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

just started. in-game pathfinding and interface may not be the best, but overall atmosphere is deep, dark and depressing. storyline feels unique and has a lot of mystery in it. was very surprised by whole storytelling style.

Tohle je v herních kruzích velmi neobvyklá hra, proto se vám ji zde dovolím alespoň částečně přiblížit.

Prostředí: Hra se odehrává na začátku 20. století v jedné neznámé zasněžené končině. Celou hru začnete hrát za ženu, mladou dívku, které právě umřel otec... její milovaný otec. Dívka se postupně rozhodne odejít do světa něco hledat (sama sebe, jiné osoby, nebudu spoilovat) a projde kus světa.

Hlavní postava: Mladá dívka, u které si budete moc zvolit její dosavadní povolání a podle toho i její následné kvality v různých atributech. Povolání jsou: Tkadlena, Lovkyně a Volva (Něco jako vesnická šamanka pamětnice). Samy vidíte, že to rozhodně nejsou typická povolání. A to ještě nevíte jaké atributy rozhodují o kvalitách postavy. Například Humor, Paměť, či Důmysl určují kvality schopnosti se smířit se situací, množství obdrženého poškození, získaných zkušeností, či účinnost vlastních schopností vyvolat patřičné výmysly.

Žánr hry: Hra je žánrově RPG, ale je velmi silně řízlá Adventurními prvky. A co to znamená v případě této hry? Ve hře probýhá boj, je provozován na tahy a je silně taktický. Ve hře proti vám ale nestojí klasičtí protivníci a snad ani jednou není cílem je zabít, zničit či jakkoliv jinak zlikvidovat. Jediné, co se po vás chce, je přežít jejich vliv. "Co?!?" ptáte se? Je to prosté, hra proti vám staví vaše zlé vzpomínky, vaši bolest ze ztráty matky i otce a zhmotňuje je v nepříjemné bytosti. Boj jako takový je tedy cílen na to, dostat se například z bodu A do bodu B, jindy máte přežít X kol (je tam dokonce i noc, kde je nutné přežít 1000 kol :) ). Další neobvyklostí boje zde je, že jej není nutné vyhrát. Vzpomínky vás mohou dostihnout a pohroužit. Výsledek je takový, že může daný děj probýhat mírně jinak, nebo získáte podstatně menší zkušenosti.

RPG a "Sněhová vločka schopností" - Tato hra nemá ani klasický Skill Tree, ale má Skill snowflake. Skilly totiž lze ozvíjet od středu do všech směrů, kde každý směr představuje nějaké vlastnosti vlastní osobnosti (introvert, extrovert, cholerik, sangvinik). A schopností je ve hře opravdu požehnaně. A jak vypadá taková typická schopnost v této hře? Například "Vymyšlení si pohádky" - ta vás dokáže chránit a absorbovat částečně poškození za vás. Nebo "Očekávání bolesti" - to se zase vaše postava připraví na to, že ji doslova dostihnou špatné vzpomínky a tak je na ně o něco lépe připravena :) .

Tempo hry: Ze začátku se vám bude hra zdát poněkud pomalá a vleklá, ale to je způsobeno vleklostí Prologu, než se hrdinka rozhodně odejít z vesnice pryč. Každá noc (resp. únava hrdinky) znamená přežít noční můry, a že občas bývají fajnové :)

Epizodičnost hry: Určitě nemá cenu koupit například jen Prolog a hotovo, raději rovnou pořiďte celou sezónu, neboť tato hra své kvality zlepšuje s každou epizodou.

Za kolik bych byl ochotný hru koupit? Pokud bude celek koupitelný v nějaké akci za 15€, neváhejte a užijte se to nejneobvyklejší RPG, které vám kdy přišlo pod ruce.

Čeština: Pracuji na překladu, pracuji na něm již dlouho, protože mě nic nežene jej uspíšit a dorazit do konce, ale nakonec překlad bude a budete se o něm moci průběžně dozvědět více na http://pryczhlavynapapir.blogspot.cz/

Hodnocení:
Příběh: 9/10
Grafika 8/10 (Zejména za krásný artwork concept)
Zvuk 9/10 (Moc hezká hudba)
Hratelnost 7/10 (Je to prostě vleklé)
Znovuhratelnost 8/10 (Už se těším na další povolání)

A very poetic, melancholic and narration-driven turn-based strategy-RPG with some beautiful art. I wish my character would move a bit faster, the combat works with it but exploring areas outside of it takes a pretty long time because she can't run but walk slowly only. Probably part of the design idea of being a melancholic, semi-dark game, but I am sure this will drive off numerous less patient players.

The combat is very interesting. The area you are in is turned into a grid-based field you can walk turn by turn. You try to achieve certain goals like reaching some point on that grid, survive for X turns or protect allies. That alone isn't all-too-new - the unique thing about it is that it is strictly defensive from what I've seen. All your skills are focused around averting, immobilizing or pushing around enemies, sustaining combat, spawning "minions" to protect you, regenerating energy and whatnot. You can change between two sets of skill descriptions in the options menu, one set tells you what the skills do in a narration-fitting way, the other gives you more concrete numbers for those who care. Every combat scenario and goal is merged well with the narration. Sometimes you are even supposed to lose the fight because your character's mind and the narration wants you to do so. Even if you fail this initial, sometimes "twisted" goal the game still allows you to continue the story. I haven't seen a "game over" screen yet. I like this idea. Should certain combats be too difficult you are not forced to retrack and reload stuff, the story and narration keeps flowing.

