Whispering Willows Reviews
What Whispering Willows lacks in complicated hands-on gameplay, it makes up for in story and atmosphere.
Whispering Willows proves that simplicity, atmosphere, and a strong narrative can go a long way to creating a memorable gaming experience.
Whispering Willows offers up some interesting gameplay ideas behind its tale of a young girl communicating with spirits as she desperately searches for her father. It's unfortunate, then, that Night Light Interactive wasn't able to flesh out most of them, leaving its side-scrolling adventure feeling unfinished for most of the way through.
It means that for all Whispering Willows' atmosphere it can't deliver what it sets out to achieve. I don't often say games need to be longer but here, the experience needs more locations, more detail and more time to fill out its fiction to be able to tackle the themes it wants to tell.
If you're a fan of "Escape Room" type puzzle adventure games then Whispering Willows should be at the top of your list in 2018! The game is beautifully drawn on a foundation of puzzles that aren't a free ride, but certainly, don't hinder your progress or make you feel inadequate.
Whispering Willows is a brisk narratively-driven adventure that takes an intriguing theme, turns it into a ghost story, and ties in characters with satisfying depth to create a game that's a little light on gameplay.
The emphasis on puzzle and exploration coupled with the 2D side-scrolling presentation is reminiscent of traditional adventure games of the 90s
Whispering Willows is a super-interesting story, bundled up with a gorgeously-rendered but tiresome adventure game.
If we had to nit-pick, we'd grumble at the occasional bit of backtracking and the lethargic motions of the main character, but Whispering Willows had enough atmosphere and entertainment value to keep us intrigued.
Whispering Willows involves a lot of interesting concepts that unfortunately haven't been fully utilised. It's a pleasant experience that will keep players engaged for the few hours of gameplay it has, but the puzzles are very easy, while the tension and horror is lacking.
Overall, Whispering Willows is a satisfying experience that's straight out of a Disney story-book. There's a happy ending, a brave tween looking for her dad whilst trying to help out ghosts, good graphics, simple but stimulating puzzles and a manageable play-time that all help to leave you with a smile on your face.
The negatives never hurt Whispering Willows enough to outshine the positives. The title is a perfect match for gamers looking for the kind of survival horror title that the genre was founded on. The game might not offer the same kind of jump scares as titles like Resident Evil, but with a story inspired by the real-life cruelty of history, Whispering Willows might actually be scarier.
The best aspect is that it does not hold the player's hand, and does grant a reasonable amount of agency the way a good adventure game does. Night Light had their heart in the right place, even if their intention exceeded their means.
It is. It just didn't quite hit the necessary benchmarks for execution and the ultimate realization of the main concept. There are quite a few highlights but mixed in are a bunch of low points, and those low points only exist because there is, as I said above, little in the way of follow-through.
Whispering Willows is a scary, scary game in a beautiful, beautiful world. The hand drawn, Legend of Korra style artwork is only a façade to the darkness that lies within, and is stripped down by the notes, diary entries and running commentary by Elena. Whispering Willows is a beautiful game, only marred by the short time it takes to finish, and when that is your only issue, I can still highly recommend it.
Whispering Willows is an enjoyable experience, even though it's a bit disappointing that it doesn't live up to neither the gameplay nor the writing of old adventure games.
Elena, searching for some answers to the mystery surrounding the disappearance of her father, learns early on that an amulet in her possession will allow her to take on a ghostly spiritual form...
It's a game that players can sit down and play in one or two sittings, ending even more quickly if not looking for the hidden notes. The only thing more ghastly than its ghosts is finishing Whispering Willows and wanting more.
The game's positive elements shine through, but I can't help feeling annoyed at the poor attempts to diversify the content; made even more frustrating when the game ends at only 3 hours, with virtually no reason to replay it.
Whispering Willows is a very different game from any other. It has a good story, fun mechanics (despite maybe too simple) and a terrifying atmosphere, all made with love by Night Light. It has a lot of issues in all of its aspects, unfortunately, but it's worth it to try and play.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review