Home

 › 

Articles

 › 

The Whispered World Review for PC

The Whispered World Review for PC

More Fun than a Three-Ring Circus?

Everything needed to make The Whispered World a truly great video game is all contained within the game. Everything that conspires to make The Whispered World a mediocre, point-and-click adventure game is also contained within. This game needs good editing. Cut out the crap, tighten it up, lose a few hours, and you’ll have something astounding at your fingertips. It’s amazing how some filler can contaminate an otherwise pristine presentation. It’s not important to have 15 hours of gameplay when you could have 10 hours or less of quality gameplay time.

The Whispered World screenshot

Let me just jump right in and tell you what I’d slash. Take out some of the poorly translated dialogue, which will likely mean some characters and puzzles will have to be eliminated altogether. That’s perfect because there are a few puzzles not up to the same standards as the really great ones, and for the record, the majority of the puzzles are great. There is a lot of annoying backtracking in some of the stages, and there’s no way to get the main character to haul ass. I may be getting ahead of myself, since you don’t even know who the main character is yet, but I want to make it perfectly clear that despite some caked-on dirt and grime, there’s a gem of a game underneath.

The Whispered World has so many wonderful attributes that it’s recommended simply because you won’t find another game like it anytime soon. From the storyline to the puzzles, to the dialogue and the development of the characters, The Whispered World is second to no game in this genre. Some of the problems with it are due to poor translation (it’s a German game), but one thing that is universal is the visual buffet this game invites you to feast your eyes on. The hand-drawn, 2D backgrounds are absolutely stunning. The imaginative world revealed in this game alone is worth the price of admission, and while it may not be truly interactive, there’s a richness and depth that puts most 3D environments to shame.

The Whispered World screenshot

Sadwick is a forlorn figure. A young clown forced into a life of servitude by his family. His circus-slavery involves gathering an audience and entertaining them by being shot out of a cannon. His ambitions run deeper than cannon fodder and he feels suppressed and depressed. Even though he is young, he’s wise beyond his years. His remarks are insightful and humorous, laced with heavy doses of sarcasm, cynicism, and resignation; shades of Holden Caulfield from Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye .

One fateful day Sadwick meets a sorcerer who explains the world will soon face an apocalypse, and it’s Sadwick’s destiny not to save the world but to hasten its demise. Determined to prove him wrong, Sadwick begins a journey to deliver a magical artifact called the Whispering Stone to the kingdom of Carona and save the world. And thus the adventure begins.

The Whispered World screenshot

Spot is Sadwick’s partner. He’s a pet caterpillar that can change shapes, useful for solving puzzles and locating items for your inventory. He can change into five different shapes. Spot is not unlike Pinocchio’s Cricket in that he offers some level-headed advice, something that Sadwick’s young and overactive imagination requires. The storyline has many influences from classic literature, but still manages to be unique thanks to the detailed treatment of the characters. All characters are fully voiced, and conversations go into depth. There are no frivolous characters. At times I would prefer if this were a movie, as the actual point-and-click style of gameplay is inconsistent in quality and at times faulty in execution.

The Whispered World screenshot

Items can be difficult to locate due to the high quality of the graphics in which nothing stands out because everything looks amazing. You find yourself using the hot-spot indicator far too often to highlight the items you need to collect to solve the various puzzles. Mostly these puzzles are logical, although you still have to think out of the box, so to speak. There are, however, a number of puzzles that are thrown in to pad the content. These puzzles lack cohesion in comparison to the great ones. Here you will use trial and error to combine items to create tools to solve your dilemma. Interestingly, Sadwick is cognizant of these shortcomings and makes reference to such hocus. It’s great to see such self-awareness on the part of the developers, but a good laugh doesn’t make the puzzle any less lame.

Few games can be credited with creating such a unique atmosphere. The characters take on a life of their own thanks to the witty writing and nuances of the voice acting, which at first may seem amateurish until you realize they are deliberate; a successful attempt to make the character more realistic. Musically the score is almost on par with the graphics. The soundtrack elicits emotions of wonderment, despair, and terror, allowing you to experience this world through not only the eyes of a child but through his imagination.

In a nutshell, The Whispered World would be a truly great game if you could fast forward the not-so-great parts. I look forward to a sequel.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 4.8 Graphics
Outstanding graphics for a 2D world. Like an epic, classic Disney cartoon. 4.0 Control
Classic point-and-click configuration. Straightforward and accurate. 4.9 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
Realistic-sounding voice-overs. Excellent musical score highlights the action. 3.5 Play Value
Some excellent puzzles with some fertilizer thrown in. 4.0 Overall Rating – Great
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

  • The Whispered World, inspired by animated films like Spirited Away presents a hand-painted world inhabited by a sad young clown called Sadwick, who embarks on a fairytale adventure after chatting to a strange blue creature in his dream.
  • Plenty of puzzles to solve. Sadwick will need to call on his shape-shifting sidekick Spot to help him through them.
  • Lush musical score follows the action and captures the emotions.
  • Lots of well-defined characters to interact with.
  • Over 15 hours of gameplay.

  • To top