Разработчик: Clara Lehenaff
Описание
Winter Voices is a narrative-driven, episodic, role-playing game set in an imaginary and timeless world at the start of the Industrial Revolution. Players control a 24 year-old heroine as she deals with the death of her father. She must journey through the heart of Winter and battle her worst enemies – her own personal demons.
The first season of the Winter Voices series is comprised of seven downloadable episodes, each unraveling new elements of the character’s tale.
Winter Voices combines “point and click” real-time gaming with strictly defensive turn-based combat. As the game alternates real-time dialog and world exploration with combat, players will experience turn-based psychic warfare.
Key Features:
- mature and creative narrative, exploring human consciousness and immersing in an evocative and chilling role-playing experience
- sophisticated and thought provoking gameplay: the player engages in “defense of the mind” mechanics, as the character is overwhelmed by memories and fights against her own inner demons, fears, voices of illusion, guilt, madness...
- tactical... with a twist: strictly defensive turn-based combat
- wondrous and unusual world: an imaginary and timeless world at the start of the Industrial Revolution
- dynamic soundtrack: keeping to the theme of self-discovery, haunting melodies guide the player, setting a dark, intriguing mood to match the character’s cold journey and mysterious past
Winter Voices Prologue: Avalanche
A drama is unfolding in a tiny village buried in snow, lost in the depths of a Three-River Principality valley. A sudden death, a now-hostile home, new sensory capacities rising like a storm and the departure towards the unknown, the only means to escape besides death, has become inevitable...The newly-orphaned heroine is pushed to leave her father’s village by the voices of her unconscious mind. The long journey to find answers will lead you through many events to overcome anger, sadness, pain and fear and finally unveil what is whispered by the voices of Winter.Поддерживаемые языки: english, french, russian
Системные требования
Windows
- OS *: Windows XP / Vista / 7
- Processor: Intel Pentium 4 3GHz / AMD Athlon 64 3000 +
- Memory: 1 Gb (2 Gb for Vista)
- Graphics: 128 Mb, 1280x720
- DirectX®: DirectX 9.0c
- Hard Drive: 500 Mb
- Sound: DirectX 9.0c
Отзывы пользователей
Well it seems I have to write a review push up the low rating of this great game. I liked the slow pacing and the unsusual story, though never finished it as its last chapter wasn't released back then. This game was on the brink of being unfinished but found it's way to it current status, which is free for all now.
The atmosphere is great and you really feel the cold and the pressure - the girl is experiencing. You're not a superhero and hardly manage to survive - which is a rare experience in its own right.
This narrative game could really be a little indie gem, because the narration is very strange and dark, the themes it touches are definitely mature and sensible. If only the mechanics of the game were not that complicated and poorly made.
Walking pace is very very slow and is based on the square grids you see in combat, so don't expect the clickbox to work properly, you will never be able to go where you want and when you don't, it's frustrating because you have to wait until you stop walking to click somewhere else and go there.
The chara design is very poor, everything is really based on this narration that is dark and gloomy, to the point that it will depress you. The turn based would be a good idea if it wasn't so redundant/boring.
I wanted to like it so much, I thought it would be some kind of turn based point and clic. There's no inventory, nothing to do but talking to people and try to move through the limbo of your dreams. Really, that's a disappointment.
Winter Voices is some kind of a strange game.. I wanted to play it just by reading the hashtags: female protagonists, independent RPG, adventure.. plus, it's the only game published by Inner Seas here on Steam - by the way they're a French studio and they're working on the sequel of Winter Voices (that hasn't still a date, I think like late 2018). They're from Paris and they also publish poetry collections and books in French too.
As I said, you'll control a girl who has lost her father on her way through this RPG which has lots of visual novel/narrative elements (well, it's a lot introspective) and a turn-based system derived from other more famous RPGs, set though in a tactical world with the usual grid (I'm not citing any big name like.. Final Fantasy Tactics shh.. no, but that's the idea XD).
I have to agree with other players who pointed out more the narration and the story in this game rather than the gameplay aspect, 'cos for what concerns gameplay and graphics it should have been way more worked out. So well, take a peek to videos on Youtube to get an idea on both the gameplay and the "way of moving" of your main character in the winter world so that you can have an idea.
