Игрок 2956·Рекомендует·4 ч в игре

Games like this are hard to judge on face value alone. When you take more common, action oriented titles, it can be easier to tell from just a minute or two of uninterrupted gameplay footage if a game is going to be worth your time or not. But slower paced, narrative focused titles, like Whispering Willows, are considerably harder to figure out from just viewing a short trailer. Games like this are driven by their quality of narrative and puzzle design. Does the crisp and whimsical imagery evident in WW’s screenshots affirm a similarly elegant literary and brain teasing experience? Unfortunately, no, not even close. But Whispering Willows is still an endearing first effort by fledgling studio Night Light Interactive, even with the game’s numerous flaws. In fact, it’s more what the game doesn’t try to do that is most disheartening. I’ll begin with the most egregious error this game makes: the quality of narrative. The story is thus: young Elena’s father has gone missing, and has been for some time. After waking from a particularly vivid nightmare of her father being held captive by something, she races to an old, decrepit mansion, of which her father is the groundskeeper. She soon meets the ghost of her ancestor, who teaches her of her heritage, and of her innate ability to leave her body and walk the earth as a spirit, allowing her to commune with the ghosts of those who have yet to pass. What follows is a supernatural tale of loss, deceit and the darkness that festers within. In truth, the narrative plays out like cross between a darker Goosebumps tale with bits of Clive Barker’s grotesque imagery. This is partly due to the art style; it just doesn’t convey feelings of foreboding and fearfulness that I believe the narrative wants to. Worse, the story takes virtually no risks. But what really hurts the experience is the quality of the dialogue. Throughout the adventure, you will speak with the deceased, and often be asked to find items of importance to them to progress through the story. The dialogue that occurs here is just, well… the best thing I can call it would be, “serviceable”. The dialogue is so often uninspired and plain that it would keep me from really caring for any of the characters’ plights. I feel I’ve spoken enough on the negatives of the narrative, so let’s move on to the disappointment of the game’s main mechanic, your spirit form, and the weak puzzle design dependent on it. The lack of pluralization is not a mistake, Whispering Willows’ mechanic of Elena’s spirit form most often offers only a single type of puzzle throughout the game. You will come across locked doors, and you will either need to pick up a poorly hidden key or flip a switch. Usually, this means that there is a finely carved, perfectly square hole in the wall or ceiling near to you for your spirit form to slink through. Do so, and there will be a bright blue glowing thing for you to interact with. This interaction opens the door. This is how nearly every “puzzle” in WW plays out. I can only think of a handful of individual puzzles that do not play out in the same way, though they themselves were no more complex than filling a hole or playing Simon Says with a moveable object. The simple puzzle design falls in line with the game’s progression; it’s largely linear, with nary a handful of instances where you will have to seek out an item outside of the area you’re already in. Even then, though, the item’s location is always spelled out for you, so this is really no more than a mode of adding longevity to this short adventure. And it is short. In total, I completed the game in under three hours. Whew, that was a lot of negativity. How about we move on to the more positive aspects of Willows? Speaking purely of the in-game graphics and art style, my opinion is decidedly varied. On one hand, the environments that you explore never amount to anything special, and much like the dialogue, they are content with remaining largely serviceable. The same can be said for the few human characters in-game, who, along with some stilted animations, look oddly plain. This is in stark contrast to my favorite portion of the game, the ghost designs. Their visages reflect how they died, and their appearances range from the grotesque to cringe inducing. Their designs are absolutely phenomenal, and it’s evident where the best of the artistic talent went in the creation of this game. The same can be said for Elena’s own spirit form, whose flowing hair and glowing visage look fantastic, especially in the light of the full moon in outdoor areas. While the dialogue between yourself and haunting spirits itself does the overall narrative little favor, your interactions with the ghosts of the mansion’s grounds are enriched by the previously mentioned collectible notes scattered along your path throughout the game. Each is one of several diary entries left by the formerly living, and each tells a tale of their final days. While few of them are terribly unique in their subject matter, finding that final piece of each story provided me a greater driving force for playing than the main narrative itself. As negative as this review has been, the greatest fault I can levy against this game is not what it does poorly, but rather in what it does not even attempt to do. Given all that has already been done with a similar ability in other games, why is Elena’s spirit walking ability as limited as it is? The game is content with delivering only the most lackluster and plain variation possible. And the dialogue... in an adventure title such as this, gameplay often takes a backseat to the narrative. Only, in this case, both aspects are severely limited in their designs. If the sole gameplay mechanic is to be as limited as it is, why was the dialogue not given greater love, to compensate? The game is so filled with potential, and occasionally, this potential appears as though it’s so near to bubbling to the surface, only to be pushed back down below by weak interactions and the umpteenth recycled door “puzzle”. I did not hate my time with Whispering Willows. Though admittedly, my want to love it so completely has perhaps made me more critical of its faults. I’ll leave it at this: Whispering Willows, for all of its promise, is content with providing only an unenthusiastic effort on its part. For every glimmer of something fresh and unique, of which there are a few, Willows buries it under less-than-uninspired dialogue and consistently recycled puzzle design. I beat the game, with all of my fumbling, in under three hours. By the end, my only thoughts were on what could have been, had this game taken just a little more risk, rather than on my final moments with Elena. There just isn’t enough content or thought put into Whispering Willows to make it fully recommendable. 6.5/10

Игрок 4648·Рекомендует·3 ч в игре

Eu tenho uma falsa lembrança de já ter jogado esse jogo, e ficava procurando o jogo na minha biblioteca e nunca achei, bom finalmente joguei, é bom :D

Игрок 6009·Рекомендует·3 ч в игре

Puzzles e historia sencillos. Un jueguito indie curioso, la ambientación está guay, lo podría calificaría de terror cozy (?). Un poco simulador de "Entre fantasmas", con historias y dinámicas simples. No estoy diciendo que porque sea sencillo sea malo, a mí me mola mucho que las cosas no sean enrevesadas y complicadas. Se centra en una propiedad y en las vidas que por ahí han pasado. La historia de una ciudad, reducida al drama de una persona. 'ta guay.

