Last Heroes 4
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Game
Game2014
Whispering Willows
Developer Night Light Interactive
Whispering Willows is an indie adventure horror video game developed by independent developer Night Light Interactive for Ouya in May 2014. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
198 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon, Lemmy) · newest Oct 12, 2026 · last updated Oct 13, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
78
LovedLoved
138 positive · 40 negative
95% range 71–83%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 138 | 40 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 6 | 0 | 11 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
623 of 773 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
78% recommend · 143 yes, 41 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 184 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (1,561 of 1,904 positive).
Players praise the beautiful art style and atmospheric spooky setting. [1][2][3] Gameplay is simple with easy puzzles and a short runtime of about 2-3 hours. [4][3][5]
Liked
Representative posts
- [9]
• You have a run button, but can't run indoors, which is like 80% of the game. • You can leave the mansion, but you must trigger an event to get back in. • The end of the game relies on your skill at *waiting*. • The story is uninspired, generic and predictable... just like the characters. • The very simple, very basic controls are kludgey. • Every 'maze' and 'challenge' can be overcome by simply going room to room …
- [1]
Pros: - Captivating exploration and puzzles. - Compelling dark tone and story. - Endearing protagonist adds depth. - Enriching collectibles and notes. - Effective scare moments. Cons: - Limited traditional scares. - Puzzles may be simple for experienced players. - Art direction, particularly in cutscenes, needs improvement.
- [3]
Recommended Playtime: ~2-3 hours Whispering Willows is a charming, atmospheric 2D adventure that leans much more into spooky aesthetics than actual horror. The core mechanic of switching into a spirit form to converse with ghosts, reach hidden areas, and solve puzzles is a neat concept. The hand-drawn art style is beautiful and the story is surprisingly engaging, though the gameplay itself is very simple. The …
- [2]
Whispering Willows is a horror-adventure puzzle game for teenagers. You play as Elena, a girl searching for her missing father in a creepy mansion. Elena can astral project and talk to ghosts to solve puzzles and uncover the mansion's secrets. The game has beautiful hand-drawn art, a suspenseful soundtrack, and a story about loss, regret, and letting go. While the story can be predictable and some parts repetitive, …
- [4]
2D exploration game with a supernatural undertone. It's like a walking sim with some hiding sequences. Besides that, the game doesn't have much to offer. There are no puzzles or anything to keep your attention. The story itself is kinda mid but it does the job. I got the game for 50 cents and I would say that's about the right price you should pay. The first walkthrough took me 2 hours to beat and I don't think it's …
Summarised from 34 of the 205 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 9, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Whispering Willows sits at 78% positive across 178 opinionated reactions from 4 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Whispering Willows received "mixed or average" reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic. Critics praised the game's visuals with Shuva Raha from Adventure Gamers saying that the game is "good-looking" and Electronic Gaming Monthly reviewer Mollie Patterson calling the game's graphics "great". However reviewers noted the boring gameplay with Shuva Raha saying that "the simplistic – often to the point of boring – gameplay, along with poor design that attempts to prolong playing time by inserting hours of completely avoidable backtracking, reduces the experience to a grind".
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 198 · most liked firstA few more #zinemonth projects that need love / that I really like - this is a thread, so check our replies too! "Whispering Willows" by Master Badger, a fantasy role-playing game about small animal folk who protect a living forest. Solo, co-op, or with a DM. www.backerkit.com/c/projects/m...
neutral · AI labelView post →Beautiful game, with simple gameplay. It's worth 0.00$ that I spent on it. Nobody will read my review so I Will Eat 1 Tablespoon of ketchup For Every Like this gets.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →2D exploration game with a supernatural undertone. It's like a walking sim with some hiding sequences. Besides that, the game doesn't have much to offer. There are no puzzles or anything to keep your attention. The story itself is kinda mid but it does the job. I got the game for 50 cents and I would say that's about the right price you should pay. The first walkthrough took me 2 hours to beat and I don't think it's worth replaying it for the few last achievements I have left.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hi again VTubers of #vsky, a couple more free games just became available for your content creation needs. Bear & Breakfast free until October 10, 2024 via Epic - store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/bear... Whispering Willows free until October 6, 2024 via Gog - www.gog.com/en/game/whis...
