Valley of Shadow

Released: Nov 1, 2024
Platforms
Last updated: 17 Sep 2026, 10:05 GMT

Updates & announcements

13 posts

28 May 2026Developer post
May 28: Price Drop, 50% Discount, Cerebral Showcase, & Game Update
The May 28 Update Welcome to the May 28 update. We have several updates to share today! Price Drop We have permanently dropped the price of the game, from $25 to $20. Valley of Shadow has been a labor of love that we spent over 8 years developing, and we hope that the lower price
The May 28 Update
Welcome to the May 28 update. We have several updates to share today!
Price Drop
We have permanently dropped the price of the game, from $25 to $20. Valley of Shadow has been a labor of love that we spent over 8 years developing, and we hope that the lower price will help more people experience it! And to that end...
50% Discount
Combined with the permanent Price Drop, this brings the price of the game to $10. This is the lowest it's ever been. This discount will run the entirety of the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase, so you have plenty of time to try out the demo and purchase the full game if you want to continue the story.
Cerebral Puzzle Showcase
We are absolutely thrilled to be part of the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase once more this year. Puzzle Games are obviously near and dear to our hearts, and we look forward to the Showcase every year to get our hands on some incredible demos. We can't wait to see what manner of mind-bending work other developers have been up to. And if you are visiting our page from the Showcase, thank you! We hope you try out the demo and find the game challenging enough to satisfy your puzzle brain.
Game Update
Last but not least, we are releasing v1.21 of the game. The biggest change is that we've updated to the latest version of Unity, 6.3. This fixes a major security vulnerability, nets us some passive improvements due to Unity updates, and fixes a few of our own bugs along the way. Here are the full patch notes:
Upgrade to Unity 6.3, to fix the Unity Security Vulnerability
Prewarm shaders in Chapter 1, making for a smoother experience
Improve graphics and lighting across various areas in the game
Improve several cinematics throughout the game
Fix a late-game bug involving Force Missile
That's all for now. Thank you for reading, and thank you for journeying with us through the Valley of Shadow.
This Belongs.
Original post
28 May 2025Developer post
New Demo Out NOW for Cerebral Puzzle Showcase!
Take a breath... We've published a brand new demo, just in time for the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase which starts this Thursday! Tons of amazing puzzle games will be available to demo, and on steep discounts during the run of the festival, so be sure to check it out. And if you haven
28 May 2025Developer post
Patch Notes for v1.20
This is a small patch that adds duplicates of all photos found outside of temples to the inside of the temples. This makes it easier to collect all photos in the game in a single playthrough. The following in-temple rooms now have photos: "Elevated Crystal" "Islands Apart" "Missi
This is a small patch that adds duplicates of all photos found outside of temples to the inside of the temples. This makes it easier to collect all photos in the game in a single playthrough.
The following in-temple rooms now have photos:

"Elevated Crystal"
"Islands Apart"
"Missing Crystal"
"Fresh Meat"
"Evernight"
"Jedi"
"Wings"
Original post
14 Oct 2024Developer post
Next Fest Devstream Schedule
We are thrilled to be participating in Steam's October Next Fest, which starts in less than 24 hours! To celebrate, we'll be livestreaming never-before-seen footage of the game with developer commentary at the following times: Tuesday, October 15 @ 1PM EDT : Chapter 2 Livestream
We are thrilled to be participating in Steam's October Next Fest, which starts in less than 24 hours! To celebrate, we'll be livestreaming never-before-seen footage of the game with developer commentary at the following times:

Tuesday, October 15 @ 1PM EDT: Chapter 2 Livestream - Get a glimpse of the second chapter of the story, learn about the second spell in the game, Force Missile, and see some of the puzzles you can solve with it!
Thursday, October 17 @ 7PM EDT: Chapter 3 Livestream - Watch the story start to come to a head as we show off the third and final magical spell in the game - but that one you'll have to come and see for yourself!
Don't forget to wishlist the game now and come say hi during our livestream. We hope to see you there!
Original post
23 May 2024Developer post
New Demo Available during the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase
The Cerebral Puzzle Showcase is here , and we've released an updated demo just in time for it! Solve puzzles, experience our autobiography, and let us know what you think! Here's a taste of what's new in the demo: Complete graphical overhaul of the opening scene 5 completely new
The Cerebral Puzzle Showcase is here, and we've released an updated demo just in time for it! Solve puzzles, experience our autobiography, and let us know what you think!
Here's a taste of what's new in the demo:

Complete graphical overhaul of the opening scene
5 completely new puzzles, bringing the total in the demo up to 34 (large & small)
Add a few hidden previews of future puzzle mechanics to the Light Temple
Remove speed slowdowns from the opening scene
If you enjoy the game and want more, we're always looking for more playtesters! Join our discord and we'll let you know when a new build is ready to be played: Valley of Shadow Discord
Original post
07 Sep 2023Developer post
Chapter 2 Beta Patch - v0.2.7
This is a small bugfix patch for the Chapter 2 beta. If you're interested in playtesting it for us, please join our discord and we'll get you set up with it! Here are the fixes: Floppies can no longer get stuck on the screen. This would happen if you shot a floppy statue and then
This is a small bugfix patch for the Chapter 2 beta. If you're interested in playtesting it for us, please join our discord and we'll get you set up with it!
Here are the fixes:

Floppies can no longer get stuck on the screen. This would happen if you shot a floppy statue and then quickly exited the room; the room you just left would be destroyed, taking the statue's script with it, and that's the script that controlled the floppy! To fix this, the coroutine has been attached to another gameobject that sticks around, instead of the statue.
Fix missile pathfinding in the final puzzle. I don't have a good excuse here; the pathfinding nodes (we use A*) were just not set up correctly. This was mostly due to the rapid iterating of that room I did when putting it together.
Missiles can no longer be shot at a moving block. Our system currently doesn't handle moving pathfinding nodes, because it doesn't need to in 99% of cases. A moving block was outside of that 99%. So rather than implement any entire moving-node system, you just can't shoot missiles at moving blocks anymore.
Blocks now move the player out of the way if they are standing in its path. This was already the case for the majority of blocks, but some of them used older prefabs that I missed when I implemented the push-player-out-of-the-way logic.
Original post
02 Aug 2023Developer post
We're part of the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase!
We are thrilled to announce that we're participating in the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase this year! It's a steam festival that features hundreds of puzzle games - over 200 this year - and dozens of demos. It's running from August 3-7. More info can be found here: We personally will b
15 May 2023Developer post
Major Demo update: v0.5
This update to the demo brings it to a new level of polish and performance that we're very excited about. Things should look and feel a lot less janky than before. Here are the itemized notes for this update: New Features & Changes You can now cancel your spell cast! If you'v
This update to the demo brings it to a new level of polish and performance that we're very excited about. Things should look and feel a lot less janky than before.
Here are the itemized notes for this update:
New Features & Changes

You can now cancel your spell cast! If you've already placed a perfectly-positioned Light, and you accidentally right-click, press escape to cancel the cast (while right-click is still held down).
New "Real Memory" post-processing effect for when certain scenes play out, such as the Pup-Pup scene on the back porch.
You can no longer jump in the Home. We decided to remove it because it didn't add anything interesting to the scenes, and only served to uncover & exploit collision bugs.
Add Poetry Plaques to the Temple. Written entirely in the rune language, deciphering these plaques adds an extra layer of depth to the story.
Diskettes now move to the bottom corner of the screen to dissolve. This doesn't have a major impact on the Demo, but has been put in place for future content starting in Chapter 2.
The staff animates out of the way when inspecting something. This is really just a workaround for some weird transparency issue with VHS tapes.
In-game menu now shows your current framerate.
Improvements

The beginning of the demo has been completely polished, with a better-looking UI and therapy hallway.
Cover up many imperfections in the Temple, primarily where snow mounds intersect with other objects. The intersections should be much less noticeable now.
"Song of Innocence" is now more obvious and dissolves when inspected. This is a relatively important aspect of the story that a lot of players were missing.
Footstep System has been entirely rewritten, and it should bug out less often. The new system requires significantly less manual setup compared to the old system.
Player breath now looks more realistic.
Game posters stick to the wall more believably, and are anchored by their scotch tape now. Previously they were anchored semi-randomly, and looked a bit wonky as a result.
VHS tapes now slide into a sleeve before they dissolve. Similar to the staff animation issue above, this is also to get around a weird transparency issue with the tapes themselves.
Improve performance in Home scenes. Many thanks to the latest version of Unity for newly-added terrain features that made these improvements possible!
Slightly shrink the default reticle. It was just ever so slightly too big for our liking.
Bug Fixes

