The original Tails of Iron was a huge, pleasant surprise for me. I enjoyed that game so much that I even took the time to platinum it. So, it was with a great sense of anticipation that I got my hands on Tails of Iron II: Whiskers of Winter to see if the game had improved or not.
Tails of Iron II is not a direct sequel to the first game, but it carries on in the same universe. You play as a rat named Arlo, heir to the Warden of the Wastes kingdom. A new threat stirs from the North to destroy the land, and Arlo has to first rebuild his kingdom and then take on and destroy the new threat.
The first thing that will strike you when firing up the game are the top-notch production values and visual quality that ooze from the game. The hand-drawn art with great visual depth, despite being a strictly 2D side scroller, is impressive.
The backgrounds aren’t just sterile backdrops but also have moving features that bring the whole world to life. Visually, at least, this game is right up there in standard to the beautiful Ori series from Moon Studios. It is also pleasing to see a fair amount of variation in the locales, as well as small, interesting details within each frame. I think I have said this before about the first game, but each screen, no matter where you are, is a work of beautiful art!
There isn’t any character dialogue, only a narration of key events from Doug Cockle. Doug, if you are unaware, is the voice actor of Geralt in The Witcher franchise. As to be expected of such a vaunted talent, Doug’s presence in this game gives the narration a feeling of authority but also shows how serious the team is about the production values of the Tails of Iron series.
The gameplay has three elements to it: exploration, role-playing, and combat. The exploration aspect is always enjoyable due to discovering new routes, hidden caves, and characters to find. There were a couple of times I got stuck as the game has walls to stop you from going places it doesn’t want you to until the right time. However, exploring also helps you find new materials, items, and enemies to upgrade your equipment through very solid RPG mechanics.
Armour and weapons not only have different elemental attributes but weights as well. Adding weight slows down the speed of Arlo during combat, which adds a new layer of tactical gameplay. Do you use lighter, weaker weapons to make yourself more nimble, or do you go with harder-hitting weapons but with slower movement?
Unfortunately, the one gripe I had with the first game was crossed over into its sequel, which is the hit detection and judging distances. The game developers don’t shy away from stating that the combat here is brutal at the best of times. I can confirm it is, but it’s not because of the reasons you would think.
Yes, each swing of your weapon matters, just like it does in many Souls-like games. This isn’t a hack n’ slash title like Devil May Cry or an action-RPG like God of War, this is a methodical, you need to make sure about each swing-type deal. On paper, that is perfectly fine, but in practice, the issue I had was that the clunky character movement mixed with random distances meant it was hard to be accurate in judging whether enemies were within striking distance or not. If you swing and miss, this leaves you open to being hit, and with some enemies being capable of destroying you in a couple of blows, every hit mattered.
The same issues are also found in evading attacks. Some enemies can strike from literally across the screen, and although you take time to study enemy attack patterns, being able to get your character out of the way of an unblockable attack was another exercise in frustration. To add insult to injury, sometimes I thought I was out of harm’s reach, only to find I wasn’t, and then the fight was over. These deaths felt like cheap and frustrating ways to die and not the way the developers meant it to be.
You do have ranged weapons, but your melee weapons require you to get up close and personal. With enemies flying all over the screen, as mentioned before, it was actually sometimes difficult to get into position to land a hit with a melee weapon.
However, not all fights are like this, and some of the best fights are the one-on-one boss battles. Because you are not swinging away like a lunatic, watching the enemy’s every move, combat, when it works well, feels different and unique compared to a lot of other games. You kind of savor the moment of each battle since, if you become lazy or distracted, it could be over very quickly.
You do have other tricks up your sleeves with traps, abilities, and ranged weapons that honestly felt a little overpowered compared to the taste of steel on flesh when using a sword. So, once you unlock your full arsenal of attack options, things do feel a little more balanced, but the experience could be better by being a tad more accurate.
Aside from the main storyline, there are also side missions that have great rewards but feel very repetitive. Most entail just finding an object and bringing it back to a character or simple bug hunts! I tried to complete all the side missions in the first area I could before I moved on, and all of them just had me go back to the same locations I’d just been to fight enemies over again.
The audio of the game is okay. There isn’t much in the way of background music, but the effects of weapons landing, characters moving and enemies roaring were very convincing and enjoyable.
Compared to the first game, Tails of Iron II is a much bigger and slightly better experience. You do get a lot of weapons and loadout options thrown at you early and often that can feel overwhelming in knowing what’s best. Experimenting with loadouts and playstyles is only a good thing though as it adds to the excitement of a new challenge in how you approach the next encounter.
Summary
Despite the hit detection and distance issues during combat, the overall experience of playing Tails of Iron II: Whiskers of Winter is a hugely enjoyable one. The mix of stunning art as graphics, combined with the comfortable excellence of Doug Cockle, a great story, solid RPG elements, and an interesting world means you forget the occasional awkward, clunky, sometimes frustrating combat.
You won’t need to play the first game to enjoy this one, but you will be encouraged to go back to the first one once you have completed this one. Both games in the series punch well above their expected weights and are excellent and rewarding additions to anyone wanting a new thrilling gaming experience. Sometimes good things do indeed come in small rat-sized packages!
Developer: Odd Bug Studios
Publishers: United Label, CI Games
Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Release Date: 28th January 2025