neutral · AI labelView post →Well... It took me 8 years... But I finally beat this game! Mind you, it took me a few hours. This game is... I probably would've been more impressed with it a few years back. Eh. It's not really bad, just... Well for one it was never optimized properly for PCs. So your computers will overheat or attempt to fly around the room. My PC really hates it when I read the Diary as well... Which is strange... But okay. Two... I feel there should've been more to the story. It just feels…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ghosts asking for items This is a simple story driven girl with very light horror vibes which at least in my book would fall into family friendly horror category. You play as a girl who has an entity like a soul who can leave her body. And control both – whenever you want to play as entity you press a button and do that. It helps solving puzzles like squeezing through tight places to flick a switch and so on. The gameplay is quite basic – side scrolling adventure game where you go to place…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →• You have a run button, but can't run indoors, which is like 80% of the game. • You can leave the mansion, but you must trigger an event to get back in. • The end of the game relies on your skill at *waiting*. • The story is uninspired, generic and predictable... just like the characters. • The very simple, very basic controls are kludgey. • Every 'maze' and 'challenge' can be overcome by simply going room to room and spamming the A button. • Every 'puzzle' has the answer IMMEDIATELY next…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Whispering Willows had wonderful art, an interesting mechanic (exiting your body) and doable (if meh) puzzles, but the nature of the plot (which brings with it a dangerous, almost immoral message) and the main character's actions, in addition to some places where you are forced to spend a long time backtracking (especially in the catacombs and garden), make it very difficult to support. With only two choices, I have to pick Not recommended. (Fair warning: I played this game in Spanish, and I'm…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I will leave this cat here, so that everybody who passes by can pet it and give it a thumbs up and awards ／＞ フ | _ _ l ／` ミ＿xノ / | / ヽ ﾉ │ | | | ／￣| | | | | (￣ヽ＿_ヽ_)__) ＼二つ
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Interesting indie adventure game with simple puzzles and some spookyness. It's a great little game to play and an easy 100% for those of you who like to go for those. I wasn't really a fan of the native american caricatures in the story and it would have probably been a lot more interesting/inclusive to everyone if the main character was a descendant of a witch or something. The possession trick that you as the main character can do was very fun, but I feel like they could have made it more…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Whispering Willows is nice
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Whispering Willows is a no-combat 2D adventure game set in a haunted mansion. It's filled with creepy gothic flourishes, from peeling wallpaper to secret rooms to murdered best friends, and it tells a story of wealth and greed from an Indigenous perspective. digitalfantasydiary.com/2025/03/29/w...
neutral · AI labelView post →Pros: - Captivating exploration and puzzles. - Compelling dark tone and story. - Endearing protagonist adds depth. - Enriching collectibles and notes. - Effective scare moments. Cons: - Limited traditional scares. - Puzzles may be simple for experienced players. - Art direction, particularly in cutscenes, needs improvement.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I would describe this game as "walk and talk". You walk around and then read ghosts dialogue. Unfortunately, the main gameplay mechanic (astral projection) is not interesting enough to avoid being boring between story beats, and since there aren't any dialogue trees, the conversations are also not interesting.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →pros ✅ a well-written and intriguing paranormal ghost story about a teenager who searches for her missing father and, in her quest, encounters and helps many ghosts, all of whom have tragic pasts. You can learn these ghosts' rich, tragic stories via numerous intricately written notes ✅ spooky environments and atmosphere ✅ mechanic to swap between human and spirit forms to solve quests so cool ✅ nice looking graphics and character models ✅ well integrated and fun to solve puzzles ✅ the apt…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →DO NOT BUY THIS GAME, NOT WORTH IT. All the images are just clickbait because the mechanics of these thing is just text or unlocking more of the maze. I do not encourage this types of game that make you go very slowly around and it's based on reading (also it doesn't tell you what to do or the objective) and i think if you have the game so based on reading, make it a book, heck i would prefer reading a book than buying this game because of the extremely slow pace. So i suggest just looking at…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I offer only honest criticism. The story is equivalent to something an edgy teenager would write. The game-play only lets you run outside because even in a game running indoors is "bad" The pace at which this game goes story wise is pretty darn fast which is nice when you cant appreciate the story but if you could run indoors then there would be speedruns of this game as 2.8hrs to complete all the achievements. I saw the trailer on steam and the live action bits look intresting but as a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Charming story with some nice challenges .... loved it! Highly recommended
