Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter Review — Rodent Revenge

Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter is a side-scrolling action-adventure game with Soulslike mechanics and incredible art. Enter a dark fantasy world filled with tragedy and heart-wrenching tales, as well as clever rat puns and epic guitar riffs. Everything that makes Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter unique culminates in a sequel that welcomes both fans of the first game and new players alike.

In a recent review, I mentioned that the world of Gravelord seemed like a fantastic setting for tabletop roleplaying, one I would consider for my next homebrew campaign. Now, the setting of Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter has become my newest tabletop roleplaying obsession.

Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter tells the story of rats, frogs, bats, and other rodents, and the marvelous kingdoms they have built. You play as Arlo, the young heir to the Northern Ratdom, as an ancient army of undead bats rises from the cold wastes, determined to end Ratkind for good. After losing his father and his subjects in the first of these vicious bat attacks, Arlo sets out to seek revenge on the perpetrators and rebuild his ratdom from the ground up.

If you look at Arlo the Rat’s design and think he resembles a certain White Wolf, you’d be right. Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter is clearly inspired by, if not outright influenced by, The Witcher series. This is evident in the character design and the delightfully dark portrayal of its world. If the main character’s design isn’t enough of a wink, the narration by Doug Cockle—voiced in his iconic Geralt of Rivia tone—makes the homage unmistakable.

The story of this little rat is unironically heart-wrenching, dealing with the kind of dark subject matter you’d expect in other grim fantasy settings. At the same time, the game presents a world of small rodents and animals and isn’t afraid to hype up what we see as mundane as daring fantasy. It can also be rather silly in its presentation. Nowhere is this more obvious than when fighting twisted bats shredding on electric guitars that inexplicably exist in the otherwise medieval times.

Mechanically, Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter is a Soulslite side-scrolling action game. It’s not what I’d call a Metroidvania; the game avoids a lot of exploration and platforming to focus on difficult, skill-based battles. You can dodge, block, parry, and roll to gain an advantage over hard-hitting enemies and fearsome bosses, all of which can take you down quickly if you’re not careful. You gather or craft different equipment, spells, and consumables to tip the scales in your favor during tough encounters.

Two major changes the game makes to the Souls formula—and the reason it’s a Soulslite rather than a Soulslike—are its approach to healing and stats. The more significant of these changes is the lack of leveling up. All of your stats come from gear you find or craft by harvesting body parts from your foes.

An unfortunate side effect, at least to me, is that you can’t grind lower-level enemies to level up and overcome harder bosses—something I personally enjoy in Souls games. The second change is the healing potion, which restores health over time rather than providing an instant boost. It’s a minor change but noticeably affects the flow of combat.

I do like the almost Monster Hunter mechanic of harvesting resources from enemies to craft gear and rebuild your home. While you can’t customize your stats through leveling, you can tailor your build by equipping and upgrading your favorite pieces of gear. The game features a variety of weapon types, each with unique strengths, weaknesses, and attack patterns, giving Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter undeniable depth.

Also, every piece of gear you collect in the game has its own look, something that is strangely not common in a lot of adventure games but one which I know always does so much for the sense of accomplishment and wonder when gathering a new piece of equipment.

No review of Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter would be complete without praising its art. In a world where AI-generated content is becoming more common, I’ve grown to appreciate games that use entirely hand-drawn art—and do so with a style that stands out. The game looks incredible, with a variety of environments and characters bringing its rich world to life. Every boss feels like an amazing centerpiece, and I found myself wishing I could paint some Tails of Iron miniatures to display on my desk. I was especially fond of the heavy metal gothic bats (go figure, right?) and their strange tendency to ride on the backs of other bats.

Try Hard Guides received a PC review code for this game. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles on our Game Reviews page! Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter is available on Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch.