Mysterious Disappearance | VALLEY OF SHADOWS | Indie Horror Game

New PC Gameplay. Full Game Walkthrough. After a strange taxi ride home, a man discovers his wife and daughter missing...
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►About the Game -
Life is like a videotape, where colors and sounds are imprinted on the blank tape, old memories can be revisited again and again, and the dull part of the story can be fast-forwarded. But, someone always presses the STOP button.
Valley of Shadows is a short psychological horror game set in an ordinary American suburb. The story follows a regular family man named James, whose life takes an extraordinary turn when he returns home late at night after a hard day's work, only to find his house empty and his wife and daughter mysteriously vanished. A cryptic videotape left by an unknown visitor on the doorstep sets the stage for a chilling adventure.
As James attempts to unravel the mystery of his missing family, he is plagued by a sense of paranoia and the eerie feeling that he is constantly being watched. Paranormal forces turn his reality into a living nightmare, as he navigates through the unsettling environment, trying to piece together the clues left behind.
Key Features:
Built on Unreal Engine 5, creating an immersive and atmospheric environment with photorealistic graphics.
Experience a "walking simulator" gameplay style, enriched with easy puzzles that enhance the storytelling.
Valley of Shadows focuses on atmospheric psychological horror, prioritizing a lingering atmosphere of terror over cheap jumpscares.
The game offers a concise narrative, with approximately 30 minutes of gameplay, perfect for a spine-tingling evening.
#valleyofshadows #indiegames #horrorgames
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►Indie Game Playlist - • Indie Horror Games / I...
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[@shannono2292]

It always cracks me up in the intros when he explains the dark, creepy, twisted premise of each game w such a cheery smile and voice cadence, like, "something truly horrific has happened to this person's life and family, let's find out what!"☺️😄

[@rosssnyder4490]

Cool game, and the ending explains why he didn't call the cops when they saw the blood. Though I think the worst thing is finding out you still have to find fuses in the afterlife.

[@PiranhaPlant_454]

James, downpour, missing wife and daughter...hmmm...now where have I heard that before 😅

[@mcrews77]

lol yeah my first thought was "...Sunderland?"

[@conq1273]

Lol. He isnt in silent hill yet but quiet meadow first

[@childofthe80s1981]

so do horror games these days just casually rip off Silent Hill 2

[@shayoko6]

Where's the light switch? He lives there! How does he not know?!

[@Scriptor13]

Yeah, ol' AI James had very flat affect.🤖 Similarly, the whole game just felt kind of...empty. Too bad because with a few tweaks it could have been a much more engaging experience. Still, your commentary made me smile, Chris. 😊

[@TylerHoltgaming]

The thing that got me Scriptor, is that this game does have a bit of a connection to real life, James was a spirit who didn't know he was dead, which happens often in real life, hence why some places are legit Haunted, that got me because, no one knows what those spirits are truly feeling

[@Scriptor13]

@@TylerHoltgaming Sounds like you've had a supernatural experience or two, Tyler. I can relate. Tbh, that part got to me as well. I'm glad James' confusion was resolved quickly. I did think the use of the Ouija in the game was a smart choice for moving the story along. I liked Chris' comment about the taxi driver as Charon. It might have been nice, at the end, to have him waiting in the cab outside the house to transport James to his new "home."

[@TylerHoltgaming]

@Scriptor13 I have, I was born with a gift of being able to hear, see, feel, and communicate with spirits, and yes I agree with both you and Chris about the cab driver being Charon, i had a feeling that the cab driver was like an Angel given that he knew so much about James it makes perfect sense, and I also agree that the Ouija board was neat way of progressing the story as well as allowing James to communicate with his wife

[@allenmercant8]

The taxi driver insisted on payment first. Nice.

[@elvingearmasterirma7241]

No matter how good ai voices get, the candance and lack of proper tone is irritating. Its not even a monotone-ness. Its... Hard to describe but its there

[@conq1273]

What do you meeean?😂

[@JoMiMo555]

Another curse/blessing is it can't pick up on and fix obvious mistakes in the script as well.

[@elijahgavin6706]

One day soon you’re going to long for the day you could still discern the difference

[@BloodwyrmWildheart]

Still a boon for solo devs living paycheck-to-paycheck (if even).

[@jpvielleux]

Very quoteable though if nothing else.

