Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter Review – Best-Laid Plans

In a world of compelling Souls-likes, excellent Metroid-inspired titles, and the rare few games that combine the two, Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter…exists. It doesn’t strictly adhere to either genre – it’s an action RPG with grim circumstances and rats, like the original. The “2” holds promise, as does the aspect of an epic revenge plot with new threats, mechanics and “The North Will Rise Again” subtext. For the most part, however, Tails of Iron 2 is recommended for fans of the original, even as it retains many of the same issues.

The set-up involves the North, where you play as Arlo, the adopted son of the Warden of Winter’s Edge. After repelling the Dark Wings long ago, the region is at relative peace…until it isn’t. The bats make their somewhat expected return, possessing a powerful ancient beast, and burn Winter’s Edge to the ground. Arlo must now rebuild his home while simultaneously stepping up to new responsibilities.

“The path of vengeance is one laden with preparation, and Arlo is a busy rat, from building an arsenal of weaponry to restoring Winter’s Edge to its former beauty.”

Tails of Iron 2 doesn’t feature any dialogue between characters – their intentions are laid bare through icons and symbols. It’s on the returning Doug Cockle, the voice of Geralt from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, to carry the narrative. And make no mistake – the stoic tones fit well enough, even with the occasional animal-focused jokes. Though the frequency can take some getting used to at the start, you eventually settle into the mood, especially with how seamlessly the narration transitions between events and levels.

Unfortunately, it can’t mask how dry some of the characterization is. Even with some of the more memorable NPCs like Ron the Blacksmith and Billy the Beaver, I’m hard-pressed to remember many others by name, much less care (death predictions aside). Arlo is developed enough – perks of the protagonist and whatnot. However, I’m not quite reconciling the character so vividly depicted in Cockle’s words with the one I’m playing.

The connection between narration and on-screen action also occasionally isn’t one-to-one, as Cockle’s narration lagged and came across as awkward during one pivotal point. Not that there was too much dramatic tension, but it certainly didn’t help.

The path of vengeance is one laden with preparation, and Arlo is a busy rat, from building an arsenal of weaponry to restoring Winter’s Edge to its former beauty. You’ll start by venturing to other regions and recruiting various NPCs to fulfil the roles of builder, blacksmith, and chef. Once your retinue is complete, you can build and upgrade their facilities, unlocking new benefits. The settlement-building isn’t the most robust, but it’s serviceable, neither bogging down the action nor requiring excessive material grinding.

“That Monster Hunter lite feeling further arises when taking on optional hunts against large monsters, some appearing during story quests and requiring multiple phases of stabbing to defeat later.”

Despite the action RPG moniker, you won’t accrue levels, assigning stat points and attempting to scale off your weapon of choice. Tails of Iron 2 instead takes a pseudo-Monster Hunter approach where meals are key for bonuses like increased health, and your “build” leans most on the equipped armor and weapons. The Souls-like weight system of Light, Medium, and Heavy builds comes into play, affecting your dodge roll, but there’s no stamina. Arlo can parry with a weapon and shield bound to R1, smash enemies with a two-handed weapon to R2, and deliver ranged death with bows, firearms, and more with L1.

Combat is intriguing at first. Despite the cartoonish veneer, slices and strikes splatter blood on your surroundings and character, while executions add to the brutality. Yet the actual feel and responsiveness never quite match it, lacking that satisfying crunch at times. It also doesn’t help that swapping sides while guarding can feel awkward at first. Holding down R1 or R2 will unleash a charged attack after a short duration, which may seem ideal for closing the distance on a parried foe. The reality is that walking up and smacking them with normal attacks is better.

Almost every weapon has an elemental attribute, which is necessary to exploit lest you deal reduced damage to an enemy. You can also use whetstones to sharpen a weapon, exponentially increasing the damage dealt, but it eventually becomes unnecessary once you learn to match elements.

That Monster Hunter lite feeling further arises when taking on optional hunts against large monsters, some appearing during story quests and requiring multiple phases of stabbing to defeat later. You can even repeat them to farm certain materials, which is neat. Having them run around the region isn’t, especially since the environments don’t really mix up or add to the hunt in imaginative ways. At least the bosses have a decent range of attacks, keeping you guessing between the parryable and dodgeable.

“Even if you become comfortable with all the various quirks, most fights can be resolved by matching the right element. Your opponent spits fire? Switch to ice. Are they using lightning? Go for poison, maybe, and so on.”

I’m a proponent of hunting, gathering and crafting your weapons and armor, but completing quests and hunts is usually enough to earn some free of charge. It’s not the first ARPG to try and balance between crafting and quest rewards, but Tails of Iron 2 can feel slightly skewed towards the latter. Higher rarities exist to strive towards, yet at times, it felt like I was sitting on all my gathered and carved materials as blueprints gathered dust at the smithy.

Even if you become comfortable with all the various quirks, most fights can be resolved by matching the right element. Your opponent spits fire? Switch to ice. Are they using lightning? Go for poison, maybe, and so on. Combat can thus become repetitive, even if there’s a decent variety of enemies to slay and multiple weapon types. The new elemental magic also sadly doesn’t do much to change this, long cooldown times notwithstanding.

A note on the difficulty: What is the first hour supposed to be? On Tails of Iron mode, the default “Medium” difficulty, you have few weapon or armor choices and almost no Whetstones to improve damage. Health recovery is gradual, requiring you to hold the button and hope the bar fills fast enough. On the one hand, it feels appropriately challenging, forcing you to read your opponent, know when to parry or dodge and utilize traps to gain an opening.

On the other hand, enemies can nearly one-shot you, adding to the frustration of the initially clunky movement, and they seemingly take little damage. The first two real boss fights feel massively overtuned in this regard, leading me to drop the difficulty to Fairy Tail.

The next few hours were then a stomp, through and through. Changing it back resulted in bosses two or two-and-a-half-shotting me, which felt much more manageable. Even then, however, most of the encounters were easy-breezy. If this is what the balance on Tails of Iron difficulty is supposed to be, I can’t fathom the point of making the first hour so frustrating.

“If you enjoyed the first game and want more, it may be worth diving into it, but everyone else should think carefully before following the rats.”

At least Odd Bug Studio’s environmental art is gorgeous, with immense amounts of hand-drawn details. From the massive skeletons of the Whale Boneyard to the parliament of Owls, it’s awe-inspiring. I also liked the little details while traversing, like a queen spider who later became a hunting target skulking by in the background or the Owls peeking from trees as you entered their realm for the first time. A few animations can feel stilted at times, like the one odd enemy which went from standing upright to on the floor in a frame, but they’re otherwise fine.

The exploration is a whole other rat’s nest. There are some hidden areas and grapple points with very light platforming, but it’s otherwise very straightforward, resulting in tedium when backtracking. Fast travel alleviates this later, though you must have the resources and gold available to build the points. Subsequent regions open up a bit and offer more winding paths, but they’re still dull to traverse with only NPC conversations and save benches occasionally breaking up the flow. Something more could have been done, especially for the side hunts, yet it feels like you’re going through the motions.

Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter starts as a brutal medieval fantasy rooted in the fantastical with its various anthropomorphic races. The awkward combat offers many weapon choices, but the overall loop eventually becomes repetitive. With unimaginative and dull exploration, it’s up to the story to drive you forward, and the Butcher of Blaviken can only do so much. If you enjoyed the first game and want more, it may be worth diving into it, but everyone else should think carefully before following the rats.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.