Winter Is Coming
HIGH Intuitive and rewarding combat. Wonderful hand-drawn aesthetics, epic story.
LOW Some glitches and visual bugs.
WTF Why are the mole people living in a more modern age?!
More than a decade ago, the genre-defining Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls were lauded by gaming media for how deftly they captured the joy of struggle and triumph, offering hard-earned victories to all willing to commit. Instead of handholding, they counted on the player’s persistence to figure out intricate combat mechanics while providing all the necessary tools. Developers expanded on this by reverse-engineering the 3D-oriented Souls formula and applying it ”back” onto 2D titles, producing more condensed, challenging experiences in a genre that had already engraved “old school to the core!” on its chest.
This feedback cycle has been repeating ever since and gifted us many worthwhile titles like Salt and Sanctuary, Blasphemous 1 & 2, Dead Cells, Hollow Knight, and so on. Unfortunately, it’s been tough to keep track of all of them, and I’m sad to say that the original Tails of Iron slipped past me. I’d like to rectify that omission now with this review of Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter, which caught me off-guard with pure excellence — it exhibits so much spine, heart, and soul that it swiftly climbed to the top ranks of my favorite 2D soulslikes.
As the campaign begins we control Arlo, the young prince of a rat kingdom who finds his hands full with the harrowing task of having to rebuild his sovereign state after vile bats attacked it viciously and killed the king. Presented via a soothing narrator’s voice, these events transpire in the tutorial, putting us in the shoes of an inexperienced rat “knight” whose knees are shaking at the sight of leathery wings.
Even two-dimensional, the aesthetics were potent enough to make me dread coming across the bat armies — the mandatory “soulslike tutorial boss that can’t beat” introduced me to how hungry, wild, and ferocious they are. Some can fly, some charge up heavy attacks that make them leap to the other end of the screen, some employ ranged weaponry, and more.
Even as a small rat, the assortment of armaments Arlo has access to does even the scales effectively. Aside from a shield, he can equip three weapons at once — one one-handed and one two-handed sword, spear, or axe, alongside a bow, crossbow, or pistol. Later on, as he get things under control in the castle’s courtyard he can unlock various upgrade paths for any of those weapons, enriching them with elemental properties and slowly turning him into a tactician, first and foremost.
These tactics are valuable — for instance, bands of armed frogs wield lighting-infused spears and also apply poison with their ranged attacks. Of course, this makes them weak to the remaining options — fire and ice. Therefore, consulting the in-game bestiary and knowing where an enemy’s weaknesses lie is key. Later on, our rodent hero acquires elemental magic which can engulf multiple foes at once if used correctly. This combination of mean, medieval-looking edged weapons and elemental spells never lost their appeal for me, even after a dozen hours.
The tempo of play is also key. While Tails of Iron 2 doesn’t feature a stamina bar, one really shouldn’t press the strike button willy-nilly. Arlo’s attack animations take time to complete and propel him forward, meaning whiffed attacks expose his back to foes on screen. All of the enemies are quick-footed, capable combatants and they’ll swiftly outsmart sloppy players. Arlo is always just a second or two away from the “You Died” screen, and his survival hinging on his ability to mind his surroundings.
Something else to note is that an enemy’s basic, heavy, and ranged attacks are all clearly telegraphed on screen. Enemies flash with a white tint before hurling an arrow, which signals us to raise a shield and block all damage. Yellow flashes herald incoming melee attacks that can either be dodged or parried, and red flashes happen before unblockable strikes that can only be dodged.
Making matters even more manageable, enemies never exploit their numbers to an unfair degree and their attacks never overlapped to the point where there wasn’t a safe space to be found onscreen. However, the visuals sometimes did obscure an enemy attack flash — white flashes against white backgrounds were difficult to keep track of, which is my biggest gripe.
At this point, I’ll say a word about the difficulty — it’s not a cakewalk. Arlo’s health will never reach far enough to carry impatient players, and progress hinges on learning the interesting combat mechanics. Still, I never felt cheated upon respawning at any of Tails of Iron 2’s gracefully spaced-out checkpoints.
All of Tails of Iron 2’s aspects ooze a keen understanding of fundamental design values, adding up to a triumphant, intensely satisfying result. It’s a top-tier experience not to be missed by any one who enjoys a challenging 2D soulslike — just watch out for those bats!
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Disclosures: This game was developed by Odd Bug Studio and published by United Label. It is currently available on Switch, PS4/5, XBX/S, PC and macOS. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the Switch Lite. Approximately 15 hours of play were devoted to the game, and it was completed 100% (all achievements were unlocked). There is no multiplayer.
Parents: This game has received a “T” (“Teen”) rating by ESRB and contains Blood and Gore, Mild Language, Use of Alcohol, and Violence. While the game’s visuals are hand-crafted 2D stills and sprites and all of the characters are anthropomorphic rodents, insects, and birds, Tails of Iron 2 features tons of violence and tells a bittersweet story of revenge and honor. It is pretty tough too, so I’d say the “Teen” rating is on point here.
Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.
Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: All dialogue in this game is shown via textboxes following the slow pace of the recorded narration, so they’re easy to keep track of at all times. While the font size can’t be changed, the text is readable enough without obscuring the action on-screen. In addition, all enemy attacks are clearly telegraphed with enemies signaling when they will strike next and in which general direction. This game is fully accessible.
Remappable Controls: This game offers a controller diagram and players can freely remap any action to any button.
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