Silence: The Whispered World II is a point-and-click adventure which takes place in a magical realm torn apart by war. While the plot involves an insurgency and restoring order to the world, the main gameplay centers on finding objects and using them in appropriate situations. The visuals are breathtaking but solving the puzzles can be confusing at times. The world has its own logic and cracking that seems to be almost impossible outside of a few situations. Luckily the game provides plenty of hints along the way.
The first aspect of Silence: The Whispered World II you immediately notice are the breathtaking visuals. They appear to be hand drawn and look like a moving painting. The art style is some of the most striking I’ve ever seen in a video game. Not only is it crisp, but the game runs smoothly and I never encountered any noticeable fluctuations unlike in Telltale’s products. You’ll be captivated by the setting.
Your main objective is to find your sibling. I said that in an odd manner because you play as both Noah and Renie throughout the campaign. The game starts with both of you in an air raid shelter. A massive bomb destroys the hideout and both of you end up in Silence, a place between life and death. This theme plays an important role even towards the end of the experience.
Silence isn’t Disneyland and this dangerous world shows its teeth the minute you enter it—quite literally in some cases. You’re caught between a war where rebels are trying to stop dark creatures from terrorizing its cities and other settlements. As alluded to earlier, you go from scene to scene and use certain objects to solve puzzles. Doing so is challenging and in many cases you must adopt a trial-and-error approach. For example, how do you destroy a bridge? By using your green caterpillar who swells up of course to damage a ring-like structure! While many of the puzzles are doable, it’s times like these when you’re truly confused and this can lead to frustration. During my playthrough I felt that I was relying on the hints way too often. That took away from the rewarding feeling.
Choices also play an important role in the game. Some might be as simple as hiding from an enemy or confronting them while others involve matters of life and death for certain characters. I don’t want to spoil the story but you’ll be making a lot of difficult decisions and the ending probably will be the hardest one of them all. I was surprised to find this level of depth in a point-and-click adventure as I was expecting a rather generic experience when I first started playing it.
Silence: The Whispered World II only lasts a few hours so don’t expect a lengthy campaign. Depending on your level of skill at problem solving, it might take you more time like it did in my case. However, the game tells a truly emotional story and features many clever object-usage puzzles. It’s definitely a worthwhile experience due to the combination of the two.
Summary
If you’re a fan of games like those Telltale produces, you should definitely check out Silence: The Whispered World II. Despite its confusing nature, it’s a lot of fun and the story is definitely one of the better ones I’ve come across recently. The game’s art style is gorgeous and that was one of the reasons I was captivated by it in the first place. Just be sure you’re one with patience because some of the puzzles become a chore to get through.
Ajay was a community contributor to ICXM, writing 2 articles in 2017 covering game reviews. ICXM operated as an independent Xbox and Windows gaming outlet through the Xbox One X launch year and Microsoft’s wider Play Anywhere / UWP gaming initiative, drawing from a rotating bench of editorial volunteers.