Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter was my most anticipated game of this winter. So the gg editorial team couldn't pass by the huge winter kingdom. And my expectations were fully met. Odd Bug Studio took all the best from the first part, multiplied it, added something new, and made an action-RPG where you can get lost for a couple of days, saving the fairy-tale world from a new threat while destroying dozens of enemies with swords, axes, spears, and magic.
Synopsis

In Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter, the game takes place after a great war, when the southern rats are trying to rebuild their lives. However, in the north, an ancient evil awakens - bats that threaten the entire kingdom. Players will take on the role of Arlo, a young heir and embark on a journey through the snowy northern lands to destroy the bats once and for all. In the course of the game, Arlo will hunt huge monsters, unite disparate clans, and improve his settlement.
4 reasons to buy Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter
- The voice of the Witcher will accompany you throughout the story
- Improved combat system with added magic and gadgets
- A new story that does not require knowledge of part 1
- In what other game can you behead frogs, bats, and other animals with massive weapons?
- Challenge yourself with new and challenging battles if souls-like games aren't enough for you
1 reason not to buy Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter
- You only accept 3D games
Fast forward:
- What I learned after reviewing Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter
- Plot: an icy story told by the Witcher
- Gameplay: if Ratatouille got into souls-like
- The technical side of rat adventures
- How Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter will be remembered
- Five things you need to know about Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter
What I learned after reviewing Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter
Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter will not disappoint fans of the first part. The developers managed to capture the player's attention again and I didn't even notice how 10 hours of this adventure flew by. The authors decided not to reinvent the wheel, but to expand what has proven itself. And it worked. On the one hand, everything seems so familiar, but on the other hand, the game still manages to show you something new and surprise you. Out of all the games I've played this year, Tails of Iron 2 was the best gaming experience, and I can only thank Odd Bug Studio for that.
The plot: a chilling story told by the Witcher
First of all, it should be clarified that the game does not continue the events of the first part. We are transferred to a new region and a new character. From now on, we are Arlo, the heir to the Wasteland Keeper. Arlo lives in a luxurious castle, where everyone around him works for the good of the kingdom ruled by his father. From time to time, the kingdom faces difficulties, but they are not critical. But one day, the kingdom is attacked by a bloodthirsty, brutal army of bats, which makes it immediately clear that from now on they will terrorise the region every day.
Arlo can hardly be called an experienced warrior, but we can recall the phrase from the Metro series "who else but us" and the rat understands that he will learn all the important aspects on the battlefield, because from now on his native region must be liberated from a new threat and we go with him on a mysterious and at the same time interesting journey.

Throughout his heroic journey, Arlo will visit different regions, meet new friends, allies, and of course, enemies, because it couldn't be limited to bats.
And although the story and the game itself resemble a familiar fairy tale scenario where a brave hero saves everyone, the game's plot is able to surprise. It manages to do it especially well in the end. I won't spoil the surprise for you, but the final act was really interesting and probably the most interesting in the entire Tails of Iron series, so it probably won't end with the second part, but in general, for the format of this story and the format of the game, the plot in Whiskers of Winter was good.

However, this game also has a trump card that not every franchise can boast of. The characters in Tails of Iron 2 don't speak (Have you ever seen animals talking? We don't count situations when you've had too much to drink).
And that's why Doug Cockle, the English voice of Geralt in The Witcher series, takes the stage. Just like in the first part, Doug plays the role of a narrator, who with his voice, as if created for fantasy ancient times, atmospherically tells and retells everything that happens on the screen.
This trick helps with immersion very well, so while we wait for The Withcer 4, which will be released God knows when, you can listen to your favourite voice in Tails of Iron 2.

Gameplay: if Ratatouille got into souls-like
The gameplay can be roughly divided into two stages: exploration and combat, but let's get to the fun part right away to understand how to destroy all the enemies.
There are all kinds of enemies here: worms, porcupines, snakes, bats, frogs, and this is not the whole list. Some of them are subdivided into subspecies, because there are archers, enemies with shields, someone even manages to ride another animal so that you can kill two enemies at the same time.

To fight them, you can choose different weapons for Arlo to suit your taste. Do you want a sword to keep things classic? You're welcome. Do you prefer axes? No problem at all. Don't want an axe or a sword? That's fine, take a spear.
But there's another weapon that you have to hold with both hands, and although it takes longer to attack, it does much more damage. You can also choose between a sword, an axe and a spear.
And that's not the end of it, because there are also ranged weapons. It can be a bow, crossbow or pistol. Again, choose what you like.




However, not everything is as simple as it seems. Each of the enemies is vulnerable to certain effects. Therefore, each weapon focuses on fire, frost, electricity, or poison. If fire works well against bats, then frogs are only good for one place, so you have to switch.
It's an interesting idea, because this way you're constantly trying and combining something new, and you won't be able to run the whole game with one set, because different conditions make you adapt differently. However, the only thing missing from an ideal system is the ability to make several sets and switch between them quickly, rather than having to open your inventory and change everything before the battle starts, which loses the game's dynamics.
On DualSense, for example, this could be done with a touchpad where swiping in different directions would instantly use a different set of weapons.

