Ghost of a Tale

The setting and story are compelling - Duinlan Heights feels more like a place than a game map, and by the time you're finished playing you'll know this place very well. There's quite a bit of backtracking in order to complete different quests, but newly-found shortcuts and disguises make sure it doesn't become tiresome. The stealth itself is simple yet multi-layered, there's your common line-of-sight/sound sneaking and a social stealth element through a couple of disguises you can put on (one making you seem like one of the guards at the expense of movement speed, and the other makes you a ranger - a kind of mercenary that the guards don't really like and will shake down constantly but not outright attack). The one gripe I have with the game is that all the side-quests are more about collecting stuff than doing stuff. And to make it worse, you'll often get them long before you can access the areas you need in order to complete them, which has made me spent north of an hour minutiously searching areas for stuff only to find that I couldn't possibly have found until further on in the main quest. I wish your quest log made you aware of such situations, because spending hours on futile searches isn't exactly fun. The rewards for some of the side-quests are also disappointing, probably the longest fetch-quest in the game has no reward beside 100 renown (the game's variant of XP, and the amount you can get by burning four of the banners you find pretty much everywhere). But I'm more than willing to let these flaws slide for a stealth title with an enchanting new setting, which isn't the umpteenth entry of some already-existing franchise.

I'm not big into stealth games so I was hesitant to play this at all. I'm happy to report that the stealth barely poses any challenge. Guard AI is dumber than a sack of bricks. As long as you can make it to a hiding spot, which are plentiful, guards will be struck by sudden amnesia, completely forget to chase you and return to their posts none the wiser. I very quickly abandoned any aspirations to move sneakily and resorted to running past guards at my leisure. They lose aggro as quickly as they gain it, making the stealth element a minor inconvenience rather than a well thought through mechanic. This is of course a huge disappointment to anyone going into this expecting a proper stealth game. There are elements that I'm sure were supposed to give more depth to the gameplay, like distracting guards by throwing sticks or making them slip on oil. But none of this ever feels necessary except for a laugh. There's even some stat upgrades you can acquire, can't say I ever noticed it having any bearing. Aside from sneaking or knocking out rats with bottles, you'll be doing exclusively fetch quests. Exploring your surroundings is fun, but it does get tedious if you're missing one last piece for a quest and just can't find it. There is a built-in hint system provided by NPCs, but it's not specific enough imo. Some of the items are ridiculously obtuse to locate. As for the good stuff, Ghost of a Tale positively brims with lore! The universe is dense and well written. If you ever heard of Redwall, it's basically that as a videogame. Visuals accentuate the medieval setting, there is not a lot of music but the quiet ambience fits the setting neatly. I do recommend Ghost of a Tale for its atmosphere, though I would set my expectation low in terms of gameplay and pack some tolerance for frustration. I'm not even sure if I will play it all the way to the end but it was enjoyable while it lasted.

Just a word of warning to disabled gamers or anyone who has dexterity problems with their hands. You can't remap forward movement to a mouse button. I have tried and tried, but the game just won't recognize the remap. Unfortunately, without this option, the game is simply impossible to play for me :(

This is probably one of the best games I have played. And I have played a lot. If is sounds like I am gushing, I am. In short it is Thief like but with the charm of 'A Princess Bride'. It is kid friendly (no killing) but fun for adults. If you want to kill and fight things, this game is not for you. The story and lore were amazing. The levels not too big. The game not too long (30 hours). Note however that you will be going over the same areas over and over on your many quests. But the levels were so maze like, and organic, that they never seemed stale and boring. The levels and missions were designed in such a way that it almost forces you to see everything. There were just a few missions that I never completed. There is not much in the way of AI. The rat guards have their standard posts and walk paths. But this did not detract from the fun of trying to figure out how to best elude them. The graphics were wonderful (occasional glitch near walls), the interface slick and easy to use and follow. The characters charming and well thought out. A game well worth the price. Brilliant. The end leaves an obvious sequel to be created. Let's hope it happens.

(I'll preface this by saying I'm a 27 year old chap with a love of Doom, Bioshock & Dead Space). Ghost of a Tale is a wonderful game to sit down and play, a truly pleasant and charming experience; it relieves stress like nothing else I have in my library. It's a very pretty game that makes wonderful use of lighting and colour, and features some of the most characterful (and, unashamedly admitting this, cute) animations I have ever seen. The world is full of character and tells it's own story, in addition to that which the developers have included. Said backstory is intriguing and presented very tongue-in-cheek by some interesting characters. Your character even has some wonderful music pieces added that you can play to NPC's, I'm assuming this is original music (but bravo even if not, it's lovely). The gameplay is currently strong yet a little shallow, however I think it has been refined a lot in the months I have been playing; be warned it is aimed more at the younger audience as opposed to hardcore Deus Ex stealth addicts. Personally I find it helps suit a more relaxed style of play that matches the theme of the world. There is a selection of items and costumes to utilise, offering different stats and bonuses that are fun to collect (as well as looking great). The majority of missions are currently collect-a-thons, but the world is gorgeous enough that you won't mind - and it takes you to some surprising places! I'm eagerly awaiting the catacombs update. Overall a thoroughly wonderful, charming and downright pleasant experience that has recaptured for me the feeling of my gaming 'glory years' when I was little. Definitely worth supporting!