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Whispering Willows is a horror-adventure puzzle game for teenagers. You play as Elena, a girl searching for her missing father in a creepy mansion. Elena can astral project and talk to ghosts to solve puzzles and uncover the mansion's secrets. The game has beautiful hand-drawn art, a suspenseful soundtrack, and a story about loss, regret, and letting go. While the story can be predictable and some parts repetitive, the puzzles are well-designed and the overall experience is haunting and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The greatest issue with this game is the simple fact that it is boring. The art is tolerable, but the writing is pretty awful at times. The puzzles and mechanics are not interesting, challenging, or varied enough to provide interest either. It's not especially terrible or objectionable, just not worth a purchase.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An unremarkable game of childlike story, trivial puzzles and motley aesthetic. I like the setting but that is about it. Games like this (but done better) are dime a dozen. It is not bad. It is simply not interesting enough.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pacing is way off. This "horror adventure" game is a borderline walking simulator where not much happens. The ghost-mechanic is a well thought out one, but this needs more puzzles and voice acting to complete the presentation. Without those elements this is a really boring way to spend your time.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was not expecting something this heartfelt.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Recommended Playtime: ~2-3 hours Whispering Willows is a charming, atmospheric 2D adventure that leans much more into spooky aesthetics than actual horror. The core mechanic of switching into a spirit form to converse with ghosts, reach hidden areas, and solve puzzles is a neat concept. The hand-drawn art style is beautiful and the story is surprisingly engaging, though the gameplay itself is very simple. The puzzles are straightforward and it is almost impossible to get genuinely stuck.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Overall it is not too bad, but be expected of a few things: Length: Short It is actually quite short. Despite trying to get all achievements, finding all notes, read all notes, connecting all the dots... it still take a bit less than 3 hours. Difficulty: Easy It's actually quite easy. In fact, quite a few of them are pretty predictable. Probably a bit too much for the full price but make sure to get it on discount.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Whispering Willows by Master Badger Press looks absolutely STUNNING and I can't wait to get my hands on it!! It is a fantasy role-playing game about small animal folk who protect the quiet heart of a living forest. Playable solo, co-op, or with a DM! www.backerkit.com/c/projects/m...
positive · AI labelView post →Beautiful artstyle, interesting and unique concept, a story reflecting real history. I do wish the story had been even deeper, more interactions with the characters and so on. Great eerie ambience, not too scary :) ------------------------------------ Play this game if: - You want to right the wrongs and forgive - You like ghosts - You have an attention for details perhaps? Do Not play this game if: - You need action, gore and blood to survive Verdict: 7/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am sorry but I must say that is the single most boring game I have ever spent my time on. I understand it's independent, it's a small company, but it actually looks more like a concept of what the game should be than the actual product. It's something you would use to pitch a story. Controls are sluggish, Elena can't run indoors, puzzles are a joke, the game is ABSOLUTELY linear and you have no way of ever doing anything other than following the exact path Elena was intended to go on. Do…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a neat idea, but the execution isn't there. Pros - Ghosts, always fun - The main character sprites and the backgrounds are nice Neutral - The letters and notes are a fun idea, but most of them feel superfluous, and all of them seem like a first draft - It's cute that your character won't run indoors, but I wish you could, with all the back and forth you need to do (though you can unlock shortcuts in the mansion so it's never too bad) Cons - Mechanically the puzzles are just okay, they…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Whispering Willow is a Kickstarter funded Indie game. Yes it is pretty short and simple, primitive even, but it has soul. The atmosphere and sound are creepy. The story is nice. The art and animation are amateurish but it works. Reminds of old but competent Newsground or itchio games. Baby level difficulty for beginner gamers. Not bad.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For a ten year old game I thought this was pretty good and I chose to play this for some spooky vibes during Halloween. The art is excellent. It's not a very long game and the puzzles aren't too difficult. I enjoyed piecing together the story via scrolls gathered throughout the game, the main character's diary, and talking to ghosts through Elena's spirit form. The story centers around a huge mansion that is owned by a man named Wortham Willows who becomes the mayor of the town. Wortham is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Apparently I bought this game on November 23, 2018, alongside Monster Prom. Given that it's been nearly 6 years, I can't honestly say that I remember why I bought it, but presumably because it looked neat and was heavily discounted. (On that note, at time of writing it's on sale for a measly €0.95.) Also, I'm pretty sure I've had it installed since July of 2020, and finally took the time to give it a spin after over 4 years because I looked over what unplayed, installed games felt seasonal…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Whispering Willows is a mobile