I emphasized the psychological aspect of the game 'cos all the leveling up system of the girl (who's your only party member, but the battles you'll see that aren't the core aspect of the game..) is related to her story of depression and introspection.
Anyways I found the narration great even though it's obvious that it's been thought originally by foreign (French in this case) developers and not English (well, you can play it in French of course but I played it in English).. it's been a good work in my opinion and well, you have to be prepared 'cos you'll have lots of lines to read and less battles to fight.
Talking to other players, they told me about the bugs that this game had during its release period and some of the fixes that have been done - I experienced bugs not yet solved, but now the game is playable. Anyways, the main problems that you can experience now regard mainly the movement and the fact that the combat grid of the tactical turn-based combat stays the same in the main world, but of course you won't see the squares on the ground. And so you'll often have to deal with blocked roads from other NPCs or other movement issues.
Yeah, it has many problems and going on with the chapters the game tends to become hard for what concerns missions, battles and upgrades but still, nothing unplayable in my opinion.
Probably it's because I played tons of RPGs of any kind, but I managed to move myself without many problems even in the later chapters.
You've got to be prepared, since it will be a long journey and it will mostly deal with narration and not with combat and such. And this is why this is a RPG, but this can not by any means be classified as strategy/tactical RPG since if you look at awesome games in that fields (just think of the Banner Saga, one of the greatest series in the latest years in my opinion) well, there's lots of narration but the core of the game are the positioning of many units (not only one or a few), choosing the most important ones for that particular battle, looking for terrain differences (can I cite Advance Wars for this aspect, that here is completely absent? XD), and well fighting turn by turn until you emerge victorious, and then go on with your adventure.
Here there's little of these aspects, 'cos even the battles are linked to the emotional and introspective narration of the chapters and the main characters' story. And some times you'll be asked just to endure the fight, survive, or flee.. of course, you'll se why.
So, coming to a conclusion, bear in mind that this game was released in 2010 so be aware if you read reviews from those years 'cos many things have been fixed, at least as of the last half of 2017; still, you have to be prepared to get involved in the story and to deal with a slow game with its own beauty in the narration rather than in the combat system (which will still require some time due to the number of upgrades and so on) and the gameplay.
I'd suggest you to download the demo and/or to watch Youtube videos before buying it, and if you think it can be your genre well, it's worth a try bearing in mind that it's an indie RPG and it's the first game that this French studio created (with Adobe Air) so it has still many flaws, not too many though to negatively review it :)
Run your demo and see if it can fit your style, I read many reviews from 2010-2014 talking about crashes, bugs and so on and I bought this game in 2017 so I don't know if there have been good fixes but for my experience, it worked well even if with some bugs that I tried to describe above; still, no crashes or issues of this type!
Have fun and here more than everywhere else take your time :)
I recommend this game, although it is with many caveats because it is very niche title and the best of it takes time to ease out.
Firstly the music is great, very stirring and powerful, I find it gives the game a real intensity and emotion at the right points but also during the quieter moments. The narration is also a plus point for me, very poetic although its very much upto taste. However it is a shame there is no sound, I think some sound design could have gone a long way.
The game had real technical issues when it first came out but as far as I can tell they have been resolved. The combat system is interesting and thoughtful, with alot of variation for different tactics and approaches to character builds.
The story is unique and interesting in gaming and is worth the effort in my opinion, I had to endure a lot technically when I originally played it but it was worth it because the story was well done and presented with a unique pace and arc for the character.
The game and the developers sadly seemed to have had a hard time over this game, getting it out, but I hope one day they get to complete thier story and give the game a full conclusion that it deserves.
I will say this right away: do not get this game.
Strong Points
-Interesting story
-Strategic combat
-Plethora of skills allow for unique builds
Weak Points
-Unbelievably slow pace
-Game runs slowly and not on the latest version of Adobe Air
-Riddled with bugs and glitches
-Difficulty curve all over the place
-Objectives are more often than not unclear
-Large number of errors in dialogue and text
This game has been a disappointment. While it has a unique style and gameplay, it's unplayable. The pace of the game is horribly slow, it tries the patience. Your character walks slowly, it is extremely loaded in text and every action you take is slow. That aside, the game runs slowly too. It has trouble keeping up with each spell you cast, areas take a long time to load, etc. If the previous two points weren't enough, the frequent glitches in the game had me reloading constantly, making any sort of progress painstakingly difficult.
