Whispering Willows Reviews

Whispering Willows is ranked in the 25th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
IGN
Top Critic
5.8 / 10.0
Jul 2, 2015

Despite some good ideas and cool design choices, Whispering Willows can't deliver a wholly fulfilling experience.

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7 / 10
Jul 5, 2015

Whispering Willows is modest in its scares and challenges, but is rich in heart.

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7 / 10
Jul 7, 2015

Whispering Willows is an enjoyable game with a good story, though much of it will rely on you reading all the letters scattered through the game. The puzzles aren't hard and while some of the atmosphere is creepy the game doesn't quite present the horror you expect. While Whispering Willows is an interesting experience it is a short one at three hours. There are also a couple of annoyances and the puzzles are incredibly simple to work out, but that keeps things moving at a steady pace. Overall Whispering Willows is for those who like adventure titles but also like to experience a story that unfolds without too much effort being put in, making it a solid debut from Night Light Interactive.

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5 / 10
Jun 30, 2015

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.

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5 / 10.0
Sep 24, 2015

Kickstarter-funded adventure game grabs its audience with a Native American horror hook, then lets it wiggle free with monotonous play.

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90 / 100
Oct 2, 2018

Whispering Willows is a cool little indie horror game that focuses on exploration and puzzle solving. The game isn't necessarily scary, but the parallel story and atmosphere are definitely eerie. The ghost form mechanic is fun, and the game allows you to collect some items early, which is nice as well.

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Jul 12, 2015

Whispering Willows is a supernatural puzzle-adventure game that sucks players in with its beautiful hand-drawn style and mystery, but doesn't bring anything too new to the genre.

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6 / 10.0
Jun 30, 2015

Immersive audio and impressive art-style isn't quite enough to prevent the gameplay of this intriguing ghost story from being quite banal.

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Justin Celani
Top Critic
7 / 10.0
Jun 30, 2015

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.

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7.4 / 10.0
Jun 30, 2015

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.

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58 / 100
Jul 7, 2015

At the end of the day the question is: Would I recommend this game? I would have to say no. If you like puzzle or adventure games, Whispering Willows won't have anything new to offer you.

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Aug 30, 2015

With just two hours of content and gameplay that never challenges you, plenty of people will dismiss Whispering Willows and never think twice about it. That's maybe not such a bad thing as it definitely isn't for everybody. It acts as an example as to why the Ouya didn't last. This was one of the better received games in the console's short lifespan and it fails to stand up to a lot of games within its own genre on the major consoles and PC. I do genuinely love the game's message overall, however. It gives a voice to a people so rarely represented in video games and does so within a story that's worth seeing. Despite its dark tone and serious subject matter, one word keeps returning to me when I think back on Whispering Willows, and that's 'charming'. It's flawed, and brief, and unchallenging, but so too is it engaging, and mysterious, and charming. Among so many other lost souls in the Willows Mansion, the ghost of the Ouya lives on.

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4 / 10.0
Jun 29, 2015

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.

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Jul 4, 2015

Despite the colorful graphics and excellent audio, Whispering Willows' plodding gameplay and under-developed plot make it hard to recommend.

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6 / 10.0
Oct 23, 2015

Whispering Willows is by no means a masterpiece, but it is a beautiful world and an engaging atmosphere that unfortunately is wrapped in undeveloped gameplay and a not very compelling story. Still; it's an experience with a lot to offer for those with a love of eerie and beautiful games.

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5 / 10
Oct 15, 2015

Whispering Willows has the foundation laid for a great adventure game, but is held back by some shortcomings. Yes, there's some of the slowness in walking and loading, but this can be forgivable by players who enjoy taking their time and drinking everything in. The biggest problem lies in how it feels there could be so much more to fill this world. The game can be finished in about 3 hours, leaving a void that could have possibly been filled with deeper puzzles, deeper dialogues with the ghosts, and simply more to experience overall. What lies in this shallow grave may still be enjoyable, but let's hope a second effort comes that digs deeper.

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3 / 5.0
Jul 17, 2014

All in all, It is a very nice experience if you don't mind playing a book, watching a story or reading a game.

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6.8 / 10.0
Jul 7, 2015

If Loot Interactive and the developers at Night Light took away the hand-holding with puzzle solving and given us a speedier way to get around, Whispering Willows would've fared a lot better. As it stands, however, it's still a decent title for fans of the genre, mainly due to its effective presentation and unique abilities. It's not recommended to everyone, but if you're up for a ghost story, dig in.

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6 / 10.0
Jul 2, 2015

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.

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Jul 2, 2015

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.

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