[@danieljensen6880]

Hey CJU. I started watching your content many, many years ago. I have made the odd comment here and there, nothing special, but I got a response to your first "PREY" video. I am writing now just to let you know, that your stream of videos throughout the years have been an absolute joy to me. Through thick and thin there has only been one constant, and that is your content. You have made so many videos over the years, and most of the games you play I don't really care about. But I have still watched it all never the less, because YOU have played them. I've been through some very rough patches over the years. Everything has been so chaotic and beyond my controle. But through it all there has always been one constant and that is your content. It has meant the world to me and I really just want to let you know that it have truely helped me. That even though my days has been an absolute wreck, I could always count you to put a smile on my face with your commentary. I truely am happy that you have made a career out of this, for you, but also for my own selfish needs as I adore your personality. I wish you all the success in the world. -Daniel PS. If you ever find the drive to do a new playthrough of dark wood. I think it would make a lot of the veteran watchers very happy. That is to me, the very best playthrough you have ever done and I have time and time again watched it. Even played the damn game myself. Take care and I wish you all the success in the world.

[@qwerty37381]

Proud of you g

[@arudoshirogane4774]

Ahhh, he missed one point mark in the bedroom with the office, that's gonna rustle me for a while 😅

[@TheKevphil]

_"What profiteth a man to haveth a big house but nothing ineth it?"_

[@aenesthesia]

My thoughts exactly! The endless possibilities with a house that big and so many assets today 😔

[@kyoobqa]

At last, I'm so early, I can still witness the bots in the comment section. Anyone else tired of the AI voices? I mean, I know it's a great way for indie devs to add voice acting to their game, and it's totally understandable, but it just sounds so... _jarring._

[@elvingearmasterirma7241]

Its both uncanny valley but for voices and irritating. Like nails down a chalkboard

[@hanneserwing]

I can forgive AI voice acting for small devs/non-native speakers, but it feels like a lot of people just copy-paste their script into an AI and uses the audio without fine tuning pauses, inflection, rhythm etc. With several passes and tweaking you can definitely make convincing voice acting with AI.

[@thysens]

Looks like AI art and video for the intro and VHS tapes as well. I wouldn't be surprised if the dialogue is AI generated or assisted too, given its choppy/awkward writing. I know it's tough for beginner developers to create games with their low resources, and I think some leniency with voice acting is reasonable-- but using AI across several elements of the game can become frustrating, particularly for the random art at the beginning of this one. And it doesn't help that a lot of the game's layout, both map/objects and UI, stems largely unaltered from various asset packs. There's absolutely nothing wrong with asset use (assuming it wasn't pirated), but paired with all of the AI usage, it begins to raise the question: How much of this game really is original or self-made?

[@elvingearmasterirma7241]

@@thysens Yea its just... It feels like its turning into a crutch instead of a tool for developers Which sucks :/

[@skylarkblue1]

It's not a great way to add voice acting at all, it's just terrible. I'm a solo developer with a budget of 0, and I can say with confidence there's absolutely no reason for using AI voices.

[@MindMineTV]

This AI voice sounds like a Wish version of the VO Actor from Dying Light 😅. Thanks for sharing this, greatly enjoyed per usual!

[@stucoofoo]

I'm going to name my son Frank, after the antagonist in every horror movie.

[@denniswhite7416]

This guy has no idea where his own key is hidden or where the light switches are? Good start.

[@fletch45longcolt]

The house in this game is slightly modified version from the Christmas Nightmare game you played a couple of months back, Chris. The game just felt a little lackluster overall and the AI voice acting really ruins my immersion... If the actor doesn't care, why would I? Still a great playthrough though, keep up the good work!

[@S.ZOEFELIX]

Less than 10 min from you posting.... wow... I'm so excited! Thank you for all you do....I know it's not easy, but you still go strong :) Love from Colorado ❤

[@lilyn7497]

also ❤ from Colorado!

[@andrearastifard174]

thanks for the retro gaming, it was an abrupt end but super interesting! I could tell from the taxi cab in the beginning that it was a limbo situation. Seemed like a demo. Thanks for sharing with us!!!

[@Quinlana83]

Very entertaining. Thank you for playing, CJU!

[@cfcc1970]

I'll always leave a like for your videos as I enjoy being able to see a game I'm not hundred percent sure on buying for myself and nearly always get a laugh out of your comments. I totally appreciate you though for playing through all these games that I'd have dodged. You really have patients with some of them.

[@AmberFrmThVault]

The pacing, tone, and cadence of AI voices is too uncanny valley. 👀 Maybe that's part of the horror. 😅 I love how casual he is about his pregnant wife and daughter missing. No phoning the cops, no frantic searching of the house. Just thought it was a good idea to set down watching VHS tapes for clues. 😂

[@michaeltalpas]

First time I watched someone play this, I figured out the twist at the ouija board. It's fun watching it again and catching the clues I missed.

