As a seasoned gamer with over two decades under my belt, I must admit that I was initially drawn to Songs of Silence by its promising blend of strategy and card-based mechanics. However, my experience with the game’s campaign left me feeling more like a mouse on a treadmill than a tactical mastermind.
Developing an engaging strategy game isn’t a walk in the park; it demands careful crafting to ensure players remain captivated for extended periods. The design should encompass intricate mechanics that offer meaningful choices resulting in satisfying outcomes, striking a delicate balance between demanding mental effort and fostering creativity.
As a gaming enthusiast, I’ve been captivated by some stellar strategy games that have graced our screens lately. For instance, Unicorn Overlord has left an indelible mark with its empowering gameplay allowing players to chart their unique battlefield journeys. Similarly, Fire Emblem: Engage has won my heart with its enchanting narrative style.
These strategies ticked every essential aspect required for a successful gaming experience. A benchmark exists to meet, or risk losing players who seek superior alternatives. Why settle for decent when you can enjoy exceptional?
The developer, Chimera Entertainment, recognized primarily for creating Angry Birds spin-offs, aspires to create Songs of Silence as a notable addition amidst the bustling genre.
Essentially, although it generally performs well, several significant problems mean this game may not be a long-lasting favorite among strategy game aficionados.
In our analysis of Songs of Silence, you’ll uncover the elements that make the game distinctive on its own merits and identify aspects that prevent it from competing with the top-tier games.
A Tale of Light and Dark
In the game Songs of Silence, there are two primary modes: Campaign and Skirmish. The Campaign mode offers a narrative-based journey, while Skirmish concentrates on individual battles that could span numerous hours based on the player’s preferences.
Prior to engaging in skirmishes, let’s delve into the narrative of our Campaign through the medium of quiet melodies, a facet often underappreciated among games within this genre, but one that truly shines here.
The fundamental storyline revolves around an age-old struggle between right and wrong, in which you assume the role of the valiant Queen Lorelai, journeying through a world shrouded in darkness, seeking a new place to establish as your refuge.
The story unfolds as conversations happen in short exchanges during different stages of the battlefield or upon discovery of significant landmarks. Along your trek, you’ll come across new characters who may be friendly or deceitful. Each character is skillfully voiced, rivaling even some top-tier video games.
In a lively and engaging performance, Lorelai, portrayed by Ashleigh Haddad from Wuthering Waves, infuses her character with intense emotion. Her words resonate with depth as she skillfully employs nuanced variations in pitch to convey a vast array of feelings.
In numerous instances across the series “Songs of Silence”, this distinctive form of voice acting truly breathes life into the narrative. It becomes challenging not to become emotionally involved with the characters’ odysseys, as they experience a thrilling ride of ups and downs.
It’s All About Strategy
In simple terms, “Songs of Silence” follows a common pattern in strategy games, emphasizing real-time battles, army control, and character development. However, what sets it apart is its card system, which allows players to deploy abilities, enhance units, and wage war on the battlefield using cards.
These cards offer varying abilities such as temporarily rendering units unbeatable and summoning swords from above to attack the enemy. Each card comes with a cool-down period, so timing their usage strategically is crucial for winning battles.
As characters advance by earning experience points, players are given the chance to choose among three types of enhancements. These options range from improving bases, boosting the power of existing cards, or acquiring entirely new cards.
Making the correct selection when it’s time to upgrade is vital because it involves careful consideration, as leveling up may take some time, and opportunities for upgrades don’t arise frequently.
Experiencing this advancement method can be extraordinarily rewarding on occasion, particularly when the chosen card seems to propel you nearer to your goal and assists in overcoming a tough obstacle that was just encountered.
As a devoted fan, I’ve discovered that the master strategy in “Songs of Silence” revolves around skillfully managing my army, resources, and kingdoms. Mastering the art of positioning units effectively is no easy feat; one misstep can leave my forces vulnerable to an enemy onslaught.
As a gamer, I appreciate how unit formations and army management are structured on a grid within the game. This grid-based system is one of its key strengths, as it’s where most of the strategic depth lies. I find myself spending a significant amount of time deciding which units perform best when positioned at the front, in the middle, or from the rear in order to maximize their effectiveness.
The system for shaping your team works closely with the game’s battle strategy, where you learn your opponent’s strong points and vulnerable areas mainly through trial and error. For instance, if you observe that archers are superior against a specific unit, it would be smart to position your archers on the side of their advantage.
