In Butcher Valley, you play as Nora the Human who is out on an adventure with her friend Louie the Fox. On their way to the port of Oak Angel, their car breaks down and they have no other option but to ask around the nearby town of Butcher Valley. It’s not a very friendly town though, the houses turn of their lights as they see you. However, one family is a bit friendlier and welcomes you in! You can tell right away something is off though, but Nora is a bit slower. They even introduce themselves as the Cannily’s if it wasn’t obvious enough just yet.
They say you can stay as long as you like, and they mean it. After resting in the room they gave you, you wake up in the garage. Their true nature is revealed, and as expected you’ve been held captive to be a part of the next meat cake batch. You escape with the help of a ghost that was a past victim who tells you the truth about the family. Coming back to the dining room table, you see a tower of limbs among the meat cakes.
Meeting the Family
After escaping you encounter each family member throughout the house. It’s kind of strange how casual the family acts after you escape. They don’t even immediately go after you. They only fight you after you upset them with something small. Such as Simon who loses a game that takes 2 turns to win. Then the father who doesn’t care you’re there until he finds out about the 4 screws you took from the vent covers.
The fighting scenes are actually pretty good. It’s mostly a bullet hell style fight where you dodge and phase through attacks and attack with your knife when you get the chance. The battle music was probably my favorite song through the entire game.
Butcher Valley Story Explained and Review
I really appreciated the design of the game. The art style really shows how grotesque their family is. It makes them look like monsters, but with strong human features at the same time. The soundtrack is made up of piano music and fits the theme of the game perfectly. All of the tracks are beautiful, and makes it so there’s not a boring moment throughout the entire game.
They event put a lot of work into the itch.io page. I couldn’t find an option to donate, normally itch.io gives you a prompt to do so. I really appreciate them doing so much work and releasing it for free. Butcher Valley is one of the best free indie games I’ve ever played and I would highly recommend it!