The difficulty is also very problematic. While most encounters are very simple to get through and will allow for many different approaches and a variety of skill set, some are near impossible. I can count half a dozen encounters that I had to either retry 30 to 40 times, give up or win through sheer luck. I had to give up at a certain point in the epilogue after my 20th attempt at a 5-part encounter that you have to retry from the beginning every time you fail.
Simply interacting with the environment is annoying. The only way you can interact with the environment is by walking to certain areas. This poses many problems: it takes ages to reach any point, the areas you need to walk to are not indicated, NPCs can get in the way (especially your companion), certain interactions block others, etc. The fixed camera means that half of the map at any given time is not visible, which means getting around and aiming at enemies is very difficult. It's also often unclear on what tile an enemy is standing, it takes a lot of getting used to and even then, you still make a mistake every now and then.
I could probably criticize this game further but I'm sure my point is clear by now. All in all, what could've been a great experience was ruined by the poor construction of the game. I got this game for a few dollars during a sale and regret purchasing it and spending as much time as I did on it. It is most definitely not worth the full price.
Winter Voices is an indie text heavy RPG a bit akin to Planescape: Torment, but also very different. Its strongest point is its fairly linear psychological and existential story centred on some of the darker aspects of us humans, but ultimately it's an experience of struggle, development, hope and growth; made with psychological insight. Next its "combat" encounters and its weakest the free roam hub-sections like the starting village. The game has a lovely artistic vision and ambience created by its hand-in-hand art direction, soundscape and writing. Which all have a wonderful poetic feel and are tied into the "combat system" beautifully. Plus if you are fond of metaphorical writing in works like "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" by Nietzsche, then you're bound to find the dream sequences interesting, as they employ metaphors to great effect. That said the English translation can be a bit iffy, so play it in its native French if you can.
The game is set in a fictional universe at the start of an industrial revolution in a Western country. The plot unfolds in a little remote, primitive and snowy mountain village, which lives by and practices a variant of Old Norse religion, whether the game is set in a Fantasy setting, or employs Magical Realism is up to interpretation, though it isn't at the core of the narrative outside of the dreams. You play a young and fragile twenty-four year old woman whose father has just died, it fairly quickly becomes apparent that you, the protagonist, have an abnormally hard time dealing with this death (wink wink), which propels you onwards on a journey of self-discovery within your dreams and the real world.
RPG mechanics
There are three classes to pick from Huntress, Weaver and Völva (a shamanic seeress). All of which favours one the six stats (Humour, Willpower, Memory, Perspicacity, Charisma and Intuition). These stats represents your strengths and weakness in your psychological profile. You get, primarily, XP points to level them up from completing quest, "combat" and speaking with people. Separate from this you also gets Skill Points as you level up. You can use them in a giant 2D-snowflake-formed Skill Tree with a total of 90ish skills to choose from enveloped by twelve different main paths (Negation, Metamorph , Pride, Social, Support, Composition, Ex-nihilo, Acceptance, Resilience, Resistance, Protection and Dispersion. ) to pursue, as you start out in the centre of it. You won't be able to learn all the skills in one play-through. Each of the twelve paths represents different ways, more or less gamey centred, human beings can deal, reflective or not, with grief and loss, whereas the "sub skills" are mixed between human traits such as creativity, perfectionism etc., and more culture specific things on the other hand such as: Song: Voluspa and Void Walker.
"Combat" encounters. The combat encounters take place in the dreams of our protagonist. Troubled dreams that portrays her struggles to come to terms with her father's death and her past. They are turn-based puzzle-like encounters on a grid that represents her fight with her inner demons. Overall I found the combat encounters interesting and varied enough in their different puzzles in my play-through as a Völva. Though an occasional freezing bug of the entire game was annoying in some of the longer key encounters, especially as you couldn't save in between them.
In fact it made me put the game aside for around a year before returning to it once again. Though I am glad I did, as I really, really loved certain parts of the narrative :D
Truly unique turn-based RPG that doesn't quite reach the potential brilliance of its central conceit, but has enough that's great about it to be worth playing. You are a girl in a fantasy kingdom trying to piece together your history while overcoming the trauma of your father's death. All of the upgrades and skills are associated with different psychological ways of dealing with grief and all battles are psychic manifestations of said grief.
