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.

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.

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.