Ghost of a Tale

I played it for less than an hour, but Ghost of a Tale already fascinates me. It's a Thief kind of game with your protagonist (Tilo) being frail and small. Tilo has to hide, steal and solve puzzles to progress through the game. Obviously it is a game made with love. You can see all these small things like bugs or mushrooms that you can find in the prison corridors and eat. They seem to be right in place where they would have been in real life. The atmosphere balances between hilarious and dramatic. While this game may be funny-looking with a mouse minstrel as a hero, it seems to be deep as well. There's lore. For instance, check out this explanation of measures that mice use: 'A "rascal" is an amount of grain a mouse can cram into their mouse while still being able to run two hundred yards without pausing for breath'. That gives me sense of a society behind Tilo. The game is In Development, so there are some glitches (like, for instance, inability to use a normally available item), but I hope these will be fixed soon. There are also camera issues - I wasn't totally happy with its movement and angles, but it's quite manageable. I also hope this game will get more content as the number of quests and NPCs shown in the Statistics sections is kinda low.

Ghost of a Tale is an enchanting game about a small mouse trying to find his loved one in a gorgeous and at times dark medieval environment. Everything from the beautiful visuals to the charming and humorous storyline makes for an engrossing experience. Part RPG, part stealth and part adventure/puzzle, the game is designed around Tilo, it's minstrel mouse protagonist. You are a small mouse in a large and dangerous world and will have to rely on stealth, cunning and the ability to outrun your enemies rather than your strength. Keep in mind that as of now the game is in development and only a small fraction of the finished game is available. This said, what is already playable is fairly complete (both visually and gameplay-wise) and very enjoyable in its own right. Beware though that being indev the game it is quite bugged, but the devs are responsive and do a great job of keeping the game updated.

As others have stated, this game is simply magical in a modern age where the majority of fantasy games involves bloody conquest this one stands alone. Rather than play as a fierce barbarian, you take control of a small mouse, invoking childhood memories of Redwall. Rather than force your way through the environment, you must scurry in the shadows, run from your foes, hide anywhere your mouse can fit, and try and outsmart instead of over power. All the while you try and piece together your past and where you came from in the first place. An interesting story, rather than the stale quest of “go here, fight X bad guy, get Y item” that other fantasy games have devolved into in recent years. A blend of action, and story, and every character you meet has their own story for you to learn about as well. It’s not voice acted, and that lends itself to driving you deeper into the game, using your imagination to ad voices to each individual, giving it a nostalgic feel reminiscent of older click driven rpgs. The game itself is lovingly crafted with a vast assortment of places that serve no purpose to the game yet are fun to wander around and investigate and look at. It’s amazingly optimized and remains playable on an aging 15" mobile workstation, coming exceedingly close to the still screenshots above, and no doubt are easily doable for anyone with a modern desktop. The time and care spent making this game is astounding, especially knowing that it’s primarily one mans effort. Normally in dev games scare me away, however given how much care has gone into the game thus far, how frequently there are updates, and the open communication the dev has on his site, this game is a steal at 20 bucks, and well worth the price of admission.

I'm normally skeptical of early access, but watching a video convinced me to buy this one, and I don't regret it one bit. The gameplay is fun, the art style is wonderful, the dialogue is hilarious, and it's overall very polished. It's worth its asking price now, and it's likely to just get better from here on. It's being made mainly by one guy, and it's easy to see the passion he clearly has for this game. I think that's something worthy of our support.