REVIEW

Silence The Whispered World 2 Review

by Rob Pritchard, November 30th, 2016

Back in 2009, a small development studio named Daedalic Entertainment released their third game, which was named The Whispered World. It was a point and click adventure game which focused on a young clown named Sadwick who was on a mission to rescue the king of a world named Silence. The game earned a relatively welcome reception, and paved the way for Daedalic to become of the best adventure developers of the current generation. Seven years have passed in our world, and Silence: The Whispered World 2 has now been released for PS4, Xbox One and PC.

After Sadwick awakened to his true identity of a young boy named Noah at the end of the original game, he awoke from the dream world of Silence and returned to Earth. Silence: The Whispered World 2 continues the story several years later, as a now teenage Noah is travelling with his younger sister Renie through a war torn city. Whilst hiding out in a bomb shelter, the two siblings are transported to the world of Silence, which Renie has only heard about through Noah’s bedtime stories. Together, they must search for a way to return home, and eliminate the threat posed by a wicked being known only as the False Queen. Although the story does have some parallels to the original game, it manages to carve its own path, particularly once we realise the truth of why we have returned to this mystical world.

Noah and Renie are separated when they initially arrive, and they must rely on the inhabitants of Silence in order to reunite. Noah is paired with a stubborn resistance member named Kya who acts on instinct long before she uses her logic, as well as Spot, the magical shape shifting caterpillar who was Sadwick’s companion in the original game. Renie on the other hand is being helped by a gentle giant named Samuel, whose big heart has a tendency to get himself into unfortunate mishaps. Each section relies on you completing a set of puzzles as either Noah, Renie or Spot, in a similar manner that is used in The Book of Unwritten Tales series.

Although many games offer switching playable characters, this kind of character switching mechanic is implemented particularly well in Silence, as each character’s interactions are limited by their physical limitations and inherent knowledge. For example, Noah is not able to perform certain actions that require him to be closer to the ground, and Spot is able to use his various forms to create bridges, or firing himself from a particularly gaseous mushroom to ascend a waterfall. One of the best puzzles from the early section of the game involves rescuing Kya from the grasp of an insect queen, and you need to use both Noah and Spot together in order to release the fighter from her grasp.

It would be fair to say that the graphical style of Silence: The Whispered World 2 is one of its strongest positive aspects. Although they may seem like the game is displayed in a flat perspective, it is in fact running in a highly stylised 3D engine which breathes the classic 2D look which has provided some of the adventure genre’s most remembered experiences such as Broken Sword and Deponia. Alongside the beautifully rendered artwork, the power of the next generation consoles allows for some beautiful special effects, particularly in the scenes with the glowing insects in the Insect Queen’s hive. The soundtrack is equally as impressive, with the orchestral pieces that occupy the world of Silence fitting perfectly with each situation as it called for. One of the highlights comes during the scenes at the beginning of the game, where Noah is trying to find a way to cheer up Renie after he accidentally causes her distress.

For the most part, the English dialogue provided for Silence: The Whispered World 2 is of a very high standard. The only minor exception is that Renie’s voice is sometimes a little bit disjointed, and often lacks the emotional conviction that her lines would need to feel natural. Although it will not be an issue for many of us within the UK, there is a distinct lack of a German voice track. This omission is probably to reduce file size, but as the company usually include their native dialogue options for international customers, some of their long time fans may be a little disheartened. Aside from the voice direction, there is a very prominent issue that makes itself known is that the automatic progression from one line to the next is severely broken on several occasions. You can solve this issue by disabling it via the settings menu, but the immersion is broken quite severely when lines are cut off early, or the next character starts talking as soon as the previous character has spoken.

Overall, Silence: The Whispered World 2 is one of the best traditional adventure games to come out this year. Despite the minor issue with the automatic dialogue progression, the beautiful graphics and enchanted soundtrack, along with the mostly excellent voice acting and multiple character puzzles provide a magical experience that fans of adventure games will adore. If you are looking for an adventure that takes you beyond the episodic graphic novels that have become a popular medium, then Silence: The Whispered World 2 is a fine example of what you have been searching for.

Aside from a few technical glitches and some minor issues with the voice acting, Silence: The Whispered World is a beautifully imagined adventure that anyone that will appeal to both fans of the genre and newcomers alike.