Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter Review

Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter is a challenging 2D souls-lite action RPG coming to PC, Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch on January 28, 2025.

Over the last week or so, I got a chance to play this ambitious sequel and I have to say that I liked what I’ve seen here. The story follows a rat named Arlo, who is the son of the rat King in the North, a place that stands as the first line of defence against the looming danger. 

The story is once again narrated by the legendary Doug Cockle, the voice actor behind Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher 3, who did an incredible job in the first game and I’m happy to say he’s nothing short of amazing in the sequel too.

Arlo’s adventure kicks off when his home is suddenly attacked by a swarm of bats who burn down the castle and its surrounding villages, slaughtering everyone in their path, including his beloved father. 

The plot is fairly simple and it’s not trying to complicate things – It’s up to Arlo to step up, rebuild, gather his allies to avenge his father and take care of the bat problem once and for all.

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Tails of Iron 2

While the story is a bit slow at times and lacks a compelling narrative hook, Cockle does a wonderful job of telling this tale, which was more than enough to make me go to the very end. 

The first Tales of Iron game was very modest in scope, hence the price tag of $24.99. And while the sequel expands in some ways, it’s still a small game that you can beat in less than 10 hours, especially if you play on the easy difficulty level, which I don’t recommend btw.

Speaking about the difficulty levels, there are three - Fairytail, Tails of Iron and Bloody Whisker mode - and the good news is, you can switch between them at any point. That was not the case in the first game which locked your chosen difficulty for the entire playthrough.

The medium difficulty is the intended way to play Tails of Iron 2, according to the devs, and it can get very challenging at times. Certain end-game bosses would take me out in two hits, despite my shiny high-level armour. But it’s definitely playable and much more fun than the cakewalk which is the easiest difficulty. 

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Tails of Iron 2

Those looking for a more hardcore experience can try the hardest difficulty level, which is probably a nightmare of its own. I certainly didn’t have the courage to try it out as medium difficulty was more than enough for my ageing reflexes.

I’ve described Tails of Iron 2 as a souls-lite earlier in this review and that’s because this game takes some elements from Souls games and simplifies them to provide a more streamlined experience.

So for example, you can only save at “rest spots”, respawning the enemies in the process but interestingly the game won’t replenish your health. Instead, you can pick these red berries in the wild or fill your flask with mead to heal yourself.

There’s load management too so heavy gear will make you fat roll and obviously, there are many challenging bosses you can take on. Other than that, Tails of Iron 2 doesn’t have many notable similarities with souls games since the exploration is pretty basic with linear level design and non-existent level interconnectivity.

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Tails of Iron 2

The combat still feels pretty much the same - you’ll parry, dodge and roll while carefully waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike back at the enemy with one of your three equipped weapons which can include one and two-handed swords, axes, maces or spears as well as bows and guns for your ranged option.

Weapon variety is decent here and the difference between heavy two-handed axes and one-handed swords for example is pretty noticeable. You’ll generally use bigger weapons to take down shielded enemies and penetrate wooden obstacles while smaller and faster weapons work much better against unguarded enemies. 

Flying enemies like bats can be countered with your ranged weapons while enemy attacks can be blocked with your shield, which is also the ultimate parrying tool for those who like to live dangerously.

But it’s not all copy-paste work in Tails of Irons 2. There are a couple of new and notable mechanics in the sequel, which give you more options in combat like the new elemental system as well as traps that you can lay around to stun the enemy.

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Tails of Iron 2

The elemental system is core to the game’s combat. In addition to four powerful elemental spells you’ll unlock halfway through the game, which include Fire, Ice, Poison and Electric magic, every weapon has elemental buffs, armour has elemental resistances while the enemy has elemental weaknesses and strengths. 

Ideally, you’ll check the bestiary before the fight to learn about the enemies’ weaknesses, select a weapon that will deal the most damage and equip an armour that has a strong resistance to enemies' elemental strength. As I’ve already mentioned, you’ll also lay down traps which also follow the elemental system, coming in four different categories.

It’s nothing groundbreaking and we’ve seen it in numerous other games but it gives combat a bit more depth, especially in challenging boss battles where every move and hit count.

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Tails of Iron 2

Another addition to Tails of Iron 2 is the grappling hook but unfortunately, you cannot use this handy new tool in combat. I was looking forward to all the possibilities that the grappling hook would unlock when fighting large beasts, especially the flying bats but other than some cool-looking finisher blows, the tool is sadly reserved for traversal, and even then it feels like an afterthought.  

You can only use it in specific locations with these shiny objects that you can grapple to, helping you reach high places, or travel across the screen faster than you would normally.

It almost feels like the grappling hook idea came later during the development so the dev team simply placed a bunch of these endpoints to levels they previously designed for standard traversal.

Tails of Iron 2 also features an expanded crafting system and light base building mechanics. Basically,  you’ll collect materials from fallen enemies, chop wood and mine various resources to get everything you need to craft gear which comes in three rarity levels. 

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Tails of Iron 2

You’ll use these resources to rebuild the devastated buildings around the castle too, which include shops for merchants like Blacksmith where you can craft the best gear in the game, Cook, who will make you warm, tasty meals, and stores where you can resupply ammo and traps among other things.

It’s nothing unheard of obviously but it encourages you to take on side activities that include slaying big boss monsters that will drop precious materials you can use in your base.

There are more than a dozen of these beasts and while some of them feel like reskins and can be annoying since they run away mid-fight, forcing you to chase them across the map two or three times, I find these side bosses to be a nice addition to the game when you want to take a break from the main story.

In terms of the main bosses, I loved the presentation and the boss design, especially the final boss battle, which managed to deliver an epic conclusion and the quality expected of a grand finale. 

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Tails of Iron 2

One little detail that I loved during boss fights is this bat metal band in the background, playing aggressive metal bangers while their master is wiping the floor with Arlo. This instantly reminded me of the iconic flamethrower metal guitarist from Mad Max Fury Road and his hype-inducing riffs.

The boss variety is great too so you’ll be fighting poisonous rattlesnakes, owls, frogs and of course, bats. Every boss type also has their unique moveset and while you’ll fight the same boss type from time to time, I think the team did a great job of providing both quantity and quality when considering the scope of the game and the limited budget.

Visually, Tails of Iron 2 is impeccable. Its stunning, hand-drawn art style is probably the biggest highlight of the game. I was constantly amazed by the rich environments, be it snowy pine forests, wet swamps, or dark caves crawling with creepy spiderwebs. 

This doesn’t come as a surprise since the first game is well-known for its unique look and the sequel only improves on that with more detail on screen.

Performance-wise, the game runs flawlessly, without any hiccups which is to be expected given its 2D nature so no complaints there.

CONCLUSION

In a nutshell, Tails of Iron 2 is a worthy sequel that fans of the original will certainly enjoy. For 24.99, you’ll get a gorgeous little action RPG and 15 to 20 hours of content, which is well worth the money in my book. 

My only criticism is that the game doesn’t feel like a true sequel. It’s more like a refined version of the first game with a couple of new features. The devs do call this one an evolution rather than a revolution so that’s probably why I felt like Tails of Iron 2 isn’t a major jump I was expecting.

Nonetheless, this is a fine video game that will certainly find its tiny place among bigger and more expensive titles on the market.