[@ValosiTiamata]

Aside from the grammatical errors and the fact that AI sucks at expressing any emotion, I rather liked this one. The videotapes seem to work better in hindsight than if they were full motion. It's a strange way to do the "life flashing before my eyes" thing, yet it sort of works as a modernisation, much like the taxi instead of a ferry. I did enjoy the taxi driver's voice and the use of photos instead of CGI. The filters also add a bit of an ethereal vibe. The game really does feel like it was too short, but I'm not sure how it could be added onto without it feeling like padding.That's perhaps the fatal flaw to games like this. The one about the architect who died in an elevator found some interesting ways to keep the game interesting, but she also had a large house to explore. Yet in the case of this and many other "surprise, you're dead" games, the appropriate environment for a person tends to be underutilised. You only have so much space, so perhaps adding a liminal twist could help - but then you need to fill that space with an atmosphere, threat, or clues so it doesn't turn into a boring slog. James didn't know he'd died, and was latched onto the idea that he was in his own home, so having that house change dimensionally doesn't seem all that feasible without tipping the player off too early. Thus we're stuck in a sort of catch-22 where the game needs something but that something is largely unidentifiable.

[@OutlawDin0]

I guessed the twist after knocking at the neighbor's house produced no reaction from them. Yeah, a good premise but it needed a little more meat on the bone.

[@naistals]

The house is a good representation of the game - the walls are there, the roof is only a little seethrough, but it's as barebones and bland as possible.

[@marycanary86]

i knew it was gonna be some kinda delulu stuff with him from the moment the taxi driver started acting weird

[@mcr00kes]

The prptagonist sounded like he was constantly trying to impersonate a guy from an action movie, dead set at revenge - like Liam Neelson in "Taken". Everything felt really aggressively said and it sadly took a lot away from the story being told.

[@backdoorslot9]

Thanks for uploading.

[@NivenHedinger]

AI video and voice over aside, this was indeed spooky and definitely different. Banger content mate 👌

[@davidjturner]

This might be one of the more interesting premises for a game that's done so poorly it actively frustrates me. I am absolutely here for a game that picks up with a taxi ride with a driver that seems to know just a little too much about you, but after that it's pretty forgettable. Does not pick up the phone.

[@hershyfit8786]

always a good day when CJU uploads

[@thewisepowerchair2369]

I wonder if there will ever be a horror game where you just need to change the light bulbs.

[@Missysarahlicious]

Fun as always. Thx

[@Dreamy-writer]

2:39 I watched Samara (unfortunately) before watching this one and when I saw the same diary, I think I felt my eye twitch a little 😂

[@luciusliu9417]

Oh no, AI voice acting... So yeah.. turns out my expectations for the game as a whole were pretty on par with "Oh no, AI voice acting..."

[@elvingearmasterirma7241]

Id suggest just watching The Others

[@luciusliu9417]

@@elvingearmasterirma7241 Ooh, yes I've seen it, been a while though. Nicole Kidman's great.

[@elvingearmasterirma7241]

@@luciusliu9417 Also had a much better build up and reveal to the end result than this game

[@anna32268]

Sounds ok to me

[@miriampraus2740]

@cju at least it wasn't a terrible Indie horror which I admit I miss them 😅

[@wtfiswiththosehandles]

I just finished watching the one about human meat burgers... Let me just grab a drink :)

[@lokicooper4690]

After all that, he still had to look for a fuse. Interesting game, not bad, but the AI voices kinda throw it off. Thanks, Chris!

[@Rozes313]

Thank you Chris 🖤

[@angelareynolds4373]

Not bad. Great concept, yet a little lackluster. 😊👍

[@fredd3233]

Me after the intro cutscene : "either this guy's dead or his family is". Me after the taximan drops him off : "ok he's the one who's dead". Not the most engaging game, and yeah the use of AI voice acting and weird stock footage (though perfectly understandable from a budget standpoint) didn't help.

[@NGMonocrom]

But wait.... The obnoxious neighbor greeting us regarding the weather, doesn't make sense then if we already expired. (Continuity is hard.)

[@RavenMethil]

It was the other way round, he greeted his neighbor who was just standing outside in the rain. The neighbor ignoring him and just walking in doors makes a lot of sense.

[@NGMonocrom]

@@RavenMethil Didn't realize that's what took place. Thanks for the assist.

[@cahebding]

Is it just a coincidence that the day in the game is the same day as today....March 13th??

