Ghost of a Tale

THIS IS A 2021 REVIEW
I have recently finished this game and I can say with great confidence that it was quite a lot of fun!
At first I had been a little worried considering the previous reviews mentioned this game having a lot of bugs, being worth playing for just "3-5 hours" and the ending being "disappointing", but I can assure you those have been fixed and the game is quite complete! (altho left on a bit of a cliffhanger)
I have spent over 15 hours in this game, and I can say I really enjoyed the story, the missions and puzzles even though some were quite challenging! It honestly just added to the fun and playability!
I also absolutely love the character designs, being a big fan of rodents such as mice and rats.
The atmosphere and the look of everything were really lovely, I found myself enjoying it and being captivated by the world a lot. The different areas are always fun to explore when you can finally get to them, and I personally never really got bored of them, no matter how often I may have had to go back to certain areas lol. The aspect of "stealth" in this game is also quite fun, though it can get a little annoying when you have to go back and forth between places a lot, but you get items that help you with that eventually so it isn't too bad.
You can tell that a lot of love and time has went into this project, and I would absolutely love playing a "second" one of this game!
Overall I would recommend this game if you are someone who enjoys the kind of games where you solve some puzzles, explore a lot and fullfill quests! Oh and if you love cute mice characters, this is also for you!

Rating: 6.5/10
Genre: Third Person Stealth
THE GOOD:
+ The atmosphere and locations are gorgeous; it feels like a children’s fantasy visualization come to life
+ Level design is impressive. Unlocking new shortcuts makes navigating the world easier and discovering new areas and how everything interconnects with each other. Exploration feels very rewarding often giving you new pieces of gear or items.
+ The game has interesting lore. When you talk to NPC’s you are given the choice of pressing a button to learn more about the characters and locations. I thought this was a straightforward way for those looking for more in-depth story rather than the traditional way of scattering audio/text logs around.
THE AVERAGE:
+/- The first half of the game, specifically the very first two locations are frustrating if not terrible. The guards are very sensitive to sight and sound so you get caught very easily. The second half of the game is incredibly easy, once you find the armor suit, guards no longer notice you at the cost of reduced walking speeds, and the game essentially becomes a walking simulator. The first two areas of the game have tight corridors and tons of guards while every other subsequent area is more open and a lot less guards.
+/- Almost every side quest is about collecting a certain number of items. You are given very little information as to how to find these items so a walkthrough becomes necessary to complete them.
+/- A variety of different gear with different stats but most of them don’t seem to make any significant difference. Guards will still see/hear you just as easily regardless of what you are wearing. Almost all other gear becomes pointless once you have the armor gear with upgrades.
THE BAD:
- This game has some really odd bugs; Every time I start the game my video settings are not saved, forcing me to go into my video settings to correct the issue. Certain side quests are bugged as well.
- I’m not sure if this is a bug or just terrible design choice, but when you save your game, enemy guard location/placement is not saved, so you could save your game with no guards around only to reload your save and an enemy guard is standing right next to you. This is somewhat alleviated by the fact that you can only save when you enter a hiding spot like barrels or cupboards.
CONCLUSION:
I was going to give this game a thumbs down because of how awful the first half of the game is but it does manage to redeem itself somewhat as the game progresses. The foundations of an amazing game are here but some frustrating stealth elements bring the game down.

ngl this game confuses me a bit but i get to play as a teeny tiny mouse so it's okay

Such a lovely little game, and pretty unusual - a stealth based rpg with no fighting. Gorgeous graphics, memorable characters and a lovely storyline (the mice are so cute). The game also has a nice photo mode. I hope this game gets a sequel as I really want to know what happens next! Highly recommended, so glad I stumbled across this little gem.

Cute little action-RPG with not-annoying stealth and touching story.
Just need to be careful about how you approach the game:
1) Don't rush quests
Some quests span through multiple locations and no need to spend excessive time searching for that last item now. Instead focus on turning in the quests for which you have already found all the items, because maybe new location will open up, characters give you some keys, etc.
2) Explore and memorize ways around the area
You'll have to walk the same paths multiple times in order to solve some multiple stage quests, so better to know your way around
3) Talk to the blacksmith regularly
He serves like an in-game guide, a lot of his info is free and when it can be considered a hint he ll charge some coins, don't hesitate to spend them.
During the course of the game all of the quests will be completed naturally. Personally only 1 quest I couldn't do myself and had to google and for 2-3 others I had to use Smithy's help. But I wasted hours on "oh, lets take just one more look in the area", having multiple quests ready to give in, the tactic which I advise against, by writing this review.
Overall, enjoyed the game, it definitely deserves all the praise, hope to see a sequel one day!

2021 Review
TL;DR: This game is an absolute gem. Totally worth it at full price, and definitely a must if on sale!

The game has an unique, fulfilling lore. A good mix of dark/sad with wholesome and fun. I enjoyed every bit of it and can only hope for a sequel!
Graphics are really beautiful - from character and costume design to lightning. The game appearance changes a lot on the day/night cycle and that's well made. While torches' lights could use a few improvements, make sure to catch some sunsets or sunrises outside - they're absolutely worth it! Whenever I there was a sunset I just had to stop moving a bit and appreciate the scenery. It was really strange how coincidentally every single time I was enjoying a sunset in the game something would fall into my eyes and make me drop a few tears. :')
Gameplay is also really fun! The camera controls can be a bit wonky, but it's not bad. The game does not hand in all the answers to you, there's quite a lot of mystery and investigation required from your side. The puzzles are simple yet fun to solve, especially if you're going for all the achievements.
The "world" isn't huge (although fairly large), but it does feel immense as there are many hidden paths and passages back and forth between areas. It takes your brain a bit of time to learn your way around, and maps are not handed out easily - you have to find them! There's a lot to explore, many (many!) hidden things to uncover and fun to be had.
On top of all that, while the game doesn't seem to be maintained anymore (it was released 3 years ago), the developers did push a lot of bugfixes and improvements to the game in the first couple of years, meaning they were really paying attention and listening to the community. I couldn't find anything other than minor, unimportant bugs during my first playthrough.
I'm at 17 hours now and just finished the game. Now it's time for a second playthrough to unlock the remaining achievements and I'm so looking forward to it!
I hope you will not reach this part of the review as you were already convinced by it, so why keep reading if you can simply start playing, right? If you are still reading this far, shame on you! Just get the game and start playing it already!

This was a really great game that I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys atmospheric games. The story was good and it was incredibly cute.
Pros:
- Very atmospheric
- Great story with some interesting world-building background
- Great music
- The main character is very cute
- Not too much hand holding - you're told what to do and that's it, hopefully you were listening to the instructions
- If you have trouble finding something/solving a puzzle, you can always pay the blacksmith to help (and you won't be short of money since this is it's primary use)
- I liked having a real map you had to refer to instead of a mini-map
Cons:
- Numerous bugs. Fortunately only one caused me problems, and I had an earlier save I could load to get around it.
- The music tracks that start when you enter an area seem quite short and don't play enough. I'd love them to play more often.
Verdict: 8/10