There is no money and inventory, at least I haven't seen any thus far. Your character levels up with XP. XP is earned by talking with NPCs and by achieving the combat goals as best as possible. When leveling up you can activate passive and active skills on a skill tree resembling a snowflake. And you increase your attributes. They increase your combat stats, and one attribute - humor - is supposed to give you more humorus dialogue options. Most of the time there are at least three dialogue options: You say something in a cold/stoic way, in a sad/whining or in a funny/ironic/sarcastic one. I haven't examined the ways they change depending on my "humor" attribute, nor if things would turn out differently if I had chosen other lines. My impression is that things won't change too much, but I will update this review in case it should turn out I'm wrong, I'm not too far in the game.

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.

This is a game worth at least trying out, as it shows you an entirely different way of thinking of the whole notion of the RPG as more of a physics puzzle game based upon a skill tree than any standard dungeon grind.Many people criticise this game for its slowness and they certainly have a point, and most of it seems to be flaws with Adobe AIR, the game's poorly-chosen engine.However, part of the slowness is also deliberate. It's a deeply psychological game, built around a core of the sense of loneliness and isolation, even from those who should be friends or even family.Winter Voices is also buggy especially because of Adobe AIR and some levels can seriously take minutes to even start the mission just because the engine is so inefficient, it can't even load the map. The game has an unforgiving side, as well. Skills bought on the skill tree are permanent, and the game likes to spring surprises on you where suddenly, some skills are disabled, and a build that was powerful before suddenly fails.The strong points of this game are story and gameplay. The story is amazing. The protagonist is one of the most relatable characters in recent memory and the dialogue is very well written.The gameplay is very original, I can honestly say I've never played an RPG quite like this. Pretty much every aspect, from the battles to the stats and abilities are a means to drive the story forward. This is definitely not a game for everyone. However I would strongly suggest it to RPG fans and people looking for something new and unique. Overall 8/10.

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.

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!

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.)

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.

This game is like no others. Like it or hate it - it's something unique. :) (and it's cheap !)

What to say?

"Your Mileage May Vary" seems appropriate.

I got this game in a bundle, they put the episodes beyond what was in the bundle on special. I thought I should buy the episodes, but decided to try the prologue before investing any cash into the episodes.

I'm thankful I did. The game and story seem very interesting. The world that the developers created IS great looking, and I do want to see more of it, but I've given up having any fun playing this game.

The game kinda makes me feel like it's ME who's being tortured in "playing" the game rather then the main character. Most of my complaints seem to echo others who would not recommend this game (and even some that do). Moving around is too slow, the puzzles/combat seems to vary from easy to "this is making me hate my life", I also seem to think that perhaps the learning curve is at least a little bit steep, I don't seem to understand effectively what attracts/detracts/masks you from the enemy memories (something I didn't realize was happening until I got tired of the game) or how that fits into the universe (how does one hide behind a rock from a bad memory?).

Another thing that also puts me way off with this game is the lack of ability to do any kind of actual fighting. I'm all for the game not being violent, but I finally stopped playing when I felt hopeless that all I can do is push these "memories" around, and reduce their damage, while they slowly hunt me down, pushing me, reducing my movement, surrounding me, and finally killing me. If I could lock some of the enemies down by trapping them somehow, or maybe push them so far they stop being a threat. I do wonder if some of those things are options that I just don't understand.

I feel like I've given the developers a few hours of my life, and despite their valiant attempts, all they accomplished is having tortured me.

Having said all that, it might just be something I'm missing, or just not my cup of tea. The developers do seem to be competent, and able, to create something that could be intresting AND fun, they've just created something I hate.

I'm a bit of a masochist in that I'll try a game even if it's broken as long as it has a few redeeming points; Winter Voices does have a great story, but right off the bat I found it better to play in French since the dialogue was written in that language, and it just flows better that way. The English translation unfortunately suffers from many "bugs" (translations that don't flow well and don't always make sense). The voice narration also doesn't quite correspond to the written text (the voicing dialogue is better), which was enough to bug me by itself; I wish there was a way to hide the text completely in some instances.

I'd seen on the developers' website that they planned/plan to provide a fully bugfixed version... I don't know if that's still happening given the state of their team, but I recommend waiting until that happens, or at least that you be prepared to save your game every 5 possible minutes in case the interface stops responding in any useful way (or you get stuck in a dialogue after the interface has already disappeared.) It feels as though devs skimped on having too many state checks to allow/disallow clicking, and the way I naturally interact with the interface just interrupts the game and forces me to reload too often.

