Tails Of Iron 2: Whiskers Of Winter Review

Tails of Iron was one of 2021’s most underrated games (or most highly rated in my case), expertly crafting a dark 2D fairy tale-like adventure with challenging Soulslike combat. It was hard enough that I told everyone I could that not only did I finish it but I got the platinum for it, but it was also accessible enough that people like me could get on board. The game’s sequel – Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter – could have very much been a case of “If it ain’t broke,” but Odd Bug Studio has built on the foundations it laid to enhance the overall experience, although not every new idea lands as satisfyingly as executing an Undead Sky Scorcher.

Set after the events of the original, Whiskers of Winter takes us North of the Ratdom to Winter’s Edge, where the Warden of the Wastes has just been murdered by The Dark Wings – a group of evil bats. The heir to throne, a young rat named Arlo, vows to rebuild Winter’s Edge and avenge his father’s death. But he can’t do it alone, thus beginning a journey to recruit those who can help him rebuild Winter’s Edge and take revenge on The Dark Wings.

The morning before the mourning

With Tails of Iron’s world inhabited by anthropomorphic characters, Arlo’s quest will take him all across the Ratdom meeting species of all kinds. Without a doubt, the game’s truly spectacular hand-drawn art style helps brings these locations and characters to life. From the warm colours of Nestminister where the Owls live to The Warren, the icy home of the rabbits, the world of Whiskers of Winter is packed full of stunning and charming detail. But it’s not just the environments themselves, it’s the animations too, like how owls peek from behind trees upon Arlo’s arrival or how the villagers of Mossbug Farm go about their lives in the background, it’s like playing through a medieval storybook version of Redwall.

The story is once again superbly narrated by Doug Cockle (The Witcher’s Geralt of Rivia), with dialogue between the characters using speech bubbles and animal-like noises. And while the narrative has some likeable characters and moments that tingle the whiskers, it’s largely a vehicle to see Arlo engage in some violent battles with his oppressors.

Tails of Iron’s combat was a great mix of challenging enemies and simple mechanics that utilised a colour-coded system that identified whether the player should block, parry or dodge an enemy attack. Like most games of this type, Arlo has both light and heavy attacks, as well as a ranged attack. But while combat in Whiskers of Winter feels heftier and more responsive, it’s also been expanded by adding fire, poison, ice and electricity abilities. Arlo can use these elemental powers to cast spells (operating on a cooldown), and weapons and gear are infused with these powers to deal damage or offer protection. If you found the combat loop of the original a little repetitive, this should help, and Arlo has access to traps that deal elemental damage as well.

All the environments look amazing

But while the addition of elemental abilities adds another layer to the combat, it is the reason for a minor gripe of mine, because Arlo isn’t the only one with these abilities – all his enemies have their own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to the elemental powers. The bats, for example, can dish out ice damage that will have you frozen to the spot and mashing the B button (on a controller) to break free, but don’t love being attacked with fire. Handily, all of the enemies’ different stats and weaknesses can be perused in your Bestiary. This in itself is not an issue, as it requires you to tinker with your loadout (which has a weighting) to suit your opponent. My gripe is when an area has different types of enemies that don’t share the same strengths or weaknesses, meaning that you’ll need to frequently change your loadout if you want to inflict the most damage or mitigate the effects of your enemy’s attacks. It’s only a minor issue though, as you can avoid combat encounters that aren’t part of the quest and once you unlock higher level weapons, you’ll be able to easily dish out enough damage to win any fight.

Like any Soulslike, death is frequent, and each passing is a chance to learn your killer’s pattern of attack and when the best time to strike is. Thankfully though, save points (which are benches with blue lampposts) are commonly spread throughout the world, as are health refill stations, and both are always near a boss fight or fast travel point, and if you really can’t progress and WellPlayed’s Nathan Hennessy isn’t around to save the day, you can always drop the difficulty down a notch.

When you’re not following the main quest, Arlo can help residents deal with issues such as infestations or a creature destroying crops. They’re often quick and easy ways to make some extra coin and find some gear and materials, however, the ‘boss’ quests do become a little tedious, as these are simply glorified boss fights that are split into three rounds and force Arlo to go to three different locations to complete the fight.

Combat is still as challenging as before

All of Arlo’s conquests will yield resources that allow our young royal rat to craft and upgrade weapons and gear, as well as buy and sell goods. Vendors and blacksmiths of the villages will offer different items, but another new feature sees Arlo build his settlement with his own smithy and shops. However, sometimes completing quests for resources to upgrade your gear can feel a little pointless when the gear you receive from defeating bosses and enemies will often suffice. Though, towards the end of the game I did find myself putting my blacksmith to work fairly often.

Final Thoughts

Whiskers of Winter maintains all the charm and challenge that made Tails of Iron such a cracker of a game while improving the core gameplay loop, even if some new features do work better than others. Regardless of my minor issues, I had an absolute blast following Arlo’s journey and no doubt this will be up there with one of my favourites of the year, and for $36, it’s hard to argue that you won’t get your money’s worth.

Reviewed on PC // Review code supplied by publisher

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