app that's been dumped on Steam as if it was a real PC game (it's not)... it's a cash grab from greedy mobile devs. This mobile app is a somewhat mediocre (but not awful, I guess, just mediocre) 2D side scrolling puzzle/adventure game where you can transform into a spirit that can move places your corporeal body can't, this is necessary to solve some of the puzzles like pulling a lever in a room to open the door so you can get in. Not exactly the caviar of…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not even gonna finish this one. It's like a point-and-click game without the puzzles, instead, it just tells you where to go most of the time. Which wouldn't be all bad if not for the super slow movement of your character and all the boring backtracking. It has A LOT of reading material presented through collectibles. The writing is a toss-up between either feeling aloof or tone-deaf. The game really felt like it was trying to squeeze as much time out of me as it could. Which made me quit a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Overview Travel through different locations of the mansion in search of scrolls containing pieces of the story Occasional maze and puzzle, but majority of the game is about exploration and talking to NPCs Gameplay ★★★★☆ Astral projection mechanic opens up an interesting dimension to the level designs The soul is able to pass through tight spaces, and also possess items to clear obstacles or retrieve a plot device Missed opportunity to implement an out-of-body combat experience; you can only…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Whispering Willows from Master Badger Press has an amazing look and takes a more dark fantasy approach to the now-classic "indie ttrpg about animalfolk" genre www.backerkit.com/c/projects/m...
positive · AI labelView post →Heya folks, here's a videograph featuring Whispering Willows by Night Light Interactive and Akupara Games. I've actually beaten this game twice over the years, and it's still one of my favorite indie games. #whisperingwillows #videogames #indiegames #adventuregames #videography
positive · AI labelView post →[iOS] [Weekly game deals post - The Darkside Detective 1 & 2, Whispering Willows, Star Vikings Forever, Zoeti, Candleman, SpongeBob - The Cosmic Shake, Herodom, Moncage, The Enchanted World, Yes, You.
neutral · AI labelView post →🔴 STREAM LIVE There are ghosts in this mansion! And maybe our dad??? Let's play some Whispering Willows today! www.twitch.tv/dizzystargaz...
neutral · AI labelView post →It was alright, not spectacular...... I liked the art, the setting, the world-building and so on, those aspects were up to a respectable level. Also, the game has some creativity in its puzzle solving with some of its inter-woven mechanics derived from the world-building. The runtime of the game is fairly short if one talks of value, its about three hours.... Also, some of the puzzles were a bit too 'point-n-clicky', a trope of the point-n-click genre of puzzles not making logical…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am 32 years old. My ex-wife and I have a daughter together, and we adopted our son together. Both are now 4 years old. When we were going through our separation, I felt lost and unhappy. I was self-destructive. One day, I was so angry with everything spiraling out of control that I punched a concrete wall in a moment of overwhelming emotion. This resulted in breaking my fifth metacarpal in my right hand—the hand I worked with, played games with, and used to carry my children to bed—the hand…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I think the premise of this game, while certainly not unique, is quite nice, with spirit and physical form assisting one another. I do feel that this premise could have been implemented more creatively at several points, and I certainly hope we'll see more of Elena in a future game. For anyone remotely skilled at point-n-click adventure games, the puzzles will be very easy to solve - do not expect wonderfullly wacky convoluted solutions like in the Quest for Glory or Monkey Island games - and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →👻The story is lovely and promising while progressing over time but It's short, that's ok for an indie game. 👻The graphics & the arts are simple and I love it. 👻You go to different places and houses searching for answers and this is the best thing in the game, described the situation of Elena while she is searching for her lost. 👻The music and sound effects are lovely. 👻 Through the game you must break,move, discover & solve puzzles. ☄️ I recommend buying the game during sale ☄️ 🌬…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Games like this are hard to judge on face value alone. When you take more common, action oriented titles, it can be easier to tell from just a minute or two of uninterrupted gameplay footage if a game is going to be worth your time or not. But slower paced, narrative focused titles, like Whispering Willows, are considerably harder to figure out from just viewing a short trailer. Games like this are driven by their quality of narrative and puzzle design. Does the crisp and whimsical imagery…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you enjoy lots of meandering mazes with corridors upon corridors, the order of which you have to keep track of to get back out or return for certain items, this is your jam. If you like finding things in really obscure places that you would never think to check without a tip, you might enjoy this. But I can't keep track of all that. You really need to follow a guide and before using one I found this game incredibly frustrating. Much of the hours I have on record is just trying to get unlost…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Whispering Willows is a fantasy role-playing game about small animal folk who protect the quiet heart of a living forest, now on #backerkit www.backerkit.com/c/projects/m...
