Amber - Quest in Torch Valley Demo

Good genre mashups are hard to come by, since it is difficult to please everyone at once and develop something of substance at the same time. However, someone stumbles onto the perfect formula every once in awhile, which makes it look easy and within everyone’s reach. Obviously, it’s not nearly as easy as it seems, especially if you want to target a more mature audience.

Amber - Quest in Torch Valley is a role-playing game with platformer elements and a few puzzles included for good measure, plus a unique control system and a weird point of view. In short, you basically have to explore the world and solve simple missions, while also jumping over obstacles, dealing with violent enemies and solving the occasional puzzle.

The story puts you in the shoes of a young boy by the name of Flint, an inhabitant of the last human city. Everything around this city has been covered by darkness over the aeons, which is why all sorts of evil creatures have called the outskirts their home. However, when one of Flint’s friends runs away with the city’s last energy source, he takes it upon himself to leave the city and confront the darkness in order to bring both the cube and his friend back.

Gameplay-wise, the game is pretty different from most RPGs out there. As such, although it is played from an almost isometric point of view, the map is made out of cubes, which look a lot like voxels. Besides jumping over spikes, gaps and various other traps using your improvised jetpack, you can also make use of a few other skills, some of which can even damage the enemies that try to hurt you.

Speaking of which, there’s no reason to fear death, because the worst deal you can get is a level reset, and that’s unless you don’t manage to make it to a checkpoint. While this might cheapen the overall experience a little bit, it also makes the game more accessible to the masses, which is not at all a bad thing. On the same note, the graphics are very nice as well, yet not flashy in any way, and you certainly do not need a powerful PC to enjoy them.

When it’s all said and done, Amber - Quest in Torch Valley seems to have its ducks in a row at the moment, and it’s only going to get better. As long as the developers keep it light and maybe avoid awkward camera angles in the future, the game should be welcomed by a pretty big audience.