[@SleepyDrummer]

Mysterious driver, paying money in advance for the ride... The driver is definitely Charon, the ferryman that souls to the afterlife

[@Wavytipsy]

at first i’m thinking car accident then i was thinking, he died in the car in the garage THEN i was like oh wait the bathroom looks like a blunt object or someone shot him??🤣 it was short but kinda confusing

[@BerraLJ]

Reminds me a bit about the Invisible a Swedish movie with a guy that tries to get help but turns out he died or was killed but does not know it.

[@ErinJeanette]

Grateful for an ending that wasn't the cliche at least

[@gazzalifahim]

12 minutes into the game and why I anticipate that the man had lost his family into a car crash and now he's is living with the memories? Probably CJU effect 😂

[@clintclark7463]

Alright Chris I think I figured what this Game is trying to tell us. Here’s what I think. So all the Video Tapes, The House For Sale Etc was to Show Player/viewers The Life the Husband Could’ve had. Each Video tape was a timeline showing him what his Future could possibly be. Because remember he had a daughter already but on the tape he was with his wife and Son. You were right about the Taxi Driver being a ferryman but not to take him to heaven or hell. The Taxi Drivers was to give him hints but the husband had to make the choice on his own. The Sole purpose of the Taxi was was to drive his spirit back to his body and bring him back to Life. That’s why he smashed his window to get his attention and hurry back. The Husband as a spirit was so focused on looking for his daughter and wife not realizing theres a literal time constraint. Minutes in a Coma could feel like Hours & The moment the Taxi had disappeared was the same moment in reality when he Husband Died on the operating table.

[@ayzhol9620]

Yet another bloody car crash?! Come on guys! Great video!

[@blarmy827]

The “diary” seems unnecessary since he’s already speaking out loud to himself lol it’s like they paraphrase what he just said or is happening. 8:05 100% agree… it wasn’t too bad but then the voice mixed with the strange phrasing is off putting. However those actually can kinda add to the vibe of things not being quite right in horror games sometimes. Felt kinda all over the place in this one though

[@user-ef5lk3vk2b]

No matter what anyone says dont care a damn because i really enjoyed the dark twist of the game and felt a bit sad at the end

[@rubyredphoto]

The opening silence was epic. Is it just me or does "James" sound a little like Jake from Avatar

[@ZetZatar]

I'd rather have "bad" voice acting than AI voice acting. It's really immersion breaking.

[@jeffreyoldham55]

Nice open, Chris.

[@mikeyhall9522]

sweet made it in the first hour, whats your release schedule man :(

[@Wtfzipcode]

the car alarm at the start scared one of my cats D:

[@brendabilodeau1673]

didn't really care for this one,,but,,,,even Julia Child dropped the roast sometimes

[@donaldcampbell9219]

At least you’re in a nice neighborhood

[@pebblesredjackson]

Oh wow. I didn't know you were a dead ghost.

[@skylx0812]

The AI sounds like Leon from RE4. The woman on the speaker, his wife? She asked about the baby's name. I suppose the traumatic nature of his death caused him to arrive in the hereafter with his spectral brains a bit scattered. Try this, now go watch the music video to the Talking Heads song "Once In A Lifetime" as an after dinner mint. 👻

[@garrettbates2639]

Neat idea. I think with some tweaks, and a real human voice actor, the dev might have a decent game.

[@Usagi2380]

This is the same house as the one in the Christmas elf horror game

[@TerraWindVampire]

The moment CJU mentioned "We are playing as James...To find his wife and Daughter missing." My mind goes "Okay...his wife, Mary and daughter, Laura went missing in Silent Hill again."

[@nurhaslihashim1162]

Let’s gooo!!!

[@socratesbleu]

"They can't just dust off one of the famous X-men?"

[@quinf2856]

okay. i finished this and i still need to know if I'm viewing this incorrectly or not... the dates. 1984 birthday? 1992 wedding??? is my math wrong??

[@db3536]

I think he would 13 on his wedding day. 😂😂

[@quinf2856]

@@db3536 outrageous 🤣🤣🤣

[@gamenrage5998]

Not long but i like the idea of it done very well otherwise the voice issue..

[@Sebastianmaz615]

I'd regret buying this game if there is any charge for it. Started off pretty good, but seriously derailed for me, imo. It was worth watching the one time though. 😀

[@lebitelexie9350]

I am starting to feel really meh about indie horror games that try to tackle emotional issues, trauma or complex questions in life... Can be fun but it seems most indie horror games want to draw into that direction.

[@edwardp5748]

he isnt a real person chris, no congrats on the baby needed haha ;)

[@ferizal-kabab3692]

Is that voices from Nefarious movie? :D

[@TheMasterwitcher]

Never clicked so fast

[@juliodufflarjr.7064]

havent finished watching but my guess is this is purgatory from a car accident.