But you don't always have to fight, because sometimes you have to defend yourself. In this case, the system resembles God of War. If you see a white indicator, you can use the block as a shield. A red indicator means that you need to run away as far as possible, because in this case you are powerless. But a yellow mark above the enemy means that you need to counterattack, which will stop the enemy for a while and allow you to cut him.

If at this point you think that we're done with the combat system, we're not. Throughout the journey, Arlo will master magic. There are four types of magic and it is suitable for a specific type of enemy. You can cast a frosty vortex that will stop the enemy for a while. It is possible to scatter poison around the arena or, like Thor, to shoot lightning from the sky.

In addition, there is a quick access inventory with items. These can be traps, an antidote to various effects, or a tool that improves your weapon for a short period of time.
Thanks to all this, the battles simply do not get boring until the very end. You are constantly given new weapons, magic, and items. Some of it can also be upgraded, and the variety of enemies and locations gives you an adventure where you want to be.

Almost souls-like
Tails of Iron 2 also tries to be similar to souls games. You can only stay in special places, you can only restore your health by drinking a special drink, and you need to replenish its reserves. Unless you lose resources and money after death.
And if the element of "challenge" is rarely felt at low difficulty, then the medium difficulty and especially high difficulty are ideal for those who are looking for a thrill.

And the biggest credit for this goes to the bosses. It is clear that the authors paid special attention to them. They have an interesting design, arenas, and attacks. That's why you can heroically go halfway across the map, slaughtering everyone, and then fly away like a baby from a big frog.
So if you want interesting battles with cool bosses, set the difficulty to easy and enjoy, but if you want to get it and a challenge on top, where you have to replay the arena several times, then Tails of Iron 2 will give you a choice between the two pills like in the Matrix.
Don't forget to explore
In between battles, you will explore 7 different regions with their own settlements, enemies, and locations. In them, you can gather resources to improve your arsenal and complete minor quests that resemble the Witcher's orders, when you need to come to the location where a monster lives and kill it.

There is nothing ultra-unusual about this, but the advantage is that the regions are small, there are not so many quests, and most of them are focused on fighting enemies, and as you can imagine, it is great to fight here.
The developers also made an important change. If in the first part, you had to complete additional quests to move forward in the story, in the sequel, this idea was abandoned. So now the game doesn't force you to complete everything. Do you want to just play the story? No one forbids it. Want to complete only those secondary tasks that interest you? Everyone will be in favour of that.

The technical side of rat adventures
There were no problems with optimisation in Tails of Iron 2 at all. It is clear that there can't be any drawdowns with such graphics, but I didn't encounter a single bug, and the game never crashed. And although the publisher warned me that I might encounter some problems in the press version of the game, I was lucky and didn't feel that it was not a release version at all. Therefore, the chance of encountering some bug when you read this review is even less, because the first day patches have not disappeared. So for this, you can give the developers the highest rating.

The fabulous beauty of the Land of the North
The art design in the game can be described in three letters - wow. During the game, you will not leave the feeling that you have been transported to a fairy tale book that has come to life. Snowy mountains that shimmer with pink sunset, thick green snake nests covered with the bones of dead guests. Pompous castles with huge halls and high ceilings. Small cosy settlements where people raise sheep to survive in this dangerous world, and the evening rain accompanies this picture and you just want to stop and watch it all.
The artists of Tails of Iron 2 did their best to make you want to take pictures in as many places as possible. And I don't know how to describe the work they've done any better.










Medieval soundtrack
All sounds and music are appropriate to the period of the game. Live music is played in the cities, you can hear the sounds of a blacksmith making new weapons and, in general, noise comes from different corners.
Everything also sounds great during battles. I especially liked the idea that during boss battles, the game doesn't just play the right song, but a group of bats performs it in the background, and the concert continues until you defeat the boss.
How Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter will be remembered
Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter will be remembered as a game with a good story, an unexpected ending, a cool atmosphere, and most importantly, interesting gameplay. Odd Bug Studio has managed to make a game that you want to come back to as soon as you finish work or sit down for the whole weekend. I had an exceptionally positive experience while exploring the Lands of the North and can recommend the game to anyone who likes this kind of game. And I'm glad that I was able to get a high-quality sequel to the game I once loved. Is it the best game of January for me? Definitely yes. Is it the best game of this winter for me? It's certainly not over yet, but I'm sure that Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter is already in the top three.

Five things you need to know about Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter
- Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter is an action-RPG game with souls-like elements
- The game is not a direct sequel to Tails of Iron but tells a new story with a new hero
- The game has a wide variety of weapons and enemies on which it can be used
- The sequel is filled with magical abilities, a greater variety of locations, and new items, which makes it better than the original
- You will be accompanied by the voice of the Witcher, who plays the role of a narrator
Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter | |
---|---|
Genre. | Action RPG |
Platforms. | PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PC, Switch |
Number of players | Single player |
Developer | Odd Bug Studio |
Publisher | United Label |
Time to complete | 8-18 hours |
Release date | 28th of January 2025 |

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