Ghost of a Tale

Fantastic game, beautiful graphics and story. Can't wait for the sequel

A neat, charming, very well told little adventure with smart use of limited resources. It has great, likable characters and clever, charming writing; it managed to make me emotionally invested.

Only real issue I have with it, other than perhaps a repetitive structure (lots of fetch quests) and minor bugs, is that while it looks very nice, it's also quite difficult to parse and orient yourself. It took me far too long before I stopped getting lost over and over again, and that's WITH maps. Travelling between locations is fun at first, as it's a neat little world to explore, but then you have to find your way back, just there and back again, many times if you happen to miss something. At one point I missed a single item and it took me hours until I managed to make any progress. Eventually I had to use a guide. None of this was helped by a stamina system that mostly becomes irrelevant eventually, yet a constant nuisance.

Also, at a certain point almost all tension is removed, replaced with inventory management, which is very weird direction for what is mostly a stealth game.

Still, the fact that it managed to grow on me and tell its story as well as it did is more than enough of a reason to recommend it. I also got it cheap during a sale, so I don't have too much to complain about.

I've got this game for 2$ on steam sale, and found out it's better than any coming out trash for 69$.

Life changing game fr.
Before I used to hate rats and mice, but now I wonder where's their armor when i see one lol

Ghost of a Tale feels like discovering a hidden gem. Its charming world and adorable hero, Tilo, hooked me instantly. The stealth gameplay is creative, and exploring the gorgeous medieval setting is so much fun! The story is emotional and meaningful, making me care about every detail. It’s a fresh, unforgettable experience for indie game fans!

Just finished the game prior to this review.
Story-wise, a lot to unpack by talking to NPCs (aside from a certain mission), and the mystery of the plot keeps you going.
Gameplay-wise, being a tiny character in a big open world has its pros and cons (previously played the Styx franchise so I'm all too familiar with the format). A bit tedious at times since majority of the quests are Fetch Quests (especially the Mushrooms/Apothecarist missions).
Minor issues include:
a. Hardware optimization since the game crashes at times for me (especially when I'm progressing thru a mission and it happens)
b. Got softlocked on a side quest since I progressed the Main and Side quests too much (Had to replay almost 3 hours worth just to catch up to my previous save)
c. Some characters only spawn at certain times of the day and when you're progressing on a mission and the NPC you have to talk to isn't there (had to double check and restart the game at first since I thought the NPC model didn't spawn lol)

Tl;dr I enjoyed the game despite some issues, and I hope the sequel addresses these issues.
And please, give Silas his justice aaaaaaa (No spoilers)

This was a great game! i couldn't stop playing! Looking forward to the next game!!!

I did not think to much about this game. I loved the visual from the first teaser, but god damn i could not even imagine how quickly and how much it would pull me into the game and its story. I finished it in two sittings and wasnt bored for a second. The gameplay mechanics are not hard to understand and player can quickly adapt to them. I loved each npc trough out the whole game. Dialogues didnt feel like a chore but very well written event and stories.
I hope more game like this one will appear in the future.

From a small company especially, I commend it. Recommend it. Beautiful and cute, adventure and lore. Love it. Just be wary of the search for whatever it is when you get stuck, running all over the map to find the next piece of the puzzle that continues the story is a bit tedious and arduous. I hate googling things for what to do next. I somehow ended up figuring it all out without googling, but you will get stuck a few times and most people should probably google how to get unstuck. I hate games that lead to google. I will just say the only way I figured it all out without google was many hours of hard headed efforts. checking notes, talking to everybody with different "fits" (annoying but it worked, should've been a clue for some of these). I got stuck in this game probably 6 different times and it was kind of annoying that it was basically just a search around the entire world of Tale for a single missed item in a random spot, not good for any developer to put in a game without clues to some of those. I'm not trying to spend 2 days looking for a single fricken item. if the game had been a fraction less cute, or if I wasn't obsessed with medieval times, probably would've abandoned this game. Also, not a fan of challenges like "go through the entire game without being noticed a single time!". To me that's a fishing challenge. A developer studio exec is making some decision to keep people playing this game as many hours as humanly possible, so make a challenge that will cause them to be stuck for over 100 hours. Nah, that's BS. In the end is was a nice game with some hiccups, I would only buy it on a 80+% off sale as it stands

