2024
Whereas we might by no means get to expertise Within the Valley of Gods, listed below are some superb story games that you simply completely can. Oh, and please do me a favor and go and play Firewatch, it’s good and one of many best Game Pass games too, so hundreds of thousands of you’ve gotten zero excuse to not strive it.
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