Whispering Willows - Fright Night on the Ouya Bus

Whispering Willows is a rather odd title. Not because of its genre, adventure games are not exactly a rarity after all and nor is it because of the theme of the game, horror being a rather frequent popup title on the likes of Steam. Instead its odd because of its origins, being released originally as a Ouya title, then ported across to the PC because it wasn't making a bit of money there. I call it odd simply because the Ouya presence still seeps within the game itself... This isn't exactly a bad thing however...

I say that because if there is one thing that the Ouya did try and be a beacon for was for original gaming, games that usually wouldn't have been given a second look on more traditional platforms such as baby hiding simulators, couch-multiplayer arena games (something that's having a resurgence it seems across consoles and PC) and then there's this.

The story here is a pretty simple one, the main character (Elena) has set off towards an old mansion in search of her missing father. Unfortunately almost as soon as she begins this task she ends up almost getting killed via a rather large fall. Fortunately though she is saved by powers, imbued within her by a family heirloom. This all kicks off a story stringing across many years of family feuds, dark secrets and forbidden love and for the most part the story works very well thanks to each area containing its own solo story akin to a Doctor Who episode, but then the final area working them all together using hints and clues from each tale (again, akin to a Doctor Who series). The only low point is probably the very end where the plot seems to be wrapped up a little too well considering the events that lead up to it but given I am trying to avoid open spoilers, its something I cant really explain very well. That said, the rest of the story works wonderfully.

The gameplay itself though is a little bit more hit and miss, the puzzles themselves are quite smart, clever enough to provide some challenge but never quite hitting high difficulty meaning most players will be able to get past areas swiftly. This however is a bit of a problem as much as it is a good thing as it also means the game itself is quite short, clocking in at around 2-3 hours for most players, an extra half hour if you want to find all the collectables and achievements the game has in store. The game also provides several areas where Elena can die (appropriate for a horror game) with any deaths acting more like a flick to the player, setting Elena right back to the nearest room entrance. Again though, while this provides some scares and some tense moments, a couple of instances feel more annoying than they should thanks to low visibility and the general feeling of random death spoiling these two sections.

In addition Elena's movement is something of a sore point, shes just far too slow and makes you wish there was a faster way of traversing around the mansion. Its not a game-breaker but its something worth noting. Back to some positives though and the graphics themselves are wonderful, from well designed character art, to spooky garden statues, gloriously decrepit hallways and dank crypts all leading to an amazing setting.

Overall its not exactly a bad game, theres plenty to love from the spooky yet brilliantly detailed cartoon graphics to the puzzle variety and the overall plot but its multiple shortcomings really stop it from me from recommending it outside of sale prices. If you want to buy Whispering Willows there are also plenty of options, from the aformentioned OUYA original, to the PC, Xbox One, Ps4, Vita and Wii-U ports, you'll find at least one way to play.