Ghost of a Tale est un jeu dans lequel on incarne une souris qui se réveille dans la cellule d'un donjon avec peu ou pas d'explications. Le but du jeu sera donc de comprendre où on est, ce qu'il faut faire et ce, sans se faire remarquer par les multiples gardes rats. Ce que j'en ai retiré:

+ Les phases d'explorations sont vraiment bien. L'environnement est large et plutôt complexe, donc plein de trucs à voir. Plus on explore, plus on débloque des raccourcis entre les divers endroits.
+ Beaucoup de choses à collectionner et beaucoup de lore.

- La musique est très belle, mais on ne l'entend malheureusement que 25% du temps. La majorité du jeu se fera sans musique, ce qui est un peu triste.
- Les allez-retours répétés deviennent vite une corvée. La taille du château et les gardes à éviter n'aident pas la chose.

Je pense que ce jeu vaut la peine d'y jouer, mais il vaut mieux être averti quant aux points négatifs mentionnés.

Super cozy and fun game, can't wait for a sequel or something else set in the world of Ghost of a Tale.

Game will not start on my computer. I've tried reinstalling it 3x and it freezes on the opening scene with the flame. I have not had this trouble with any other Steam games I've played.

This game has the aesthetic of Redwall and an interesting story. Good gameplay and great design. I am thoroughly enjoying it.

I'm in awe with the worldbuilding of this game. They managed to create that feeling of the world being a huge place full of history, from which you are only experiencing a very small part. This made it super interesting to explore for me. Also, the characters and dialogs are so well written, cute and genuinely funny quite often. The gameplay with its mechanics is great too, and it all works to create a really wholesome and immersive experience. If you like well-built fantasy worlds and value a good story, you'll likely consider this a gem!

Heart-warming, amusing, and artistic . You can't but fall in love with the game. Very much hope there will be part 2...
There are certain technical issues, though. But the game is definitely worth playing.

Word of advice: try to finish secondary quests first. And the order you do it matters.

I loved this, evoking a dark fantasy vibe and finding out after hand it was a solo developer who was aiming for that.
Starts of small and humble, ends on an unexpected epic high, with all the cute goofiness of some of the characters becoming soberingly haunted ptsd issues.
Now I’m eager for part 2.

I’ve played through 3 times. 3rd time on the switch and noticed the downgrade in graphics and nerf of the sticks(?). I’ve recommended to multiple friends and still on the story high.

My recommendation is more to the developer than the player. One word:
Signposting :) (well playtesting would have led to signposts)

Signposts are physically required to point to the commander office, harbour, commission, northern shore.
I was constantly confused the lift-gate being the west gate and the only way to the harbour.

Signpost to from the northern slopes to the old watchtower, because spoilers.

A major issue for me was the “gating” of the armour, relying on picking the pocket of a very hard to get to guard, and very hard to steal from guard as well.

The armour unlocks the commanders quest line, Silas quests, and ergo finishing off Gusto and Fatale stealth skill set, which become pointless because now you have access to a disguise. First play through,
I had literally had brute forced my way into the commission and solved the spoiler before I even knew there was a quest line and a find the missing spoiler subplot which was accessible with suit of armour disguise. Figured that out on my second play through.

Rolo peppering the player to meet on the northern slopes and not the shoreline. As that line of dialogue is muttered once and never again.

Signposting the importance of the Ranger disguise by a comment from the other mice or Rolo that Tilo is running round the keep like he’s ranger.

Even on my 3rd play through I was getting hung-up on the gating of game-states denying progress, basically how main quests and side quests should dovetail together.

Game development gripes, but from a solo-dev, whose had this in their minds for years, it’s understandable,
the story and world building is amazing.

