Winter Voices

65%
Game Brain Score Based on 234 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • music
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"Winter Voices" is an indie RPG adventure game that follows a young woman, Tesla, on her journey of self-discovery and healing after the loss of her husband. The game features a unique narrative-driven gameplay, with 50 introspective letters to read, and turn-based tactical combat. Set in a beautifully hand-drawn winter landscape, Tesla will face her fears, inner demons, and make difficult decisions that will shape her future.

  • PC
  • Windows
  • Linux
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

65%
Audience ScoreBased on 234 reviews
story53 positive mentions
stability14 negative mentions
  • The game features a beautifully crafted atmosphere and art style, enhancing the emotional experience.
  • The story is unique and deeply engaging, exploring themes of grief and personal struggle in a poetic manner.
  • The combat system is innovative, focusing on puzzle-like encounters rather than traditional fighting, which adds a fresh twist to the RPG genre.
  • The pacing is extremely slow, which can lead to frustration and boredom during gameplay.
  • The game suffers from numerous technical issues, including bugs and poor movement mechanics, making it difficult to play.
  • The writing can be overly pretentious and convoluted, detracting from the overall narrative experience.
  • story177 mentions

    The game's story is a central focus, characterized by its unique and introspective narrative that explores themes of loss, depression, and self-discovery. While some players appreciate its deep, poetic writing and emotional depth, others find it overly pretentious and slow-paced, leading to mixed feelings about its execution. Overall, the story is seen as a compelling experience for those willing to engage with its artistic style, despite its flaws in pacing and clarity.

    • “If you decide to embark on this journey, you'll find a moving and deep story that's totally worth it.”
    • “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 writing is beautiful; it matches the sad and sometimes gothic tone of the story perfectly and is presented in an almost poetic manner.”
    • “I got 2 hours in trying to engage with the story but it is just so dry and tedious.”
    • “The story is pretentious, nonsensical, and not interesting in the least.”
    • “The story ends up not saying much about the main character.”
  • gameplay77 mentions

    The gameplay of this title has received mixed reviews, with many players criticizing its poorly executed mechanics, slow pacing, and unintuitive controls, which detract from the overall experience. While some appreciate the unique RPG elements and emotional storytelling, others find the gameplay dull and frustrating, suggesting that the game prioritizes narrative and atmosphere over engaging mechanics. Overall, it appears to be an acquired taste, appealing primarily to those willing to overlook its flaws for the sake of its artistic and thematic ambitions.

    • “While the game plays fairly similar to other RPGs out there, the mechanics within give this game a unique feel alongside its gloomy, yet relatable story.”
    • “While the game is heavily slow in pacing, it makes up for it in its mechanics which give this game an interesting and emotional trip into the world of Winter Voices.”
    • “What definitely makes this game wonderful is the unique setting and mechanics.”
    • “The gameplay is poorly executed, the translation is awful, but still I could see the soul in it and loved the experience deeply.”
    • “The actual game mechanics themselves are painful in a lot of aspects.”
    • “The gameplay itself is slow-paced and uninspiring.”
  • music35 mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for its ability to enhance the atmosphere, providing a stirring and powerful backdrop that complements both intense and quiet moments. Reviewers note that the soundtrack effectively amplifies the game's mystic and somber tone, although some express minor criticisms regarding specific lyrical content. Overall, the music is considered a standout feature that significantly contributes to the game's emotional depth and immersive experience.

    • “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 atmosphere is really good and the soundtrack complements it well; there's a real bleak and lonely tone that permeates the game.”
    • “No complaints on the music; it greatly amplified the mystic and somber atmosphere.”
    • “Only this dull music instead...”
    • “You play for the feel of it, the atmosphere, the music, some quirk that intrigues you; but you can't exactly call it -fun-.”
    • “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.”
  • atmosphere34 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its deep, dark, and immersive qualities, effectively conveying a sense of coldness and pressure that enhances the overall experience. The music and art complement this mood, creating a bleak and lonely tone that captivates players, even amidst slower pacing and some gameplay frustrations. Many reviewers noted that the atmosphere is a key reason for their engagement with the game, making it a compelling aspect despite other shortcomings.

