Solas and the White Winter is a game developed, published by the small independent studio Savepoint Studios, composed of 3 people and released on April 13, 2018 on PC.
History
Solas, a young boy living in an ancient and mysterious Celtic kingdom, must brave the winter to reach temples in order to break the seals to repair the mistakes of his family.
The game, although having a story, has a rather peculiar narrative. The latter is revealed only through kinds of fixed “paintings” showing us snippets of the history of Solas and his family, without text or dialogue. This makes the story not always easy to understand at the time.
While the story is interesting, it mainly serves as an excuse to go on an adventure and have to solve puzzles, rather than following a storyline.
Game and gameplay
The game is divided into two parts. The first: to explore the snowy world in search of temples, the second: to solve the puzzles of these temples.
La exploration part is pleasant, but I admit that it is not the most exciting. We spend many minutes walking without knowing if it is the right path or without having (practically) any interaction with the world. The latter is also like "dead", unfortunately we do not meet any fauna, and the flora almost exclusively consists of 2-3 trees here and there. Even if this is quite logical, given that we are lost in the mountains, in the middle of winter and in the middle of a snowstorm, I would have liked to have seen a small animal from time to time here and there.
Exploration mode therefore offers almost no difficulty, there are only two things to be careful of: the first is the possible snowfall that can kill the character.
The second is the cold. And this is where a small problem with the game is felt.
Indeed, the problem is that there is absolutely no explanation in the game. I was surprised when all of a sudden, for no reason or warning, my character died. After some testing and analysis, I finally understood that my character was subjected to a "body heat" system. If I stay too long in the snow without warming up, the character dies. Unfortunately, there is no way to know your body heat level, and by the time the screen begins to freeze, it is already almost too late (unless one is very close to a campfire).
The numbers campfire that we meet and that we can light are therefore used to warm up. At first I thought they only served as waypoints and respawns, since a save is done every time and when you die you respawn here.
After reflection, it is true that from the start of the game, our character gets out of bed and has to warm up in front of the fireplace. Was this a tutorial for the body heat system? If so, it's both brilliant as an idea, sticking perfectly to the mood and universe of the game, but at the same time average as a tutorial method.
However, despite this small problem, it is pleasant to walk. In the end, the fact that there are no enemies or things to fight is nice, it allows you to walk peacefully and quietly (and it relaxes between two massacre sessions on the last God Of War!) Even if the flora and fauna side, there is almost nothing, we regularly come across small sculptures, offering structures, camps and some ruins (columns, etc.).
The strong (and main) point of the game is of course temples and puzzles.
Four in number, the temples are therefore areas in which it will be necessary to solve several puzzles to reach the end and deactivate the seal. The puzzles are like the rest of the game: no help or indication of how it works, nothing. And there, it's really excellent on the other hand!
The puzzles are not the most difficult and complex either, they are mainly puzzles in which you have to "trace" a path, or activate / light elements in a specific order. The fact of observing the surroundings well often makes it possible to find a small clue to realize the puzzles with, for example, indications hidden on a piece of wall indicating the order of the elements.
Graphics, sound and optimization
On the graphics side, the game offers a particular artistic direction. But in a good sense. The game is really beautiful in its genre. Small flat, however, for the gray veil which is used to "simulate" low visibility because of the storm, omnipresent outdoors and sometimes too "violent", especially at cave entrances, which sometimes spoils possible very beautiful panoramas.
Regarding the sounds, and especially the music, I was really delighted. The music is totally "magical" and spellbinding, fitting wonderfully to the ambiance, while being relaxing and calm. His recording could even appear in a compilation of relaxing music! The sound effects are also very well done, such as the sound of the wind, that of activated elements, etc.
And finally, on the optimization side, there is nothing to complain about. The game has no problems, no slowdowns, no crashes, no stuttering, nothing, nada! If only all games could be the same!
Conclusion
Solas and the White Winter is a good little game. It is however quite short, allow about 1:30 to 2 hours to complete it, and it unfortunately offers no replayability.
The game is mainly aimed at players looking to relax and daydream a little. In fact, it could be considered a “walking simulator” like The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, Journey or even Firewatch.
If you like this kind of game and you have 2 short hours ahead of you, don't hesitate!