Patch in the signposts,
Move the armoury key to a guard inside the keep.

Ghost of a Tale is one of the most charming little games i've played in a while ,and even though you play as a little mouse , by calling it little i don't want to belittle it whatsoever.... well that was a mouthful.

This game is 'little' not because it is very short or there's a lack of content, it is 'little' because of the homey feeling it gives of. A lot of different things contribute to invoking that feeling . Art style is cozy and nice, soundscape as well. Overall theme of being a little mouse trying to sneak around giant rats you can't defeat works towards that as well.

But the main thing which makes this game so special for me is that sense of adventure and being lost in a best possible way. This will sound strange perhaps but Ghost of a Tale is first game since i've played Dark Souls back in early 2010's which gives me that adventurous sense of being lost and slowly but surely piecing layout,story and everything else together. It is a strange comparison to make i guess, but the feeling is that exact feeling i got from the DS back in a day.

Where two games are really very different is that Ghost of a Tale essentially has no combat hence you are a little mouse set against giant armored rats (imagine vermintide ) . Gameplay evolves around stealth and various tools to help you out. And that , sadly , is the weakest part of the game. It is extremely easy to be honest. There are save points literally every 10 steps and even if you get noticed you can easily run away from the danger because your assailants are not too keen on chasing you around for too long.

There are couple of nice touches like day and night cycle and certain npcs will or wont be in a place depending on time of day. I havent encountered any serious technical issues besides very little stuff, game is an Indie one so there's a lack of polish here and there but nothing to take away from the experience as well.

Overall a game for ones soul if you will. Strongly recommend for 'vibes' as kids say these days.

Fantastic, relaxing little game. Low tension, no combat, but lots to do and see. A great game for taking a break.

Very cute and challenging 10-12 hour game! Good story, memorable characters, lovely environment.

This game is incredibly charming! Right from the start, you meet the adorable little mouse, Tilo, with such cute expressions and movements. The art style is stunning, featuring a cute aesthetic that makes exploring the environment a joy. It's a truly heartwarming game that brought a smile to my face.
<3

Such a cute game and the game play works.
I'd love a sequel.

Very ambitious game. Doesn't always quite hit the mark but still very good.

A hidden pearl amongst the indie games that is a must play for sneak adventure players that love good storytelling.

[table][tr][td]
Overall      ★★★★★★★★★☆ - 9/10
Music        ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - 8/10
Graphics   ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - 8/10
Gameplay ★★★★★★★★★★ - 10/10
Story         ★★★★★★★★★☆ - 9/10
[/td][/tr][/table]

Difficulty ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆ (at the beginning more difficult, later on it's a breeze)

The game is from 2018, so judging the graphics from that perspective and the fact this is a very small indie team, the graphics are very good. It can be enhanced though.

What did I like?

* very cute concept, many lovely details, and a complete back-lore to dive into if you want
* pretty good level design (especially the keep and all the shortcuts)
* lovely characters (eg Silas, Rolo, Kerold, Fatale and Gusto)
* very good sense of humour, a laughed a lot (really read all the dialogues, it is worht it)
* the main story, sidequests and backstories of everyone comes together quite well
* you can 'befriend' the enemies rats partly later on, and they are not just nameless mobs that fulfill only the purpose of being your enemies
* the riddles were awesome. Especially the song or textbook bound riddles were cool, liked it a lot
* ingame hint over the smithy Rolo (you can pay him to get them if you are in need)
* there is a day an night change that does matter for quests (enemy patrols stays the same)
* there is absolutely no fighting, gameplay around using tools or sneaking pass the enemies is quite intuitive
* most riddle are easy logical ones that might need to use some brain but are not too difficult
* many shortcuts that can be opened later on, there is no real need of a teleport system. Though you have to backtrack a lot for quests, be prepared for that
* awesome soundtrack, very fitting
* a lot of gears to put on with special set bonuses that are even needed for certain quest
* 3 extra challenges for a replay (don't eat food, don't get hit, don't get spotted by enemies). Sounds harder than it actually is

What did I not like?

