Whispering Willows Reviews
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 modest in its scares and challenges, but is rich in heart.
Despite the colorful graphics and excellent audio, Whispering Willows' plodding gameplay and under-developed plot make it hard to recommend.
If only the developer's care could have graced the poorly drawn cutscenes that lack the vitality of those in 1988's Ninja Gaiden. These sequences don't communicate the emotional sincerity needed to fulfill the potential of a story that humanizes its white-man villain while calling attention to the contemporary impact of his racism.
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.
Despite some good ideas and cool design choices, Whispering Willows can't deliver a wholly fulfilling experience.
Whispering Willows is an engaging horror-themed graphic adventure starring a likeable hero and a haunted mansion. Unfortunately, the great presentation is undone by a predictable story and simple puzzles. Elena's journey may be full of ghouls and ghosts, but it fails to scare up much excitement.
I wasn't left feeling dead cold after finishing, it and I appreciated the simplistic nature to the game. Minimal frustration, some nice exploration, and able to be finished in a single sitting if you have a few hours to spare. This ghost story isn't the most memorable, but it doesn't have to be. Whispering Willows was an enjoyable time, and for those that like a decent story, side scrolling exploration, and the idea of talking to ghosts, I'd recommend it.
Whisper Willows is a good effort by an indie studio as the art style drew me in from the moment I first saw it, but it lacks any sort of depth as its puzzles aren't difficult to figure out and it's story, as horrific as it turns out to be, didn't really entice me.
Immersive audio and impressive art-style isn't quite enough to prevent the gameplay of this intriguing ghost story from being quite banal.
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.
Whispering Willows proves that simplicity, atmosphere, and a strong narrative can go a long way to creating a memorable gaming experience.
What Whispering Willows lacks in complicated hands-on gameplay, it makes up for in story and atmosphere.
But when you're playing a character that chooses to do all the things you can make her do, she should have understandable reasons to do them. Elena doesn't, and that numbs most of the game. I don't think Whispering Willows intended for me to ask myself why I needed to keep playing for the majority of my time with it, but it did. It's the kind of game that lacks satisfying substance, the kind of game where all you can say is that you finished it.
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.
All in all, It is a very nice experience if you don't mind playing a book, watching a story or reading a game.
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.
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 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.
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.