For Steam’s June 2025 Next Fest, Emotion Spark Studio and Owlcat games released a demo for their highly anticipated narrative isometric RPG, Rue Valley. With over 100,000 wishlists on Steam, the hype surrounding Rue Valley is real and widespread.  Will it live up to the expectations placed on it, though, and earn its place among other legends of the genre? Let’s find out.

Outlook Unclear

Just looking at the store page for Rue Valley, it’s easy to spot the inspiration from Disco Elysium. That’s nowhere near a bad thing, however. The cel-shaded, comic book like visual style jumps out at you immediately, making the world seem vibrant and colorful, even in a setting as drab as a desert motel. The character designs are unique and interesting right off the bat, letting you know it’s going to be worth getting to know them.

Booting the game greets you with that same, familiar style. The menu options are laid out like panels in a comic book. Maybe even giving you glances at the events to come, hidden in plain sight? Character creation was a wholly unique experience as well, which is hard to find in today’s market.

You’ll always be playing Mr. Eugene Harrow. However, his personality is entirely yours to craft via three spectrums and nine points to distribute between them. Is your Mr. Harrow impulsive or calculated? Introverted or extraverted? Sensitive or Indifferent? And within these spectrums come two different traits available to him. For example, two points placed in ‘calculated’ will unlock a trait slot, letting you choose whether Mr. Harrow is indecisive or paranoid. Four points in that stat unlocks the perk you didn’t choose, but don’t get too attached. Your personality can and will shift and change as the story unfolds, even in the brief amount of time we have with the demo.

Ask Again Later

Rue Valley presents a familiar narrative formula that I won’t spoil with a twist that I couldn’t. In fact, if you’re a fan of the narrative isometric genre or Elysium-like, I’d recommend diving into this demo headfirst without so much as reading the description on the store page. Seeing events unfold in real time is an absolute trip that I can’t recommend enough.

The demo opens to the end of a court-mandated therapy session. Mr. Harrow is barely listening when the therapist’s calls jolt him awake. Answer a few questions, maybe ask a few of your own, and you’re off to explore the world. Or, at least, the world of the isolated Rue Valley motel.

For my playthrough, I tried to emulate my actual personality as best as I could. What that translated as was three points in calculated, four in introverted, and two in sensitive. That, of course, meant that when the motel clerk was on the phone, Mr. Harrow was far too awkward to interrupt and busied himself playing on his phone until she was free. Okay, maybe I emulated myself a little too well.

When you’re finished exploring and meeting (or not) the residents of Rue Valley, you head to sleep and end the first day. You’re presented with a sort of thought web each time you sleep. It acts like a way to keep track of information and what you’ve done in game, while giving you ideas to pursue later on.

Signs Point to Yes

As mentioned, I don’t want to run the risk of potential spoilers, so I’ll leave you with this for now. Rue Valley is an exceptional addition to the narrative isometric RPG genre. Its stellar art design, fascinating narrative, and intriguing characters tease a game-changer in the making. Throughout the demo, I ran into zero performance issues and thoroughly enjoyed my time. Consider this one a highly recommend and check it out at your earliest convenience.

Rue Valley is developed by Emotion Spark Studio and published by Owlcat Games. There is no definite release date yet. The demo is available on Steam as part of June’s Next Fest.