Игрок 8117·Рекомендует·2 ч в игре

Simple game with a creepy atmosphere that does just what it needs to and not much more. A bit over two hours for my run and I did enjoy it! Story is shockingly dark in places, but this is mostly down to how the game looks more than anything else. I think the art style did not quite prepare me for something with a touch more grim content than I was thinking it would have. Regardless, I enjoyed it. Quick run through and that was that! One part was a touch annoying towards the end, but it was a fleeting moment and easily bypassed when you know what is going on. Would recommend if you have a few hours to kill and want something with a decent story, good atmosphere, and just enough content so that it does not overstay its welcome.

Игрок 4411·Не рекомендует·3 ч в игре

**MEH, it really depends on the player** It is hard to judge this indie game because it seems like the devs really put work into it and there is a small player base that genuinely likes it, but after some consideration I won't be recommending this game to the average player. First, I'll say that the art style they went with is alright, but there are moments where it actually looks beautiful and I really like it. It gives the game its own unique personality. Secondly, I love the mechanic of the ghost leaving the body and being able to interact with other ghosts. I was enjoying the game when I started. Chapter 1 went by fast, I had no issues, and then Chapter 2 came. That's when everything started going downhill. I quickly became bored and confused about what I was supposed to do. There are so many places for you to check that you can easily lose track of where you have already been and where you are supposed to go, especially since there is no map UI. The game basically becomes a maze where you are constantly trying to find the item you need to progress. The maze garden is a joke that makes you memorize every damn door. I got tired of constantly going back and forth, so eventually I had to use a guide just to find the locations of some of the items. There are like 2 or 3 actual puzzles in the game and they are a piece of cake to complete. I think the lack of puzzles is one of the biggest things dragging this game down. I also dislike what they did with the inventory. If you have a key for a door, the main character will just automatically use it. That automation takes away the player's critical thinking from even the most basic puzzles that require items. You know something that really pissed me off? You are not allowed to run inside the house, but you can run outside. It makes absolutely no sense why the devs decided to restrict the player like that. It just makes everything unnecessarily slower. I have no complaints about the story or the finale. They are alright and fit the vibe of the game. The game is currently listed for $9.99, and I think that is a bit much. You can find better games for that price. I understand that it is an indie game and the devs need to make a profit, but it is clearly overpriced for what it offers. They had around $20K in crowdfunding from Kickstarter and sold a bunch of copies when the game came out, making it a successful release. That was years ago though, and by today's standards, a game with this little content at that price can easily be seen as garbage slop. I also got the soundtrack album for $4.99, which includes a wallpaper image and the artbook, and I can't believe that costs half the price of the actual game, that is ridiculous. Oh, and good job to the devs for adding steam achievements and trading cards. Even some of the most complex games don't have those because their devs can't be bothered to add them. In conclusion, if you want to buy the game, you are better off getting it during a sale, and if you don't want to spend a bunch of time wandering around wondering what the hell you're supposed to do next, then read a guide.

Игрок 8616·Рекомендует·8 ч в игре

whispering willows é um jogo simples, puzzles simples, os gráficos não é toda essa coisa, porém é um ótimo jogo para passar o tempo e zerar em poucas horas. a ideia de poder controlar a Elena e separar o espírito do corpo é muito legal e é o grande destaque em si do jogo. o ritmo é um pouco lento mas vale a pena pois é um jogo leve e calmo para se aproveitar o máximo que você puder, a parte da exploração e puzzles são as mais divertidas : 3

Игрок 5217·Рекомендует·11 ч в игре

В целом неплохая игра на пару вечеров. Сначала почему-то не было русского языка, но после перезахода всё стало нормально. Прошёл за два сеанса. Иногда пользовался подсказками и гайдом, потому что в некоторых местах, особенно в садовом лабиринте, немного зависал. История короткая и простая, но играть было приятно. Рекомендую.

Игрок 4872·Рекомендует·6 ч в игре

Whispering Willows - это игра, где ты играешь за девочку Елену с волшебным амулетом, который позволяет выходить из тела и болтать с призраками в мрачном поместье. Сюжет прост: папа пропал, надо найти. Но вот беда - разработчики забыли добавить карту, поэтому ты будешь наматывать круги по особняку, как заблудившийся турист в Эрмитаже. Геймплей - это 2D-симулятор ходьбы с «головоломками», где главная задача - найти дырку в двери, чтобы призраком пролезть и открыть её с другой стороны. Повторяется это раз двадцать, и каждый раз ты думаешь: «А я точно детектив, а не сантехник?». Призраки дают квесты уровня «принеси рубашку», а ты потом полчаса вспоминаешь, какой из десяти болванчиков её просил. Вердикт: если хочешь атмосферный, но слегка душный квест на пару часов - бери на распродаже или бесплатно, как в GOG раздавали . 6/10, забегу ещё раз, когда научусь запоминать, где живёт призрак с рубашкой.