Winter Ember is a nice stealth game review, but there are some limitations

Kind stealth video games Not particularly healthy in an AAA environment. We certainly have high-end products like The Last of Us, but they don’t take the privacy basics but use it as an alternative approach to the direct one. If you’re looking for a real stealth game, the public today should bet on Hitman, which is unsurprisingly hugely successful.

However, the rest of the scene is tainted with minor failures such as Dishonored, which failed to fully conquer the general public, and Deus Ex Mankind Divided, which also dismissed the possibility of seeing a sequel. Square Enix legend. It also seems unnecessary to mention titles like Metal Gear and Splinter Cell that are at the center of constant rumors and nothing more.

More offers are coming from the indie space, and starting April 19, 2022, there will be another one: Winter Ember. The motto in this stealth adventure is to leverage the shadows and multiple resources at our disposal to better the environment and enemies.

To find out if the Sky Machine Studios game convinced us, all you have to do is keep reading ours. Review by Winter Ember.

artorias

We are the young children of Artorias, Arthur, a wealthy family that disappeared from history eight years ago. Mysterious killers destroyed most of our family, set fire to our house and us. But luck helped us and we survived. Now we must find the answers and above all revenge.

Arthur then returns home to his city, which has changed a lot over the years. A new sect has taken over, and the background to the destruction of the House of Artorias is darker and more complex than originally anticipated. There winter embers plot believable and will be one of the main reasons why the player wants to continue the adventure. First of all, it’s always nice to get to the focal point of the plot as these are told through animated cartoon style scenes. They are a special and pleasant choice as they are made with care.

However, Winter Ember is not just a main story game. Little ones don’t mind side missionsHowever, it does not tend to surprise either as an entertaining structure or narratively: they are little distractions that give us the opportunity to reap some additional rewards, which are always very useful.

It’s also a small smile when Arthur, a thief and a ruthless murderer, decides to spend time helping a lady in need of help because a necklace is stolen, or to wander halfway through town in search of a nobleman’s suitor. Who clearly wants to steal his legacy. However, the player will always have the option. spoilEven if the owner of the house he entered will steal in front of his eyes, he will not blink, so every question mark on the map will always be interesting. The loot can be sold for money, allowing us to buy resources, heals, and more.

Arrows, locks, dagger

But let’s talk about the heart of Winter Ember, her gameplay. As mentioned, we’re mainly talking about a stealth game. There is no opportunity to openly confront threats, and in some cases it is also a necessity. Unfortunately, the combat system is not well done at all.

Basically, Arthur is simple attacks, one after another. The enemy can parry, which must be taken down with a charged shot followed by a combo. The problem is that the controls are often not very responsive and get stuck. The game doesn’t always recognize keypresses and the charge doesn’t start, causing us to lose the “turn” of protecting the enemy who might start attacking us while we’re doing the combo.

WITH difficulty minimal, if you have too many treatments you can fight a few fights to get beaten without much consequences, but after a few hits on high difficulty death is just around the corner. There is dodging and parrying, but these are complex moves that must be used effectively. With two or more enemies, everything gets even more complicated. Not only because we are clearly surrounded and take more damage, but also because the attack system relies on autolock: the game decides who we attack based on our position and whether we have two enemies. In front of us, as soon as we parry against an enemy or break the guard, the visor moves towards the other opponent.

Winter Ember is a stealth-focused game and fighting is not an option considered by many, so some of the public will not see these flaws as a big problem. At the same time, the system is clearly poorly made, and it is impossible not to mention it.

The true heart of Winter Ember interaction with the environment. As you progress through the game you will actually get a set of special arrows, for example string arrows to create a high ground access point, or electric arrows to activate machines, or impact arrows that allow you to smash fragile parts to create wooden structures and steps. By finding or creating them in the scenario, we can access a large number of arrow types that are also useful in battle.

Frankly, it is not possible to approach every situation individually,” he said.aggressive secrecy“So, taking every chance to kill enemies silently. If you want, you can stun them without killing them: the advantage is that there are no traces left, and if the unconscious guard is hidden, no enemy will notice it. But the truth is that the guards do not have a particularly wide patrol and most of all they are not very intelligent Risking new encounters with the enemy when he wakes up It is a shame not to focus more on a peaceful approach.

Generally, interact with enemies which leaves something to be desired. As mentioned earlier, fights are poorly done and stealth favors indiscriminate elimination. But in general, the way the enemies are positioned is not interesting either. They’re either placed in such a way that it’s very easy to get them from behind, or they just block the way and force you to eliminate them directly. You can use various types of arrows to get better, but using the bow is extremely inconvenient, especially with a controller.

Winter Ember offers a view from above e arrow It relies on the movement of a pointer, which must be controlled with the right stick. Sometimes, even hitting a stationary object can be difficult, resulting in the loss of a valuable arrow. Since the controls risk being annoying, the player is not tempted to use them in combat.

problems

Even outside of combat, the controls are strangely responsive. For example, a roof systemallows you to lean against walls and shelters. Useful for spying around corners, but hard to activate. In fact, if you are too close to the wall, it is no longer possible to enter the trench: you must be a certain number of steps away, but obviously not too far. This system should be completely overhauled. Stealth enemy hunts are also a bit of a hassle, as there must be enough room for the auto-aim system to understand that it’s an enemy and you can do it, and you need to be in a straight line behind the enemy.

Winter Embers above all uncomfortable, that’s the question. Interacting with the environment and enemies often takes too long for that second to succeed, and in a stealth game (unsavory and very difficult on higher difficulties), where a mistake causes the battle to begin, it’s not pleasant.

Let’s add the fact that vision is too narrow. Camera distance should have been a little more generous. In a stealth game we should definitely be weaker, but we must have a lot of knowledge to understand which direction to go and how to overcome enemies: in Winter Ember we instead see only a handful of steps ahead. We close the list of issues with one that is not huge, but is present regularly: the environments are not very refined and often the character gets stuck in an invisible corner or has trouble walking through a narrow passage (and falls to the ground if you’re on a high passage).

It’s a shame it’s so small flaws This type, because the design of the rooms is nice. Usually there is more than one method to enter the main places of the plot: there are secret passages that require the use of one of the many arrows, you can open doors by stealing keys from enemies or break them with a simple mini-game. Complete them, special side quests to create an alternate access point.

No shortage of ideas, but they are kept in check by a product that deserves a little extra care: and by that we mean more budget, because the limit is always the same. A little more money could also make it possible to find a better voice actor for the protagonist. Unfortunately there are secondary characters that are much better-voiced than Arthur, who talks too much. Finally, we underline that the game is completely in English, although it is not at a particularly high level.