Shadow Creatures now properly render on top of (and underneath) other transparent things.
Objects that dissolve look much more realistic now; they were previously not correctly normal-mapped.
The Subtitle setting actually does something now, and defaults to Off.
Fix bug that caused Quality to show as "Low" even though it wasn't.
Fix bug that caused therapy door to sometimes not close.
Fix animation bug when staff un-hides (after teleporting to each next floor in the Temple)
Original post
07 Oct 2022Developer post
Patch 0.4.6 & Looking for Testers
There's a new update for the demo, but (arguably more importantly) we are seeking testers for the rest of the game beyond the demo. Seeking Testers If you're interested in testing later levels of the game, please join our discord - - or email us - [email protected] - for ins
There's a new update for the demo, but (arguably more importantly) we are seeking testers for the rest of the game beyond the demo.
Seeking Testers
If you're interested in testing later levels of the game, please join our discord - https://discord.gg/QrDNXr9 - or email us - [email protected] - for instructions of gaining access. We are currently testing the entire second chapter of the game, including a new spell, dozens of puzzles, and a continuation of the story.
The following changes are now live in v0.4.6 of the public demo:
New Features

Level Select - You can now return to any puzzle room you've already completed, straight from the main menu! Simply hit escape to open the menu and click "Level Select", then select the puzzle room you want to return to.
Menu Facelift - The main menu has gotten a bit of a facelift. It now has more compelling animations and sound effects!
Bug FIxes

Fix a bug that prevented floppies from being discovered and picked up if you ever quit and then re-started the game.
Movement speed slowdown during voiceovers should now always recover.
Original post
16 Aug 2022Developer post
Demo Patch 0.4.5
This update bring with it some new features, bits of polish, and bug fixes. New Features Cloud Save : We've enabled Steam Cloud Save, so your saves should now transfer between computers! Not a big deal for the demo necessarily, but it is a pretty big deal for the final game. New
This update bring with it some new features, bits of polish, and bug fixes.
New Features

Cloud Save: We've enabled Steam Cloud Save, so your saves should now transfer between computers! Not a big deal for the demo necessarily, but it is a pretty big deal for the final game.
New visual and sound effects for casting spells into stationary crystals, and removing them!
Improve the range of the sensitivity slider; it can now reach smaller values and has more granular control over the specific value.
The staff now moves as the player moves, rather than remaining completely static
Bug Fixes

Playing the game in a different language will now actually play the voiceovers (though they will still be in English - localized subtitles hopefully coming later)
Add ice to a few walls & stairs that were missing them
The game now continues to run even when not focused on
Loading screen now fades out more smoothly
Original post
01 Aug 2022Developer post
Tiny Teams is live now!
Tiny Teams is a digital festival featuring games made by development teams of 1-5 people, and it starts today! We are thrilled to be included in it, alongside some very impressive games. View the entire Tiny Teams festival here! If you've discovered us through Tiny Teams and want
13 Apr 2022Developer post
Patch 0.4.4
This is a minor polish & bugfix update to the demo. The following changes have been made: Enhance visual effects of narrative scenes at the end of each level. Staff now glows brighter when in a room with a VHS tape in it. Light Tutorial puzzle is no longer failable (you can't
This is a minor polish & bugfix update to the demo. The following changes have been made:

Enhance visual effects of narrative scenes at the end of each level.
Staff now glows brighter when in a room with a VHS tape in it.
Light Tutorial puzzle is no longer failable (you can't stand so close to the statue that it blocks your light).
The pool in the home scene can no longer be jumped into (Sorry!)
Original post
24 Feb 2022Developer post
New Light Demo available!
A new demo of the Temple of Light is now available! It includes the following: A complete story overhaul, including all-new voiceovers! An extra, never-before-seen narrative scene between levels 3 & 4 of the Temple. Restructuring of several puzzles to make the difficulty curv
A new demo of the Temple of Light is now available! It includes the following:

A complete story overhaul, including all-new voiceovers!
An extra, never-before-seen narrative scene between levels 3 & 4 of the Temple.
Restructuring of several puzzles to make the difficulty curve smoother
The Light orb stands out a lot more now.
Several minor bugfixes that were discovered during MAGFest.
Original post

Updates & announcements

The May 28 Update

Price Drop

50% Discount

Cerebral Puzzle Showcase

Game Update

New Features & Changes

Improvements

Bug Fixes

Seeking Testers

New Features

Bug FIxes

New Features

Bug Fixes