Valley Peaks is a puzzle game where the puzzles are mountains to climb. Its world is wild and wacky, and there are tons of frogs about! It all starts as you have taken a job to drive to the middle of nowhere, a town full of mountains, and install radio towers so that everyone can watch TV and use their mobile phones.
Being a frog, you can easily stretch your long arms around, so that you can climb up mountains. This is done by grabbing rocks and sticks across the mountain, scaling your way towards the top. Movement in Valley Peaks feels fantastic, as you quickly vault up the sides of mountains. Your arms don’t get tired or the sort, so you can hang onto one rock and make a decision about where to go next, but often it is best played in a way that there is a good flow of movement to allow you to get to the top easily.
Each mountain that you need to climb actually has three different paths, which you can easily find using the signs around the mountain, this also shows which ones you’ve completed. If you complete all of the routes up a mountain then you can complete a stamp card for the local climbing club. They will give you tools and other rewards that can make your climbing easier! One of the first tools is actually binoculars that can allow you to see through the environment to paths that you have not completed, this is great if you get a little lost in the land.
Characters around the world, like members of the climbing club, have little bits of story to tell you, although they are primarily optional. You’ll also get check-ins through your radio when you are doing your jobs, and guidance towards the next mountain to climb. The overall feel of these different characters is quite fun, with their colorful frog appearances and funny quirks and sayings.
You can also knock spirits out of pots, collect mushrooms, and eventually glide around the world. Valley Peaks is a puzzle game that doesn’t feel too serious — there is no death aspect, and instead, it’s wholesome fun. I got the chance to play a demo version of Valley Peaks at Day of the Devs and The Mix where I was drawn in by the colors and style of the world, and very much enjoyed the adventure.
You can currently play a free demo on Steam and wishlist the game ahead of it’s release.