That's the brilliant part. Unfortunately, the writing doesn't always match the game's central, great idea. It can be vague, meandering, and unbearably pretentious in a super self serious freshman creative writing sort of way, especially at the start, but the plot does pick up significantly around episode 3 (and there's even humor at times, or attempts at it, anyway). I suspect that the game suffers from a rather poor English localization, which might make the writing seem more stilted and awkward than it is in French (it tends toward the poetic at times, and poetry, like humor, is notoriously difficult to translate, so if you speak French it's probably best to play it in its native tongue). Once you get acclimated to the stilted language and glacial pacing, however, the story itself is quite interesting in its own small scale and internal way. This isn't an epic quest about a chosen one trying to save the world. Just a girl trying to learn about her family while fighting for her own sanity.
The battles themselves are fairly well done. They tend to be rather puzzle like, in that you often have to think about how to use specific skills to accomplish specific goals, rather than just being about pure combat. Likewise, while they start out fairly simple in the first couple episodes, they can get fiendishly difficult as the game progresses. This is one game where I highly, highly, recommend hording skill points from level to level and only spending them as you come up against battles that you find unbeatable. Because the game's skill and stat system is so unique, it will take a bit of trial and error for even experienced RPG players to figure out how things work. Especially when playing a Max memory Volva character (this game's equivalent of "hard"), just picking a skill tree and investing in it could very well leave you unable to beat the game at some point.
The game did suffer from some huge bugs on release, hence the terrible metacritic reviews, but most of those have been squashed and the developer is very active on the forums to this day and responsive to issues (I found a fix to one bug myself and the dev sent it out as a patch within 24 hours, which was kind of cool).
Overall, this is a unique, challenging, turn based RPG that deserves to overcome its terrible launch and become a cult classic.
Winter Voices is one of those odd games that you play and don't actually have any fun doing so. You play for the feel of it, the atmosphere, the music, some quirk that intrigues you; but you can't exactly call it -fun-.
I took a chance on this one because the premise sounded different and interesting, and I'll admit it delivered on that, but I somehow still feel disappointed. When I look at this game again without my original expectations it's still a quirky piece that feels more like a book rather than a game. The only reason it's a game at all really is to explore the different ways people deal with grief. And maybe that was the whole point to begin with.
Basically you're playing as a girl that's not only dealing with the death of her father, but the loss of herself in an incredibly tiny little town. In many ways your story is already written for you before you start playing; the people in town already have a set idea of who you are, something your character isn't really comfortable with. Fights aren't really fights so much as emotional puzzles; you're not actually playing to win just playing to survive. There's this feeling of inevitability and hopelessness that colors the entire game; making it feel more like a study in depression and mental health issues rather than a game. The actual game mechanics themselves are painful in a lot of aspects. The font is tiny, the movement awkward, the system unintuitive, and the gameplay itself is rather dull and boring.
However; the story is a beautiful and dark one. You genuinely feel lost yourself, combating these ghosts of your own making and fighting against the perceptions of your fellow villagers. The dialogue is moving and intense, and some of the puzzles are complex and took me more than just a couple of tries. It is definitely a unique experience.
In spite of everything I found myself picking this up time and again just to hear the next bit. Like a book so painful and so raw you can only read a few chapters at a time, and although you can't say it's a joy to do so there's this draw to it because it speaks to you somehow.
I suppose in short if you're looking for a game to play Winter Voices probably isn't for you.
If you're looking for an interactive view into falling down the rabbit hole of depression and feeling uncomfortable the entire time, then yea pick this one up.
I debated for a long time whether or not I could honestly recommend this, but in the end it does deliver what it promises; an experience unlike any other. Just leave your expectations at the door, and if you do plan on getting this make sure you do it when there's a sale and it's nice and cheap so you don't feel like you lost out if it ends up not being your cup of tea.
Rating this as a 'game': 2/10
Rating this as a different experience: 8/10
Winter Voices is a peculiar game. It has a standard tactial RPG setup, with a turn-based "battle" system, attribute points, and a skill tree. You'll notice that I had to put quotation marks around battle. To be blunt, you aren't usually battling things. Most encounters involve running away from or avoiding enemies. And crying, I can't forget to mention how much crying and sobbing there is. It is peculiar mostly in this regard: you don't fight things, even though you are in a gaming framework where you'd expect to be able to fight things.
