The Vale: Shadow of the Crown
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nejcraft (NS, PS4, PS5)
- Windows, Xbox One
- August 19, 2021
- Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
- March 14, 2024
| The Vale: Shadow of the Crown | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Falling Squirrel |
| Publisher(s) | Falling Squirrel (PC, Xbox) Nejcraft (NS, PS4, PS5) |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release |
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| Genre(s) | Action role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
The Vale: Shadow of the Crown is a 2021 action role-playing game developed by Falling Squirrel. Players control a blind princess. The game has few visuals and is almost entirely an audio game.
Alexandra, a blind princess, arrives at a remote keep just as war breaks out. She seeks to return home, where her older brother rules. The Vale: Shadow of the Crown is an action role-playing game, but it has very few visuals. There are menus, which are voiced for blind players, but most of the time, the only visual effects are limited to specks of light that occasionally change shape or color based on environmental cues. Players must rely on sound staging to locate points of interest, such as following the sound of a blacksmith striking his anvil. Alexandra befriends a sighted shepherd who assists her,[1] and she can rescue a dog who will join her.[2] Alexandra was trained in combat by her uncle. During combat, players must identify which direction enemies are approaching from and parry their attacks. Audio cues give hints to their strategy, such as whether they intend to charge at her or flank her. When striking back, quick attacks may be made at will, but heavy attacks, which can break an enemy's defenses, take longer to execute.[1]
Development
Falling Squirrel is based in Canada,[3] and The Vale: Shadow of the Crown is the company's first game. Developer Dave Evans had previously worked on bigger budget video games as a cinematic director[2] but did not have any previous connection to the blind community.[3] The initial concept of an audio game came from Evans' desire to tell big stories without having to worry about budgets.[2] When he realized that the blind community would likely be interested in the project, Evans contacted the CNIB Foundation and used them for focus testing.[4] The Vale: Shadow of the Crown won funding from Ubisoft's Indie Series and received further funding through the Ontario Creates government grant.[5] It was released for Windows and Xbox One on August 19, 2021.[6] On March 14, 2024, Nejcraft released ports of The Vale: Shadow of the Crown for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5, marking the game's debut on these platforms.[7] The release was accompanied by a marketing campaign supported by First Peoples Digital.[8]