Silence Is A Beautiful Adventure That Begins In A Dark Place

Silence Is A Beautiful Adventure That Begins In A Dark Place

Silence, the long-awaited sequel to Daedalic Entertainment’s The Whispered World, begins with a World War II bombing raid that sends 16 year old Noah and his little sister into the magical world that exists between life and death. It’s a sad way to begin a beautiful adventure.

Originally announced in late 2013 for a 2014 release, Silence arrived this week. Its predecessor, The Whispered World, is an award-winning adventure game released in 2009 that was praised for its hand-painted visuals and story but criticised for sub-par voice work and often convoluted puzzles.

Silence Is A Beautiful Adventure That Begins In A Dark Place
Inside the bunker, Noah calms Renie by acting out the events of The Whispered World, a clever way to recap.

Inside the bunker, Noah calms Renie by acting out the events of The Whispered World, a clever way to recap.

Silence is still hit-or-miss with the voice work (Noah’s sister Renie tries real hard), but the hand-painted visuals have been paired with gorgeous 3D characters to excellent effect, and the puzzles have been streamlined, doing away with the old school inventory system of its predecessor in favour of a more intuitive mechanic where important items are always at hand.

Following the bombing, Noah and Renie find themselves in the world of Silence, a place that’s as serene and stunning as it is perilous. Dark creatures terrorise the world’s remaining cities, challenged by a handful of desperate rebels.

Silence Is A Beautiful Adventure That Begins In A Dark Place

The pair are initially separated, Noah finding himself in the company of a rebel girl named Kyra, while Renie is escorted to the rebel’s camp by Samuel, a massive rebel with a heart just as large. The clip below should give prospective players a good idea of how the game presents and solves puzzles.

I’ve been playing Silence for several hours now, and the game really gets me. It’s the story of the love between and brother and sister seeking their way out of a mirror world that could mean the worst for both of them. My younger sister, Nadine, once threw a hand mirror at me. It’s like they know me.

A point and click adventure at heart, even though it’s much less “click the thing in your inventory on everything else until something happens” than its predecessor, Silence might not be for everybody. The pace is slow and thoughtful. You don’t have to have played The Whispered World to enjoy the story, but you’ll certainly get more out of it if you did.

I’m enjoying my time in the world of Silence quite a bit, and can’t wait to see where the story takes me.

Silence Is A Beautiful Adventure That Begins In A Dark Place
Maybe I should call my little sister. At least something nicer than what I usually call her.

Maybe I should call my little sister. At least something nicer than what I usually call her.

Silence is available today on PC via GoG and Steam. A demo is available. Though it will be released on PS4 and Xbox Anywhere in the US, an Australian console release has not yet been confirmed.


The Cheapest NBN 1000 Plans

Looking to bump up your internet connection and save a few bucks? Here are the cheapest plans available.

At Kotaku, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

Comments


One response to “Silence Is A Beautiful Adventure That Begins In A Dark Place”