Early on, probably even for the entirety of the first act, these battles are fairly unsatisfying. For me, it wasn't until the second and third act that I started enjoying the game. You start off with maybe three or four tools to use in battle, but slowly as you develop your skill tree you gain access to more and more possibilities. This is where I think Winter Voices shines. How you envision your character and which skills you use truly change your gameplay style. Is your heroine the sort of person to run away from her problems? Is she more likely to just ignore them? Does she invent stories to help her forget? Does she rely on friends instead? I feel like these choices make a bigger impact than "Do I want a giant flame hammer or a shiny ice dagger?" type of choices you might find in other tactical RPGs.
The game has many flaws: the plot is murky at best, the writing is over the top (I wish I could think up enough ridiculously highfalutin words off the top of my head to convey this, but I cannot), and the battles can be infuriatingly boring. I still give it a positive review because, in the end, I enjoyed it. There's a demo to see if you might like it too.
This wind...
it will remain memorable on your lips,
in your eyes will be dead this trail winds...
The game is simply a masterpiece.
When I bought it back in 2010, I thought it was a normal quest.
When you experience all that the main character feels, the tears flow.
Dramatic and juicy.
The gameplay seems pretty decent (and the battle mechanics particularly interesting), but after thirty minutes or so I've had to set this game aside (at least for the moment) because I simply can't take any more of the purple prose, especially given how often it descends into complete doggerel in what is presumably an attempt to sound "poetic." This isn't even remotely funny-bad, as Bulwer-Lytton contest entries, but simply painful-bad, the hail-like slew of obstreperous adjectives hurtling down in contradictory fashion, each a shard of ice with its own unique, cutting edges inflicting a slightly different shape of wound on my suffering literary sensibility, to combine to envelop me in a veil of unseeing mist, muffling prosaic taste with a bitter aftertaste of a poison blade. (On the other hand, if that sentence doesn't bother you, go right ahead and dive in to the game.)
A great and mature story combined with an absolutely interesting turn-based combat system make for a great formula of a game.
The drawback? The game has its share of slow moments, especially in the Prologue, and mainly in the engine (Adobe AIR) and the quite large share of issues you'll likely have with it.
But overall, issues aside, it's really fun, and there might also be a Season 2 coming. Be sure to let the developer know in this discussion that we want a proper engine this time around!
This is a hard game to recommend. Truth be told, it has a fair share of drawbacks. Even with that in mind, this game possesses amazing naration, a deep, innovative combat/RPG system and a powerful story. It touches some very dark themes, and does so with finesse. The psychological allusions fused with the norse mythology work together to build an unforgetable and deeply affecting experience. My advice - play the demo, and if you are not turned off, go for it.
Summary: Interesting universe created a refreshing explanation of RPG gameplay. Narration/storyline tried a too hard to be deep. The story ends up not saying much about the main character. Slow-paced game; battles are more puzzle-like than turn-based real time strategy. Not enough skill points at times, but you can manually reset points in .txt log. Great atmosphere and music; great art except I don't like the portraits.
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This review is for played Winter Voices: Avalanche, which is the prologue or "Episode 0" of the series. I bought it on sale for less than $5.
I enjoyed the game's interesting story and its creative interpretation of RPG elements such as character classes, character stats, skills, and battle system. The universe of Winter Voices held my attention. Hints toward magical or spiritual themes made me curious for a greater understanding of this world, but interest alone does not make a game.
I see this game as appealing only to a small, niche audience. I wouldn't recommend it because it needs more polishing. Striving to complete the game felt aggravating, even torturous, at times. Here's what you need to know:
Gameplay
The game is text-driven and involves heavy reading. Its battle system is more puzzle-strategy than tactical turn-based strategy. You don't actually kill enemies, but you employ defensive strategies such as decoys and spatial rearrangement on the cell grid. Your objective for each battle includes surviving, protecting, or reaching a checkpoint. Different maps, enemies, and goals were enough to keep it fresh. Some puzzles were easy; others made me want to throw my laptop out the window.
