Daedalic Silence: The Whispered World 2

[Bubbles]

Here's an example of a puzzle sequence:

 

[Darth Roxor]

I already hate the protag and don't want to play this game after watching barely 2 minutes of gameplay. Impressive.

 

[Bubbles]

only barely breaks top 10 seller
http://tools.garry.tv/steamchart/?show=314790

not even 1000 owners from steamspy

http://steamspy.com/app/314790

peak players is 209

https://steamdb.info/app/314790/

man i hope this doesnt bankrupt them and make them learn a lesson

Peak concurrent players yesterday: 207

YouTube stats: 321,631 views and 2,632 comments for videos uploaded last week, over 50 new videos uploaded yesterday

There's a lesson to be learned about barely-interactive movie games here.

 

[HoboForEternity]

yah. either you go full telltale or stick with the hardcore. this compromising will piss of and alienate hardcore, yet casuals will be reluctant to play it.

nowadays you cannot be in the middle

 

[Belegarsson]

There's a person on Steam Discussion board claimed that the game is only 3 hours long. Can anyone confirm that? I don't care about simplistic gameplay to be honest, the composer of The Night of The Rabbit alone sold me on the game, but if it's actually criminally short then I don't think I'd buy it at full price yet.

 

[Aeschylus]

There's a lesson to be learned about barely-interactive movie games here.

That the reason Telltale's are successful is not because the format itself has mass appeal, but rather due to the built-in fan bases of the licensed franchises? Yup.

 

[Boleskine]

http://www.adventuregamers.com/articles/view/31669

Silence review
The Good:
Fabulous artwork; lilting soundtrack; evocative mood; endearing main characters; emotional story.

The Bad:
Narrative could do with a little more pace and detail; locations can feel cramped.


4.5 stars out of 5

Our Verdict:
Silence offers a captivating mix of innocent delight layered over an undercurrent of wistful sadness, wrapped up in lovely art and music. The story could have done with a bit more flesh on its bones, but it’s filled with nuance and heart.

 

[Sizzle]

The first AdventureGamers review after the site got sold, and it gives it a 4.5/5 :D

 

[Bubbles]

I'm going to quote that review up until the first line where they say anything about the gameplay. Let's see..

In times of trouble, have you ever wished you could just close your eyes and retreat to the world of your imagination, a magical world free of care and strife? In Silence, we see just how far imagination can take its young protagonists, and how it's never quite far enough. Daedalic's long-awaited follow up to The Whispered World is stunningly beautiful, deliciously atmospheric and totally adorable, filled by turns with wide-eyed joy and tragedy. The story could have benefited from a bit more breathing room, but it's nonetheless a memorable, haunting experience and a worthy successor.

If you haven't played The Whispered World yet but think you may someday, look away now. You don't absolutely need to have played the original in order to enjoy Silence – the early scenes fill you in on everything you need to know – but it's full of references and resonances that will only hit home if you have. It's also pretty much impossible to discuss the plot of the sequel without spoiling one of the first game's major twists, so you have been warned!

The story opens in a picturesque, snowy Alpine village. All half-timbered stone houses and children building snowmen, it's the picture of tranquility and a lovely place for Noah and his little sister Renie to grow up. Until, that is, the air raid siren goes off and the sky is filled with fighter planes, swooping down to unleash their bombs. Noah and Renie scramble back to the orphanage where they live and just manage to close the door of their bunker before the light from an explosion flares outside.

Huddled crying on the bed, Renie asks Noah to tell her the story of Silence, the imaginary land he conjured for himself in The Whispered World, and of Sadwick, the melancholy clown whose persona he adopted there. Noah was stuck in a coma at the time, and Silence was his mind's way of dealing with that. To Renie, though, it's a story of magic and wonder, and it comforts her to see her brother act it out.