* missable Steam achievements
* missable skills if you progress to quick in the main story (especially the skills of Gusto and Fatale can be missed easily)
* no dubbed audio, not even English
* after the toturial part in the jail, as soon as you reach the keep, things getting a little bit overwhelming - too many places and things to do, but you get accustomed to it
* difficulty does take a huge leap as you reach the keep first, but with later skills and gears things get super-easy
* no official VR support, although it really cries out for (but there is a way to use VRgin with version 7 of this game to play it in VR)
* no new game+ for those just playing for the story

Bugs and logic flaws:

There are no game breaking bugs or issues as far as I can tell. But a lot of minor problems that show that this is just an indie project.

* Playstation controller was not recognized the first time I started the game
* game visually bugged out once as I entered the basket to Sila (reload checkpoint fixed it)
* while Duinlan watches me I cannot burn purple banners
* game dialogs for accept/decline change position, so watch closely what you choose
* the sun rays and the sun during sunset is bugged (clipping through walls, sun is seen below horizon in the lake)
* quotation mark in the catacomb without any NPC to speak to (related to the bird I guess)
* ranger mask does not work visually
* dialoges are messed up sometimes: I speak to Duinlan, but Gusto (which is not here) is greeting me. Or while speakign to smuggler goards their dialoge lines get mixed with standard ones
* some lootpoints get not resetted with reloading checkpoint but with restarting the whole game. So if you miss a lootpoint or quest item (like an odol), save game and restart the whole game (fixed it for me in the catacombs)

There are a plenty of little logic flaws here and there. I will not list them here for spoiler reasons. Depending how complex the coding must be with the many different conditions, and the small dev team, I am still suprised how complex and yet consistent NPC react to different things my character did.

Summary:

SeithCG did a wonderful job - geniuses at work. Considering this is an IndieGoGo project and just a very tiny dev team, they put together a marvelous game. I do love the storytelling, the atmosphere, the level and character design, and even the gameplay. I didn't missed a fighting system at all. I am glad that I stumbled 2024 over this 2018 released game. This game is by far underrated if you ask me, for me it is one of the best games I played this year.

There is a sequel in the making, that is really good to hear. Seems they switch from Unity to Unreal 5 for that. And I hope that one day SeithCG will implement a native VR support like it happened for Hellblade. Unity and Unreal can do it without too much of problem, and I would even pay extra for a 'VR DLC' for the efforts as I don't like to use third-party software to play games VR.

So if you search for a stealth RPG adventure, you love deep game lores, don't mind backtracking or some spiders, this game is for you. Check it out and don't miss it.

Very cute game with a fun story! It is a little buggy and the running around searching for items can get a little tedious, but overall worth playing.

Well, I played to the end. More fool me. It started dull and doesn't get any better really (but I kept playing because I thought something MUST be about to open up). It could have been good, but so much time wasting, boring back and forth, dull quests.
There is charm in the scripts, music and environment, but the gameplay is just tedious. Movement is poor and slow, the gfx are sort of muddy, the maps and quests are confusing. The constantly changing costume for a few seconds to get what you need is an absolute pi$$ take.
On the plus side.... it was cheap.

I want to like this game but it's way too buggy.

Bought this game finally after having it for years on my wishlist. A bit rough around the edges but i was surprised how much i liked it in the end. Spend probably longer than need to finish it because I got lost a lot in the beginning (I don't have a good sense of direction haha)

Loved it. The characters are as close to real as they can get, and to my surprise, very endearing. Dialogue and bits of lore are hilarious at times. I found all the twists and reveals engaging.
I wasn't surprised to find out the game's creator has an extensive professional animation background. Every movement is polished and full of character. The world is lush, organic, and fun to explore.
Movement is smooth and the world reacts to your appearance in interesting ways. I love it when changing your gear does more than modify stats. The game is really good at painting a convincing image of a world that exists beyond what you can see. What a great game. Can't wait for the sequel

Ugh the idea of the game is sound but its got just enough flaws to be too annoying for me not to uninstall it after a few hours of playing lol


You need keys to progress through a lot of the game and they're very difficult to find and there's so much stealthy fruitless backtracking by enemies with slow as hell walk cycle. There are so many of them and there is no way to lighten your load by getting rid of any of them or cause one to deviate its course at least.