[@victorlaw3821]

C'mon no jumpscares ?? We all want to see Chris's jumps at the end of video 😢

[@NightBazaar]

Remember, if you try to sell your house, vandals will stop by to throw rocks and bricks to break all the windows.

[@basudegod]

Same house in every horror game 😂

[@mysteriousstranger4126]

2:13 3:04 4:26 6:34 8:36 9:42 10:25 10:54 11:22 12:40 13:09 15:03 15:13 15:48 16:10 17:14 17:55 18:44 20:03 20:16 21:13 21:35 (2) 22:15 23:09 23:35 24:38 27:21 27:28 29:26 GKM

[@KarlaWillis]

I'm watching this on March 13th.

[@elvingearmasterirma7241]

No I think youre the one whos the ghost. Its in the style of the Others I think though

[@rachelgodefroid6917]

Hi, did you play inside? I would like to hear your opinion about that game. I think it is right up your alley :)

[@CJUGames]

Yep. A few years ago when it came out. If you search for it on my channel, you'll find it

[@rachelgodefroid6917]

Really? How did I miss that? And here I thought that I‘ve seen every video from you 😂😂 How I was mistaken. Silly me 😂 but also happy, because now I have another one I can watch.

[@jbonesrva9679]

I figured out we were dead like immediately

[@mdog86]

Kinda hate that this dev used ai for the voices tbh. There's so many aspiring voice actors who are just starting out that will literally do indie voice work like this either for free or low pay. Just to get their name out there. That is the bare minimum a game dev should be doing. Ai sucks big time, and I'll never be in support of it.

[@FFFFPPPP]

Is that an AI voice? It sounds exactly like the main character from Dying Light.

[@BASSOSOVIETICO1987]

Confused father talking in AI wandering at the asset house with minimum amount of jumpscares. Pretty predictable but still commented by you so let it be.

[@peachstereo]

Did the cab driver rip him off on the cab fee?

[@anniemcguire2359]

Hm. Some games are just rainy day games. Another "meh" for me, right up there with Meat. Thing is, as long as Chris is narrating I can happily watch the worst game ever made. Aside: I decided to go watch Penumbra Overture to see if I could get through it this time by pretending to hear Chris. OMG. Didn't work. Do any of you remember how long that game is? And dark, as in impossible to see anything? Let me tell you: If Chris walked us through that series today, we'd all be rolling in the aisles. "If you would like to wander endlessly in a horribly terrifying mine, alone, in the dark, while nobody knows where you are..."

[@swardinc]

the main char should of said how does he have a licences

[@Divo3660]

Not horrible.

[@theatheisthammer]

20 minutes in I'm guessing he died in his car

[@Angua-tu3ot]

💜

[@crazyforzs6867]

Its not a horror game if theres no fuse missing/broken. Then again... how many horror games is there that doesn't have a fuse box issue?

[@ddous1]

Not too terrible. A decent psychological indie horror game but I think it could have been a little bit better without the a.i. voices. Also, why does all indie games nowadays have to have a fuse issue? More often than not it seems to pad the game time rather than add to the experience.

[@jpvielleux]

Where is the switch?

[@matteocharette480]

Today is the 13th of march

[@macrograms]

script: translated from another language? voice: TTS? 1st gen AI voice? Hmm..

[@lilyn7497]

Script might even be AI generated too 😬

[@horsinacz]

Script + item descriptions are 100% AI generated too. Best example is at 16:57 where the AI decided that a fitting description for the missing fuse would be a rather lengthy and professional sounding explanation of what a fuse is.

[@simpalasimp7721]

Can u pls play Zoonomaly

[@KsThe20]

I wish indie developers would stop using AI voices for their games. You've made a charming little game with a nice twist, but the main thing I'll remember from it is the robotic voice trying to portray an unidentifiable emotion in an uncanny way. We all understand that an indie developer can't afford to hire a professional voice actor; we would all be okay with just the developer and their best friend doing the voices after a couple of beers. Even bad voice acting has its charm. Even no voice at all would be better.

[@michealwilson5788]

will you cjugames play more brand new horror games today now yes are no 🤩🤩🤩

[@edwardp5748]

why is there a camera filter? these games.. sheesh.

[@LianExfeind]

This started out great and could have been an awesome psychothriller but turned out to be too much and in your face filled with horror cliches in my opinion. These games almost always go south as soon as it gets surreal because you can just do whatever you want without it making sense with the explanation "ghosts", "just a dream" or "already dead". And of course a fuse. Come on? 😅 Strive to be better. Don't wanna hate too much though, there are worse ones.