Furthermore, the resource management system requires continuous attention from the player and encourages strategic decision-making at each juncture. Neglecting resource management can lead to insufficient troops, enemy takeover of your realm, and an unfulfilled mission in the end.
In strategy games, having a skilled mechanic is typically beneficial, but unfortunately, the resource system in the game “Songs of Silence” seems to be its most significant drawback. I’ll delve deeper into this issue later.
Held Back By Balancing Issues
Previously, I noted that the card system sets Song of Silence apart. However, it’s important to mention that there’s a snag with this system, particularly in Campaign mode. The process of uncovering cards is where the issue arises, as it’s painstakingly slow and often takes an excessive amount of time to unlock anything truly valuable.
Regrettably, this extended development phase often leads to the initial 10 hours of the gameplay appearing unimpressive and uneven.
Additionally, these imbalances persist in the game’s turn-based structure, where the enemy has an excessive number of moves per round. This leads to a rapid approach toward the player’s home base, creating an unfair edge for the opponent.
If the game offered additional resources per turn, it would make it less challenging for players to regularly expand their army with new units.
Due to the extremely limited supply of crucial resources, it becomes nearly impossible to seize an advantage or repel the enemy forces when they encroach upon your kingdom.
Indeed, expanding your landmarks and kingdoms will grant you access to earning more resources, however, this expansion comes at a cost as well. The construction process is quite expensive, and the return in terms of resources gained per turn is relatively small compared to the investment made.
In Songs of Silence, sometimes there might be insufficient resources, leading to a repetitive gameplay cycle that can become painfully monotonous.
You should utilize your limited resources to create soldiers, engage in battles against opponents, watch as your troops either perish or grow weak, and then invest the resources you’ve recently acquired into creating even more soldiers.
However, it’s not a straightforward matter of just increasing the number of units because you can’t do it in the heat of battle. Instead, you must retreat to your base, which could mean abandoning progress towards an objective if you’re running low on troops. This situation often arises when enemies are advancing, leaving little opportunity to fortify your army before returning to base.
As a gamer diving into the world of Songs of Silence, I’ve found myself frequently grappling with a repetitive and tiresome cycle due to the scarcity of resources. This loop can feel downright agonizing at times.
To satisfy my curiosity and verify if the issue persisted, I adjusted the difficulty level to its minimum – the “Story-Focus” mode.
To my surprise, this problem still occurred, and I constantly felt like I had no choice but to meet the “Defeat” game-over screen. Isn’t a “Story Focus” gameplay difficulty supposed to focus on the story?
Regrettably, these challenges create a campaign that appears sturdy yet is marred by unnecessary complexity. Given that Chimera Entertainment has been working on this game for five months in its early access stage, one might expect them to prioritize addressing the imbalance problems more intensely.
Skirmish for Victory
In the game Songs of Silence, it’s the Skirmish Mode that really stands out. Similar to Story Mode in terms of basic gameplay mechanics, Skirmish is unique because it lacks the balancing problems found in the Campaign mode.
The primary cause is the abundance of options and flexibility available, allowing for the accommodation of diverse gameplay styles. For instance, you can select among four distinct factions, numerous character classes, and specialized vocations, each offering exclusive perks.
Engaging in a skirmish match feels akin to stepping into a vibrant and interactive version of a strategy board game. The players are blessed with an array of adjustable settings to tailor the game to their preferences, including map dimensions, terrain types, team compositions, and more.
Playing a match of Skirmish is like a board game come to life.
Moreover, numerous rewards can be earned by players, offering them objectives to strive for. These rewards range from unique character classes and Fates, the latter of which introduce special rules to a game, like two-minute turns or restrictions on the number of playable characters.
To acquire the specified rewards, players need to finish battles known as Skirmish matches and accomplish tasks during these matches. This setup forms an engaging system and addictive gameplay cycle, where the desire to play again is consistently sparked due to its rewarding nature.
Above all, Skirmish provides an enjoyable experience, and there’s no other way to describe it. It evokes a sense of nostalgia similar to playing an old-time board game in the evening, offering stress relief and relaxation. The Skirmish mode is what truly makes Songs of Silence worth your while.
Closing Comments:
Songs of Silence is a robust strategy game that manages to carve out its own identity amidst a sea of competitors. Its engaging army management, distinctive card-based system integrated with real-time battles, and exceptional Skirmish Mode make for a highly enjoyable experience. Nevertheless, the Campaign mode sometimes falls short and suffers from annoying balance issues that detract from it, leading to a dip in enthusiasm and a feeling of monotony.
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2024-11-11 16:10