Then another bomb drops, even closer this time, knocking them both out. Noah awakes to find the building crumbled around him, Renie gone and the power out – though for some reason the TV is still playing. Exploring in an attempt to find his sister, he finds himself not in a dank basement but in an enormous cavern filled with detritus from Silence, remnants of the destruction he wrought to finally escape and wake up from his coma. Weirder still, the jagged opening near the ceiling is a gaping mouth, and after climbing through he finds – somehow – lush grass and summer sunshine. Could this really be Silence, and if so, what does that mean for the two siblings in the real world?

As in reality, all is not well in Silence, with a false queen upon the throne, monstrous blank-faced Seekers roaming the land in search of a shard from a magical mirror, and only a small band of rebels standing in her way. Noah sets off in search of Renie, the mirror, and the queen, with only a caterpillar named Spot for company. It's a journey that will take in talking rocks, cryptic myths, carnivorous plants and cheeky schoolchildren. Travelling from the magnificent city of Kalimar to the lighthouse at the end of the world, the two children have much to learn and devastating choices to make.

Silence looks and sounds absolutely stunning; it's a true work of art. In fact, my first thought was that it feels like concept art brought to life. Where The Whispered World was like a beautiful 2D cartoon, here everything looks several steps more realistic, while still retaining a hand-painted quality. It also feels full of life: there are creatures everywhere, as well as rushing waterfalls, billowing smoke and leaves drifting on the wind. Motes of dust dance in shafts of sunlight, mist swirls, clouds drift. Locations range from sunlit uplands to dank misty hollows, from vertiginous mountain peaks to volcanic craters. It's a traditional fantasy world in many ways – Kalimar has elements ranging from a medieval marketplace to more Victorian-looking shops and plazas – but represents a lively, eclectic take on the idea. Each area has a definite personality, too, whether warm and inviting or dank and creepy; wherever you go, you get an instant feeling for the place.

The presentation uses three-dimensional characters against two-dimensional backgrounds, but the environments are layered and move at different speeds as the viewpoint shifts, giving a much more convincing 3D effect. Even though the world is composed of a series of single-screen locations, the camera shifts gently as you walk around, making everything feel unusually dynamic. Shadows and subtle depth-of-field effects add further to the sense of polish and care. All this loveliness does come with a bit of a price, though: each location takes up to 10-15 seconds to load, and the areas are small, typically 2-3 scenes each. Swooping vistas lead you from place to place and help you fit them into the overall landscape, but the limited exploration within each location can feel a little claustrophobic at times.

The music, too, is delightful, with a lush orchestral soundtrack built on gentle piano- and string-led melodies. It's peaceful and wistful for the most part, though with a definite undercurrent of sadness. That said, it can be playful, fearful or frantic when the occasion calls for it, scoring events in a confidently cinematic way. There's also a rich environmental soundscape that only enhances the feeling of abundant life.

I'm also happy to report that both the voice work and the translation are top notch. There's no hint that the script started life in German, and the actors do a great job of bringing it to life. The actress voicing Renie, in particular, manages to make her not just convincing (always tricky when adults try to voice children) but also full of wide-eyed innocence, wonder and warmth. Even Spot the caterpillar, limited to chirrups and burbling giggles, manages to be endearingly memorable. Returning from the first game, the bickering stone brothers Yngo and Ralv are another gruff, grumpy but entertaining highlight.

The interface is streamlined in some ways, and interestingly rich in others. There's no real inventory: while you can pick up some objects, it's only to use them nearby.

Now that's impressive.

 

[Jaesun]

The first AdventureGamers review after the site got sold, and it gives it a 4.5/5 :D

Only the owner changed, the people doing reviews and the other stuff there is still the same.

 

[Sizzle]

The first AdventureGamers review after the site got sold, and it gives it a 4.5/5 :D

Only the owner changed, the people doing reviews and the other stuff there is still the same.

