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Hear that? It’s the approaching release date for audio-only action adventure The Vale. The accessible adventure about a blind princess challenges you to combat driven by audio cues and haptic feedback. Developers Falling Squirrel have announced that you’ll be able to tackle the adventure yourself next month, although you can also take it for a spin right now in a demo.
The Vale: Shadow Of The Crown is the story of a princess, blind since birth, exiled to the edge of the kingdom when her older brother takes the throne. After her convoy is ambushed, she’ll have to make her way home through dangerous territory. Falling Squirrel say that the story-led adventure features “challenging battles, exciting quests, and AAA quality voice acting performances from dozens of acclaimed voice actors.” You can hear all that down here in its release date trailer.
The Vale was developed with consultation from the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. Falling Squirrel explain some of the tech and design behind creating an audio-only game.
“The Vale: Shadow of the Crown utilizes the latest in assistive technologies, including binaural audio and haptic controller feedback, to create an immersive experience and a thrilling action-adventure game. Falling Squirrel is committed to their mandate to develop inclusive and accessible games—The Vale: Shadow of the Crown’s development features sincere and deliberate representation by employing visually impaired voice actors and developers.”
It’s around a five hour adventure, Falling Squirrel say, complete with boss batles and other encounters, soundscapes for various environments, and 20 side quests along the way.
You’ll find The Vale over on Steam and Itch when it launches on August 19th. It also has a demo available to try on Steam.