Unfortunately, skill points are very limited. The snowflake-shaped skill tree is really cool (ba-dum tss), but you only gain one skill point per level up. I ended the game at level 7 with 6 skill points in total. You're meant to develop the skill tree over the course of the series, but completing some challenging battles in the Prologue would have been impossible had I not manually reset my skill points repeatedly by editing the text file. In other words, I had to cheat in order to advance.
The pacing of the game was slow and required patience to play due to the reading and point-and-click. Your character has a very slow walking animation, and clicks don't redirect. One misclick on a cell means watching your character saunter to that point before you can backtrack. Sometimes, it was hard to click on the edge of the screen to walk to the next area on the map.
Story
I think the story tried too hard to be deep. The writing style was flowery and pretentious; many metaphorical comments on the hardships of life were lost on me. I didn't know what was going on in the main character's real life. Her father seemed cold an unaffectionate, so why does she even care about him? I didn't get the premise of the whole plot, which undermined my motivation to complete the game.
As for the main character's inner demons, the writing goes overboard trying to be mysterious and dark. Still, it's interesting to read and makes you wonder about the main character's mental state. There could be a literal spirit world coming up. But it needed less surrealist sequences and more relevant discoveries to the main character's life. Enemy memories were not unveiled as specific memories relevant to her life. We still don't know any more about the relationship between the main character and her father by the end of the prologue.
Art and Music
I thought the art was beautiful except for the people portraits. They were reminiscent of badly drawn anime. I was not expecting that style from their concept art.
No complaints on the music; it greatly amplified the mystic and somber atmosphere.
This game has so much potential. The graphics are beautifully hand drawn, the story is superb, the mechanics great.
Unfortunately there are so many bugs, it's virtually unplayable. Steam overlay doesn't work properly with this game and I couldn't even get past the funeral pyre at the beginning of the game as it wouldn't allow my character to move off the screen to get to another part of the map.
Unless the developers fix the major problems in this game - stay well away from it.
Winter Voices... Well, if you like tactical challenges then this may be a good game for you. If you like feeling capable, powerful and successful then this game will disappoint you at every turn. While the later episodes do start to give you that feeling, occasionally, it's such a slow slog up to that point that it's honestly not worth the money. The "combat" is really more like a series of puzzles framed as dealing with opponents which, in theory, can be quite fun and interesting. The pace ruins it, making each combat an exercise in trial-and-error and hoping that the AI doesn't just decide to finish you off.
The story is rather fascinating and an interesting take on the heroine's journey, or growing up, and one could argue the game's design is meant to give the player the feel of the despair and depression the character is feeling. That said, there are very few gamers who will actually get this feeling and enjoy the experience.
This is going to be a hard one to review. This is not my type of game. I played it for about 2 hours before I gave up.
It's a game similar to Final Fantasy Tactics, with more narrative and less combat. The setting is interesting, and the way the delivery is handled is very good.
The artwork is decent. The writing is amazing. But the game is slow-paced and there's a lot of minor things that doesn't grab me. I definitely recommend the game to someone who enjoys adventure games with light combat. If you're into visual novels - a game where the story is 90% of the game, then this is for you.
For me, this is like giving a sports game to a nerd. I don't know how to appreciate it.
It's not about amazing graphics, quickly delivered catharic release, or overused plot devices. Slow, somber, and sometimes painful -Winter Voices sets it's own tone, and drags you slowly, irresistably down with it. Highly recommended if you have the patience.
Wow. This is... unique. I'll say that much. Look. I enjoy it. But I'm weird. I CANNOT in good conscience recommend this to anyone who does not share my unique individual damage. Also, you will fight the Interface. Oh, and it will crash. But by God, there is something... just. I like it. Read reviews and play a demo or something - just like the cigars and hyper-expensive scotch whiskey I like, this is DEFINITELY not for everyone.
A young woman suffers a trauma in the death of her father, she then battles her inner doubts and fears (spawning as enemies) using psychological tools and triggers as weapons (those are the skills you choose as you level up). Kind of innovative and poetic and I wish I could recommend it, but it is hard to do so because of all the bugs and crashes. Try the demo first and only get this on a sale and if you are very patient.
Дополнительная информация
| Разработчик | Clara Lehenaff |
| Платформы | Windows |
| Ограничение возраста | Нет |
| Дата релиза | 15.01.2025 |
| Отзывы пользователей | 65% положительных (116) |