My character has been to the valley before, I suppose now he is coming back. To detect. It would be wise to change my character to be less of a garbage can full of Sherlock-Holmes-and-Batman smoothie, so I'll just make him a regular detective.
Perhaps he has gotten a call from an old friend, an old flame: they need help.
His help.
Something terrible has happened in the Valley.
But I also find it a little annoying wasting my creative juices on work that won't appreciate it. Just a detective.
Our activities got me to think of an actually fun game, a city-builder. Gameplay inspired by Cult of the Lamb, and an atmosphere inspired by White Knuckle. Perhaps some sort of challenge in the vain of Dome Keeper or Factorio (I think I'm thinking of Factorio), where monsters come out to ravage you and your city/dome/factory, yo. I imagine fairness will play the largest part. I don't know how I would incorporate the game mechanics in any degree, nor how I would incorporate the visual style in a major degree.
Plain, lonely, and mysterious.