There's a day and night cycle that only affects the NPCs that you need to progress meaning most of the evening a good d eal of them are presumably sleeping and you either have to wai t it out or find one of the few places you can sleep through the night rather than just be able to find a place and hit a wait button of some sort anywhere where you're hidden and secure.


also the day and night cycle does not affect the enemies at all. They are awake and patrolling their same cycle all day and all night.


THey provide you with maps that point the way to the treasure chests you need to open even though they're so super easy to find anyway.

But you need keys to open the chests that are fairly small, hidden and are grey so they are camouflaged into the wall pretty well. There is also no way to make it so you can purchase from someone something that will also mark the keys on your map

I may try this game later after getting through the first area via a walkthrough to see if any future abilities improve the game quality in which case I'll MAYBE post a revised review but as of now this game just gave me a big headache.

I wasn't expecting a stealthgame to have lore. I am normally that guy that skips over dialog and it has been quite a while since a game actually made me want to read dialogboxes. The characters are witty and thought out and the world is graphically pleasing and consistent.

Don't expect a mechanically masterpiece. This is not what the game is about. Its not about the "i want to outsmart my enemies and win" part, but more about the "i wanna see what happens next".

A clear weakpoint this game has is: The maincharacter is a minstrel, but the songs you can play are not voiced. I like the parts where you have to play songs to progress, but playing a tune and just watching lyrics fly over your screen wasn't really satisfying.

That being said: This game was fun to play and told a story I can respect. I was hoping for a sequel, since the ending left so many open questions.
As a D&D DM, It was an inspiration in terms of worldbuilding.
Thank you.

On one hand it's adorable, on the other tedious.

Pros:

• aesthetically pleasing.
  
• Written excellently and full of character.
  
• Level design is very interconnected.
  
• Adorable.
  

Cons:

• The stealth system is extremely surface level.
  
• The bare bones stealth is trivialized as soon as you unlock a mainquest armor set.
  
• Said mainquest armor set makes you move slow as molasses and is tedious to play.
  
• Many sidequests are fully or partially uncompletable before progressing the main story, the game will not tell you this and wastes your time looking for the 2/10 missing whatevers.
  
• Ending feels out of nowhere and not very satisfying.
  
• Doesn't offer any technical gameplay challenge.
  
[*]The game is less action rpg, more fetch quest.

Quite an achievement considering it's made by such a small team. Very cute. Also doesn't overstay its welcome.

One of my favorite indie games, it's really well made and with love, very interesting, runs well, has nice graphics, and good lore. 10/10

I found sneaking past the same guards over and over while playing a spot-the-hidden-object game tedious and gave up after an hour.
But I'm quite happy to give money to the only developers who made a beautiful game with mice and forests. I really hope they make something better and look forward to playing it.

Best of best. Still awaiting part 2 (maybe)

What a beautiful neat game! nice story in a small yet dense map with lore, adventure and whimsy. Would highly recommend

This might be my favorite game of all time. I was hesitant to start it because I didn't think I would be very good at it, but it felt very approachable for most players. The visuals and sound design were so well done that this game always felt very immersive and I found myself looking forward to my next time playing it.

I was surprised at how large the world felt, while not feeling overwhelming. Sometimes in games I get frustrated having to return to previously visited areas because I 'did everything there already.' However, each area felt very interwoven and even if I took a wrong step and ended up in an area mistakenly, it made the experience feel more real. I found the game the right mixture of challenging and amusing, and I very rarely felt frustrated and needed to look something up.

I so desperately hope there will eventually be a sequel, because the characters and world in this title were so well thought out. I enjoyed getting to learn about each character and space, no matter how inconsequential they seemed to the grand scheme (especially because some of those characters may have held more importance than originally thought).