neutral · AI labelView post →Whispering Willows, developed by Night Light Interactive and published by Akupara Games, is an atmospheric 2D adventure game that fuses puzzle-solving, exploration, and emotional storytelling within a haunting supernatural framework. The game follows Elena Elkhorn, a young woman determined to find her missing father, who has vanished somewhere within the eerie grounds of the Willows Mansion. Early in her search, Elena discovers a mystical amulet that allows her to project her spirit outside of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Finished the game in one sitting ♥ it's short but really engaging. The story got me hooked from the start and the atmosphere was beautiful and eerie at the same time. Loved the art style and the calm yet haunting vibe throughout, it's the kind of game that pulls you in and makes you forget about time.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[2024] When I finished playing Whispering Willows, a short eerie game involving ghosts, I thought it was cute! Have an Elena Elkhorn 👻 #whisperingwillows #videogames
positive · AI labelView post →Thanks for the good work Night Light Interactive and Akupara Games! There were many secrets in the city where our heroine lived. Some citizens believed that Freemasons were involved in the construction of most of the buildings, while others were sure that aliens were found in the local lake. But they all forgot about the main attraction of the city. The ancient estate of the Willows family stood on the hill. It empty now. The estate became notorious: everyone who tried to enter it was injured…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Whispering Willows - Free game until Oct 6, 2024 at 6:30 PM on GOG. 😍🎁 #WhisperingWillows #FreeGame #GamingInfoAndNews #Gaming #GOG #Lazyajju
neutral · AI labelView post →One of my new favourites so far this year! Great story about Elena, who can astral project and she's trying to find her lost father and she has to solve a series of mysteries that set you to complete tasks, collect items, meet new characters to move along the story and for her to manipulate these objects both in corporal form and astral form was cool. I, thoroughly enjoyed the cut scenes, the graphics designs of the characters, settings and sound effects which I found unique. I did like…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What can I say? This game is in my favourite genre - "A house with many rooms to explore". Not too scary. Doesn't challenge my bad reaction time. All monsters are easily avoidable. Perfect game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I very much appreciated the storybuilding, and I didn't mind the pacing with the clues along the way. I think you could see where it was going pretty early on, but that added to the fun 'detective' aspect to it. Completionists will be pleased to know there's not that many missable achievements, BUT because there's no ability to redo chapters, make sure you consult a walkthrough unless you enjoy replaying a game. My only two faults were - I felt the ending let itself down against the rest of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The story was a little interesting, but the ending was rushed. The artwork wasn't bad... but definitely left something to be desired. I feel like I was playing to get it over with, honestly. This wasn't a bad game, but I do look forward to forgetting it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is very interesting, you interact with many characters and the game isn't too fearful or difficult. It's very wholesome.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very tense at times and actually scary occasionally. While I did refer to a walkthrough a couple of times when I got a bit stumped, I found most of the game gave me everything I needed to solve the puzzles. Controlling the game is fairly straightforward. I loved the story telling and art style. I'm not a completionist so it didn't bother me missing a couple of achievements. if that's important to you though, you'll either have to be extremely thorough and backtrack fairly often (e.g. once you…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very good game. Very good musics. Nice puzzles. Nice story. Play.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I didn't hate this game, but it has too many rough edges for me to recommend. I bought it because the art direction looked really appealing, and I was not disappointed on that front. I dig the macabre atmosphere and themes. Everything else though... I only paid one or two dollars, so I'm not too upset, but it is really rough around the edges and borderline bad. This is a side scrolling adventure game where you control a young woman who can turn into a spirit. Her transformation boils down to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very neat and simple game. Puzzles and progression hints are very straightforward, I havent found myself aimlessly wandering around. Not much in terms of horror, but the sound design can be spooky.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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