    • “The atmosphere is really good and the soundtrack complements it well; there's a real bleak and lonely tone that permeates the game.”
    • “When the negative aspects made me dump this game the first time, the awesome atmosphere made me come back.”
    • “On one hand, it has a unique concept and setting, excellent atmosphere and music and a decent (and also unique) skills and stats system.”
    • “The pacing is slow, the atmosphere depressing.”
    • “You play for the feel of it, the atmosphere, the music, some quirk that intrigues you; but you can't exactly call it 'fun'.”
    • “But the atmosphere ... it just hooked me.”
  • graphics28 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the beautifully hand-drawn artwork and painterly style, while others criticize them as outdated and in need of improvement. Many players feel that the visuals, although decent, take a backseat to the narrative and thematic elements, suggesting that the game prioritizes artistic expression over gameplay mechanics. Overall, while the graphics are appreciated for their artistic quality, they are often seen as lacking in polish and innovation.

    • “The graphics are beautifully hand drawn, the story is superb, the mechanics great.”
    • “The graphics are all rendered in a painterly style, and most of the dialogue is cryptic freeform poetry.”
    • “A truly strange game with nicely crafted graphics.”
    • “Outdated graphics.”
    • “The graphics are decent but could be a lot better.”
    • “I'd rate this (strange) game overall a 6.4 out of 10, but that is perhaps because there is such a nasty graphics glitch... not a game I would really recommend.”
  • emotional18 mentions

    The emotional aspect of "Winter Voices" is deeply impactful, with players highlighting its touching narrative and introspective themes that resonate throughout the gameplay. The battles are described as emotional puzzles rather than traditional fights, focusing on the protagonist's mental and emotional struggles, which can evoke strong feelings and even distress in players. While the pacing is slow, the game offers a unique and profound emotional journey that some players find both beautiful and challenging.

    • “So Winter Voices is not fast-paced, action-packed, or modern looking, but for me, the touching story is good enough to make up for it.”
    • “You control a young woman who goes through her own thoughts and memories, and instead of fighting, you defend yourself with a variety of emotional and mental skills which can provide different benefits to the character herself or her surroundings.”
    • “Fights aren't really fights so much as emotional puzzles; you're not actually playing to win, just playing to survive.”
  • stability14 mentions

    The game's stability has improved significantly since its initial release, which was plagued by numerous bugs, crashes, and long loading times. While many players still report occasional glitches and freezes, recent patches have made the game much more playable and stable compared to its earlier state. Overall, it appears that while issues persist, the game is now in a more stable condition.

    • “Seriously, black screens, freezes, and crashes are the most common thing here.”
    • “- Riddled with bugs and glitches.”
    • “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.”
  • humor8 mentions

    The humor in the game is often perceived as vague and pretentious, with attempts at comedic dialogue feeling more psychotic than funny. While the plot improves around episode 3 and some humor emerges, the overall writing suffers from poor localization, leading to awkward and overly poetic prose that detracts from the experience. Many players find the humor painful rather than amusing, resulting in a frustrating experience.

    • “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).”
    • “The 'humorous' dialogue options come across as psychotic.”
  • optimization6 mentions

    The game suffers from significant optimization issues, running slowly and not utilizing the latest version of Adobe Air, which negatively impacts overall performance.

    • “The game runs slowly and is not compatible with the latest version of Adobe Air.”
    • “That aside, the game runs slowly too.”
    • “His performance, like everything else in the game, was far too slow.”
  • grinding4 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and cumbersome, with many expressing frustration over the dry storytelling and repetitive combat mechanics that detract from the overall experience.

    • “I got 2 hours in trying to engage with the story, but it is just so dry and tedious.”
    • “The combat is cumbersome and tedious.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
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