Would definitely recommend to friends, and loved playing on stream!

A very nice game, which positivly surprised me in a bunch of ways: There is rpg mechanics, a day night cicle and a rich lore. But where the game really shines is in the characters and dialogs. As well as in the Level art area.
The characters are interesting and made me laugh more than a few times. The gameworld is not very large, but it's so complex that you can get lost very quick. That is on one side welcome, but can get annoying at times. Also annoying is the quest design. There are definetly too many unashamed fetch quests, which is the biggest downside. From a technical standpoint, the game is also preforming poorly: The fps autolock at 30 and have to be reset everytime you restart the game. Dont even think of alt-tabbing out of this game and if you want to, just commit to window mode. But if you keep these two things in mind, you can have a smooth game. I also was locked out of completing a sidequest late in the game, because i was too far in the main story and the game didn't warn me about that in any way. That was very frustrating, because now i have completed 56 out of 57 quests, and i am a completionist.

Overall I can definetly reccomend this.

Good lord I love it. Been looking for stealthy games with intricate interiors, like Dishonored and Thief. They are few and far between. This game is awesome. Main character is so cute but I feel tense playing it. I feel like it's a cross between Ratatouille and Halloween (a strange combo) with a Skyrim-y backdrop. Amazing

Fantastic Indy Adventure game! Felt old school. Looking forward to the sequel.

Great stealth game

GAH! trying to break out of the prison as a nervous 11 year old was too much for me and i plan to come back and play the game again soon. I must say during the 38 minutes i played I did get heavy Redwall vibes. (Redwall is a book series of incredibly detailed stories of fictional animals) so that was good. I honestly wish more games like this was made with diffrent and intrecit stories

I loved this game so much! This game got me back in to gaming, being the first game in years where I just couldn't wait to spend my day off playing this! So cozy and very beautifull yet interactive. Can't wait for more.

This game was an absolute gem and a must play for people who like stealth action games. You would think this was a triple A game with how well it was made. Please, make a sequel.

Incredible handcrafted story with so much depth and immersion, one of the best plots I've played for a very long time. The characters have been very well thought of and written by the developers, hitting all the right emotional points and captured the charm I seek in these kinds of tales. Very heart warming but also hard hitting with stoic undertones that are very much missed in modern games. So happy I got to experience this tale. -Game mechanics are sturdy and well refined with nicely rendered sections and graphics, especially in the lighting that builds tension and creates so much atmosphere with the candle light (:
The best find that I wish had more reception and word of mouth, very excited for Ghost of a Tale 2 that was announced with that screenshot posted by the devs :0

Amazing game, love the stealth, challenges and the heart warming story. Really kept me engaged all the way through even to the bittersweet ending. Truly hope they make a sequel.

Loved it, played it through and collected everything I could.
The world is filled with little details, the gameplay is not too hard, to throw off anyone not used to sneaky games (yes, to use a game quote, the rat guards ARE that dumb), but still with enough tension so you don't feel like it is without stakes.
It is generally meant for you to have a good time, to dive into this mystical world. One of the main gameplay aspects is the collecting of stuff, making you backtrack a bit, or looking really hard for fungus. The game offers a lot of help if wanted, and often more of the item in question can be collected than necessery, which is forgiving. But, if something like that makes you mad, you should be aware that will happen.

The game is of course not without fault, but nothing game breaking or a quick save and load can't fix (stuck guard alarm status, etc). But it did not diminish the gaming experience, in my opinion, because it wasn't often and i also do not expect a game to never show a fault.
So much for that, all in all it is a rich fantasy world, with lovely characters, and you can really feel the amount of love and care that went into the world and character design, and the story quickly pulled me in.
Game is not too long, and also not too short.
I hope the studio is able to continue the series, because I am now a little invested in the universe :D
And did you see how cute the mice are?!
Clear recommendation for someone who just wants to have a good time in a fantastical world for a couple of days, collecting and hiding away.