Iain attempts to organise his thoughts about the game he has just completed. What he experienced has jumbled all his emotions together in a tangled mess of spaghetti… It has confused him enough that he has not yet noticed that his life is being narrated by Doug Cockle.
Knock it off Doug!
Yes, you did great at returning as the narrator for Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter, but I’m trying to think, gosh darn it!!! The follow-up to Odd Bug Studio’s 2D adventure game with challenging combat, Tails of Iron, Whiskers of Winter attempts to take what it did well in King Redgi’s outing and turn it up to eleven.
But did it succeed? Or were its improvements superfluous fluff that wasn’t needed?
I think it’s a little of both, and I’m still working out what that balance is.
Circumventing expectations, the squeakquel (ok, that’s the last time I’ll say that) moves away from King Redgi, the protagonist of the first game. Instead, a la a certain someone in Game of Thrones, an illegitimate son of the king is placed under the stewardship of the Warden of the North. That son is Arlo.
Sometime later, the north is attacked by Darkwings (bat-like creatures) and Arlo’s adoptive father is beheaded in the process. I’m surprised Sean Bean didn’t lend his voice to this game! Arlo, inheriting the title of Warden of the North, is tasked to unite the northern clans and exact his revenge on the Darkwing scum that killed his father.
But the clans are having difficulties of their own, so will they be able to resolve their differences before the Darkwing threat increases and the north falls to its icy embrace? If the north falls, then the rest of the kingdom will be next…
Game of Thrones-y!
Tails of Iron 2, like its first outing, is a 2D action RPG with challenging combat. While it’s not really Soulslike, it does have some elements of that genre. For example, it has benches like Hollow Knight which act as save points, but enemies may not respawn, specifically ones on the golden story path. Groups of enemies will respawn if they aren’t on the golden path, and you leave a screen and then return.
Combat is challenging, but it’s also incredibly intuitive by design. Before most attacks, a foe, whether it’s a boss or just a grunt, will show what type of attack it’s going to perform, depicted by colored lines protruding from the character model. These lines help you in combat by telling you how you can deal with an attack. Red lines or circles mean it has to be dodged somehow, yellow squiggles mean you can parry, and white lines are projectiles you need to block. It makes it easy to learn how to fight these guys until you get the patterns down.
It may sound like this is a “Baby’s First Souls” game, and you’re not 100% wrong, but combat remains challenging even with these tells. I died a lot during some of these boss fights, and, being honest, I died a bunch to hordes of grunts too. I know, I know. I’m embarrassed. But you try it and report back because these guys can be no joke! They hit hard, and some of them can stunlock you during elemental attacks which leave you open for a killing one-two punch.
Your stats are controlled by the gear you either craft, find, or peel off the cold dead hands of Darkwings or other such enemies. Most of the armor sets have elemental resistance, and the weapons usually inflict elemental damage. This comes in handy with enemy types with elemental weaknesses and strengths. For example, Darkwings tend to be strong against ice and lightning but weak against fire and poison. I rocked a nice little fire axe and a double-bladed poison sword for most of my playthrough, but I wasn’t afraid of swapping out for a lightning sword when necessary.
Aside from the golden path, side quests were available, generally in the form of hunting challenges. These hunting challenges followed the same formula each time. Encounter the boss, take a third of its health, find it again, take another third, find it again, kill some grunts or a different mini-boss, then finish off the challenge. After the first few, it felt repetitive but I’m a completionist, so I gots to do ‘em. The only other side quests were fetch quests and they gave you decent rewards like a discount in stores but they were just kinda meh.
The 2D style feels like a medieval manuscript, and that fits the vibe of the story. If you think about those opening scenes from movies about fairy tales where someone opens a leatherbound book, you’re on the right track. The whole game makes me think of the old Redwall novels by Brian Jacques. Dark Ages rat-like characters running around fighting for their kingdom could have been ripped straight out of that world.
The art style is very consistent throughout, extending to the beautiful map system. As Arlo discovers new screens, the map is filled out with rough sketches on weathered manuscript paper. Landmarks are noted with an insignia, like a coat of arms, yet again fitting the game’s theme. As this game is split into a few different areas, there is also a world map that looks like it could have been depicted in an alternate-history Lord of the Rings book. It’s remarkable how cool and synchronised everything is.
I can’t say I noticed the music often enough for it to make much of an impression, but the sound design was excellent. Each ding or dong was distinctive enough to make it clear what it was alerting you to. Special attack gauge ready? Dong! Incoming unblockable attack? Ding! Trying to heal when you have no potion left? Thwump followed by the inevitable womp womp of a death. Perhaps there were too many sounds for some people to keep track of in the heat of battle, but I really liked it.
This is where my confusion is. I really like the game. It’s a fun time, for sure. But is it better than the first game?
I like the addition of special abilities. Arlo has magical powers that can be built up by attacking foes. A well-placed fireball or lightning strike is good in a pinch and sometimes causes a stun or damage over time. Other improvements, such as more prevalent fast travel points, are great quality of life things.
However, I was more invested in King Redgi’s quest than Arlo’s. It’s hard to define why because they both have similar backstories filled with the murder of their fathers, but perhaps it was more about the supporting NPCs and side quests in the original instalment. I remember falling in love with characters from the first game, like Redgi’s brother, the turtle dude, and Robin (I’m bad with names, but I remember them!). A week removed from completing Whiskers of Winter, and I doubt I’ll be able to tell you what any side character even looks like. On top of that, I don’t think the side activities hit me like last time. I still remember trying to fight the moles in the underground that had wrestling puns for names, and there’s not really any of that fun here.
Having said that, the last push to the final boss was freaking awesome and memorable, an assault on the Darkwing stronghold, which felt like, to use another Game of Thrones comparison, the Battle of Winterfell versus the White Walkers. It was epic.
So the answer is yes… and no. You see my confusion?
Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter is a great video game that builds on its predecessor’s combat and worldbuilding to create a new epic adventure, stealing from some of the best IP in fantasy media. Its combat is challenging, but not to an infuriating degree, which I love. Sometimes, it felt unfair when you were stunned at the same moment a killing blow was struck, but the very fact that 95% of attacks give you warnings makes it your fault if you fail.
I really like the world Odd Bug Studio has built, and I loved being back in King Redgi’s world. However, I can’t help but think that some of the new characters, aside from the new player-character Arlo, are not as lovable as the ones we met in the first game. King Redgi’s court was filled with folk you wanted to fight for, but Arlo’s felt a little bland. Maybe that’s because they didn’t give me anything interesting to do apart from fight massive creatures with no individuality.
Make no mistake, I totally recommend this game. I think I was just expecting something more from a sequel with such a great first game.
Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter is out for all of the consoles and PC right now for around $25.
