This game made me re-watch Disney's 1977 film the rescuers, I haven't been able to get the Rescue Aid Society theme out of my head for like three days now. Literally the only connection is that you play as a mouse but dam if Ghost of a Tale isn't a charming little game. I simply adore the aesthetic, atmosphere and art style it has, half the time I was just smiling as I played.
You play as a little mouse minstrel called Tilo escaping as a prisoner from a falling apart rat fortress whilst trying to find your missing wife. A lot of the inspirations for this game came from films and books like the Secret of Nimh, Redwall, and the Dark Crystal and it absolutely shows in the best way. The lore to the game is genuinely very good as you meet more characters and complete quests learning why you are there and the state of the outside world and it's history. A lot of the characters are funny, weird or in some cases solemn but each of them stand out and are interesting to interact with in their own way.
It's a weird game when it comes to how it plays. It's sort of a stealth game but an RPG with quests, skills and levels but there is no combat and to be honest this comes as a bit of a negative as you have to sneak around or wear guard armor to get by. With the small location however and huge amount of backtracking this does get old fairly fast which is a pity because I love everything else about it. Tilo's stats are based purely on the different costumes he collects which you can mix and match as you please and you can throw sticks, bottles, and slime to distract or knockout guards for small amounts of time but the more fun areas are just where you explore without enemies more like an adventure game though sadly they are limited. I actually think the game would be improved either with combat or removing the need for stealth simply due to the fact you basically run around the same hub level rather than constant new levels to explore.
All that said the areas themselves as mentioned look fantastic. The decrepit fortress, dungeon, forest locations are all full of detail and charm. The graphical style is interesting in that the characters are going for a bit of realism but in a cartoon caricature way yet they look a little bit like stop animation puppets? It's hard to describe and perhaps totally inaccurate but I love how they look and the animations are excellent.
The games ending teases a sequel and though nothing official has been announced I hope that is the case as I really loved my time with this and would like more in this world that the tiny team SeithCG created. No seriously this was apparently made mostly by just one guy Lionel Gallat who used to work at Dreamworks as an animator. That explains why the animations are so good then....
Underrated gem, give it a go.
+ Great characters.
+ Interesting story and world lore.
+ Art design is superb.
- A lot of back tracking in a small area gets old.
You play as a little mouse minstrel called Tilo escaping as a prisoner from a falling apart rat fortress whilst trying to find your missing wife. A lot of the inspirations for this game came from films and books like the Secret of Nimh, Redwall, and the Dark Crystal and it absolutely shows in the best way. The lore to the game is genuinely very good as you meet more characters and complete quests learning why you are there and the state of the outside world and it's history. A lot of the characters are funny, weird or in some cases solemn but each of them stand out and are interesting to interact with in their own way.
It's a weird game when it comes to how it plays. It's sort of a stealth game but an RPG with quests, skills and levels but there is no combat and to be honest this comes as a bit of a negative as you have to sneak around or wear guard armor to get by. With the small location however and huge amount of backtracking this does get old fairly fast which is a pity because I love everything else about it. Tilo's stats are based purely on the different costumes he collects which you can mix and match as you please and you can throw sticks, bottles, and slime to distract or knockout guards for small amounts of time but the more fun areas are just where you explore without enemies more like an adventure game though sadly they are limited. I actually think the game would be improved either with combat or removing the need for stealth simply due to the fact you basically run around the same hub level rather than constant new levels to explore.
All that said the areas themselves as mentioned look fantastic. The decrepit fortress, dungeon, forest locations are all full of detail and charm. The graphical style is interesting in that the characters are going for a bit of realism but in a cartoon caricature way yet they look a little bit like stop animation puppets? It's hard to describe and perhaps totally inaccurate but I love how they look and the animations are excellent.
The games ending teases a sequel and though nothing official has been announced I hope that is the case as I really loved my time with this and would like more in this world that the tiny team SeithCG created. No seriously this was apparently made mostly by just one guy Lionel Gallat who used to work at Dreamworks as an animator. That explains why the animations are so good then....
Underrated gem, give it a go.
+ Great characters.
+ Interesting story and world lore.
+ Art design is superb.
- A lot of back tracking in a small area gets old.
Reviewed on Jul 16, 2022