orthodoxy1095
Banned
Platform: Windows / OS X / Steam OS + Linux / PS4 / Xbox One
Price: $29.99 / £23.99 / 29,99€ / C$39.99 / ¥ 3980
Players: 1
Genre: Adventure
Developer: Daedalic Entertainment
Publisher: Daedalic Entertainment
Rating: ESRB: T / PEGI: 12 / USK: 12
Release Date: PC+PS4: November 15 / X1: November 18
Download size: PS4: 4.2 GB (?)
As a war rages on, Noah seeks shelter from an air raid in a bunker with his little sister Renie. To comfort Renie and keep her mind off of the deadly bombardment, Noah tells her the story of a strange world that is between life and death: Silence. Events soon unfold and quickly, Renie becomes lost in Silence, and Noah is forced to venture out to find her.
Although a world unto itself, and seemingly idyllic, Silence has its own scars from wars and suffering, not too unlike the world that Noah and Renie came from. Towns are stalked and the world is ravaged by dark creatures, only held back by a small group of rebels that dare to stand against the rising menace. Noah and Renie will be forced to join their cause to save Silence and to save their own lives.
If you've played a Daedalic title before, you should know what to expect here. This game was originally announced as The Whispered World 2, but that title was eventually dropped in favor of "Silence" (although many nods to that game are peppered throughout). The puzzles seem like standard fare, with a few unique mechanics such as switching between characters to work together.
What springs to mind first is Silence’s visual style. At Daedalic, we have an incredible art department, drawing beautiful backgrounds, locations etc. We used to show these in 2D games. For Silence, however, we now use 3D technology, by following a method we call ‘camera projection’. We place 3D objects and 3D characters in 3D environments, but then project 2D art on everything. Marco calls this ‘three-dimensional artwork’ when creating all these magnificent backgrounds.
Puzzle design for us internally is the biggest part of the game that will see a significant makeover to how we usually expect games in this genre to be. We have designed puzzles in a way that makes them part of the story experience. Puzzles are supposed to never keep players in Silence from moving forward within the story. They’re designed in a way to let them be solved intuitively while also being part of the current on-screen experience.
So, players are supposed to explore the environment around them, listen to dialogue, talk to other characters and observe what’s happening around them – just as they’re used to in adventure games or RPGs. The puzzle solutions are always kept on a logical, comprehensible level, and stay within the current area.
This also means that we won’t be needing an inventory. Players can focus on one puzzle at a time, and one item at a time. Thus, we’re eliminating puzzles for which you have to try a huge number of item combinations to find the answer, for example.
We’re also re-designing the game’s cursor in a way that helps you to determine the task that you’re currently working on. It will shift its shape and show you options for what you can do – however, without spoiling the actual solution of a puzzle, of course. For PlayStation 4, we’ll offer a mix of direct control options as well as direct hotspot interactions and selections.
Silence will feature two playable characters – Noah and Renie – as well as an important sidekick named Spot. Noah and Renie will both come with different abilities, which players need to consider in order to solve puzzles.
-Playstation Blog
But if P&C puzzles aren't your thing, never fear! There are plenty of hotspots and hints to be enabled or disabled as you see fit if you just want to enjoy the story!
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