14 DAY TRIAL // I need to craft a rope arrow to reach a ledge. This allows me to peek into a room and see whether enemies will be alerted when I jump in through another open window. I creep around a little, picking up a bandage and more crafting resources, before using a large chest to hide before I eliminate a guard from behind. The next challenge is to navigate two very well-lit corridors, trying to get to one key that will lead to my objective.
Winter Ember is created by Skymachine Studios and will be published by Blowfish Studios and Gamera Game. The core pitch for the experience seems to have been “modern take on Thief with a different perspective.”
Gamers will take on the role of Arthur Astorias, the sole survivor of an attack on his family. After being nursed back to health he returns to Anargal, trying to find the people responsible for his plight and murder them. There are hints that the narrative will feature deeper and supernatural mysteries.
Winter Ember is a pretty classic title in the stealth-action genre. Arthur needs to explore big levels, filled with guards, keys, objectives, and points of interest. The best way to do this is to stick to the shadows, snuff out sources of light, make as little noise as possible, and use arrows and silent takedowns to deal with enemies.
The developers promise a lot of depth for its arrow use, with more than 30 to craft, deciding which makes the best sense for a situation. There are plenty of arbitrary elements to the world. Arthur has a sword that can take down guards but needs to use a blunt arrow to deal with some flimsy boards. But most of the mechanics work well with each other and the world.
Winter Ember has a decent presentation, but I suspect it will be hard for players to adjust to its camera use. It always stays in a weird position above Arthur, which means it is hard to see what’s far ahead of him and actually plan. The world itself is adequate for the theme but doesn’t have any standout features. The voice work and music tracks are unimpressive.
Conclusion
I’m not sure I can deal with the camera and the limited appeal of the story. And the similarities to Thief mean that Shymachine needs to deliver a very solid experience on launch to get fans of the stealth-action genre interested.
Preview code provided by the publisher.