Beware, this also happens in places where narration immediately precedes a fight, removing any option to save. If the interface bugs out during those, you'll spend long minutes getting back to where you were if you die / try again. This is made worse in spots where 3, 4 battles are chained. There's no relief for me as this happened in every episode.

Pathfinding also has issues where your teammates block the way out of a screen, and there's no way to control them or get them out of the way (you have to reload a previous save).

Don't look for many keyboard shortcuts, this is a 97% mouse-driven experience, although it feels like the keyboard was forgotten rather than purposefully omitted.

And finally, don't expect to have story options that lead you out of the main character's comfort zone, unlike many modern RPGs the point is not to cater to the player's tastes and provide many options, but really to tell a specific story.

I have lots of spare time and am curious enough to play through the entire thing (on ep. 5 now), as I found the story captivating enough for that even despite the issues, but technical issues really are that frustrating throughout. I hope this gets fixed so I can update my review!

This "game" is more about art-work, music, and concepts than gameplay, but it is one of the most innovative concepts for a video game I have ever seen. The feeling and mood of the game are unique beyond words. This game is definitely not for everyone, and can be very slow at times, but if you are brave enough to try something completely different with an open mind, give it a try.

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.

This is one of the more creative games I've played in the RPG field recently. Although its story is opaque and difficult to discern at times, it's a quite meaningful mystery story.

The key attraction, however, is the combat... where you're forced to fight not physical monsters you can squish, but nightmares and dark memories you are incapable of harming. It's a puzzle-strategy game where you must build your character around psychological defense mechanisms that will allow you to outwit the demons in your character's own mind. (Denial isolates you from damage. Sublimate fantasies that the nightmares have to tear down before they can reach you. A slight bout of schizophrenia displaces the target of the nightmare's blame.)

It's downfall is that it's a great idea on a terrible engine (Adobe AIR) that is scarcely capable of handling a game this complex. It runs bizarrely slow when many units are on the field.

Still, if you want a strategy RPG that involves actually using strategy instead of stats for a change, this game shows higher-budget titles how it's done.

Quick summary: Interesting universe created a refreshing explanation of RPG gameplay; narration/storyline tried a too hard to be deep; 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 can manually reset 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 playing this game for its interesting story and it's creative explanation of RPG elements such as character classes, character stats, skills, and battle system. The universe of Winter Voices held my attention. Hintings toward magical or spiritual themes made me curious for a greater understanding of this world, but interest alone does not make a game.

I wouldn't recommend this game because I see it as appealing only to a small, niche audience. Here's what you need to know.

1) Text-driven game with heavy reading. Not a problem, just a caveat.

2) Battle system is more puzzle-strategy than tactical turn-based strategy. You don't actually kill enemies, but employ defensive strategies of spatial rearrangement or using decoys. Common goals per battle include 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.

3) Limited skill points. The snowflake-shaped skill tree is really cool (ba-dum tss), but you only gain one skill point per character level-up. I ended the game at level 7 with 6 skill points alotted. 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.

4) Story is too "artsy." It tried too hard to be deep. This is mostly due to the writing style, which is very flowery and comes off a bit pretentious. I'm all for complexity and poignant commentary on the hardships of life, but many metaphorical comments were lost on me because if the writing style. Sometimes I didn't know what was going on in the main character's real life. Most importantly, her father seemed cold an unaffectionate, so why would she care so much about him? I couldn't understand the premise of the whole plot. These factors undermined my motivation to complete the game.

4a) As for the main character's inner demons, the writing goes overboard trying to be mysterious and grotesque. Still, it's interesting to read and makes you wonder about the main character's mental state and a possible incorporation of some kind of spirit world. But it needs less surrealist sequences and more relevant discoveries to the main character's life, or it starts to lose relatability to the player. Enemy memories are never revealed as specific memories relevant to her life, so we still don't know any more about the relationship between the main character and her father by the end of the prologue.

5) Slow paced. The pacing of the game is slow in general, so you must have a lot of patience to play. This is largely due to emphasis on reading and point-and-click mechanism. Your character has a very slow walking animation. Because clicks don't redirect, one misclick means you have to watch your character saunter to that point before you can backtrack. Sometimes clicking on the edge of the screen to go to the next area of the map was unresponsive.

6) Art is beautiful, yet the portraits of people are...kinda ugly. They are reminiscent of badly drawn anime. It's just not the style I was expecting from their concept art.

7) Music. No complaints on the music; it greatly amplified the mystic and somber atmosphere.

Winter Voices is an unforgivably uneven game based around some unbelievably brilliant design decisions. The skill snowflake is wonderful, and the story, though confusing due to the developers' native language clearly not being English and some heavy purple prose, lends itself to wonderful atmosphere and genuine intrigue. The baffling decision to design the game around Adobe Air harms it a great deal, as it makes the already-questionable gameplay near-intolerable. The game feels like the worst, grindiest parts of any Spiderweb RPG as written by Björk. Still, I didn't regret my decision to play it in the slightest, and I ended up buying every episode. It is something I feel I will come back to a lot in the future. Ultimately, I do recommend you play it, because I've never had an experience like it before or since. Be aware going in that the game aspect of the game is an utter slog at times, however.

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.

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.