I know, I know, read the entire statement when they posted it

 

[HoboForEternity]

Is there anything on the Daedalic front that is incline? (Other than TLJH)

the devil's men if that's not canned already

 

[Sòren]

First day's over, and they've peaked at 208 concurrent players. Let's compare:

2,907 - Broken Age part 1
1,641 - Deponia Doomsday
0,208 - Silence
0,084 - Anna's Quest

Silence is by far the most expensive game Daedalic have ever made, with the expressed goal of expanding their audience beyond the Deponia/Edna niche. They've even been running trailers in German cinemas; this was supposed to be their big breakthrough into the mainstream interactive movie genre.

ein ordentlicher griff ins klo.

 

[Infinitron]

Is there anything on the Daedalic front that is incline? (Other than TLJH)

the devil's men if that's not canned already

Or worse, transformed into the same genre as this.

 

[HoboForEternity]

Is there anything on the Daedalic front that is incline? (Other than TLJH)

the devil's men if that's not canned already

Or worse, transformed into the same genre as this.

uuuh why

why did you even mention that

whyyyyyyyyyyy

 

[Darth Roxor]

I hope Daedalic compare how this game fares to the (I assume) success of Deponia: Doomsday and draw the relevant conclusions.

 

[evdk]

I hope Daedalic compare how this game fares to the (I assume) success of Deponia: Doomsday and draw the relevant conclusions.

That they should license a popular IP?

 

[Gepeu]

I hope Daedalic compare how this game fares to the (I assume) success of Deponia: Doomsday and draw the relevant conclusions.

That they should license a popular IP?

They would sell millions of copies of this game, if only there was the Steven Universe license...

Even though I like most of their games, I will never get this. Waste of money I say after watching a random gameplay video - not what I would expect from them.

 

[Crooked Bee]

Oh man, this game is just so bad. I mean, I expected a short nu-adventure game, but I didn't expect such a bad game from Daedalic. I wish they would just stick to Deponia and Memoria and similar-style games. Hopefully this game really is a flop and teaches them a lesson (but doesn't make them go bankrupt).

And yes, it is just 3-5 hour long, depending on how slow you are (took me less than 4 hours). But the length is not the real problem - I could live with a short but well-written, fun, C&C-heavy nu-adventure game. Problem is, it's none of those things. The pacing, the puzzles, the cringeworthy and boring writing - it's all just... terrible.

I could go into more detail, but I don't feel like it. I mean, I enjoy Larian's dialogue and humor - so you can tell I don't expect everything to have MCA-level writing. But basically, even if you enjoy TellTale's games, this game is bad and Daedalic should feel bad. Art and music are the only decent things about it, but meh. Definitely not worth playing.

 

[HoboForEternity]

and literally $30 for this

 

[Sizzle]

The first AdventureGamers review after the site got sold, and it gives it a 4.5/5 :D

Only the owner changed, the people doing reviews and the other stuff there is still the same.

On the other hand, their 4.5/5 review of the new King's Quest does raise suspicion :D

 

[Infinitron]

The first AdventureGamers review after the site got sold, and it gives it a 4.5/5 :D

Only the owner changed, the people doing reviews and the other stuff there is still the same.

On the other hand, their 4.5/5 review of the new King's Quest does raise suspicion :D

AdventureGamers is the RPGWatch of adventure gaming, avoid like plague

 

[Jaesun]

AdventureGamers is the RPGWatch of adventure gaming, avoid like plague

For the most part, yes. I agree. However, they DO on occasion provide some good information for me to decide if such a game would be something I might be interest in.

*Most* of their reviews are fairly good written (and discuss various aspects of a game). And then sometime they go full retard, and yeah....

 

[Bubbles]

AdventureGamers gave Tex Murphy: Tesla Effect a worse rating than the King's Quest remake.

 

[Jaesun]

AdventureGamers gave Tex Murphy: Tesla Effect a worse rating than the King's Quest remake.

But how was it, compared to the other Tex Murphy games?