When I first saw Songs of Silence, I couldn’t help but feel captivated. The art style and animation was like seeing my very first graphic novel. It was fresh, colorful, and took my imagination by storm. As I waited to get my hands on the game, I fought an internal battle to avoid any and all spoilers. Needless to say, it was worth it, so join me as we dive into the game.
The Fate of the Ruined World
Songs of Silence’s story takes place during the ancient times, the gods waged war and tore the world asunder. Two weaker worlds emerged, one of light, and one of dark. A new human civilization arose from the ashes of the defeated Firstborn: The ‘Starborn’ led by their ‘Guiding Star’. A bright Age of Enlightenment would follow, however peace would not last.
The unstable worlds birthed all-consuming Purgatories. Soon the people started to wage war over the remaining land. The chaotic Age of a Thousand Kings began. The deathly ‘Silence’ continues to spread, relentless and unstoppable. Today, both worlds are on the brink of ruin. The fate of many now rests in the hands of a few; Three Factions would battle to decide the fate of the ruined world.
The “1,000 Kingdoms” form a temporary alliance of small kingdoms ruled by “high houses”, constantly at war with one another. They are survivors of the previous Enlightened Empire, who pray to the Celestial gods. The “Old Race” are the original human Firstborn civilization, now only a shadow of their former power.
They can harness the Hymn to bring life to their world and create artificial living creatures, called ‘Konstrukts’. The “Crusade” are a group of religious zealots, praying to the God in the Void. They manipulate Purgatories to devour the world’s Hymn, leaving only Silence in their wake.
Songs of Silence’s Multilayered Gameplay
Songs of Silence’s gameplay is best explained in four layers: battling, moving/exploring, building, and card collecting.
Battles
Battles are automatic, with your control being limited to activating cards and altering time. While the cards you play can and will be paramount for success, your preparation is just as important.
If you go into battle with a small subpar army that is heavily damaged, you’re obviously gonna have a rough time. With every turn each group is allowed to move within a certain distance.
Movement
This can lead to a multitudes of setbacks and triumphs. Maybe you have a group stationed in an allied kingdom and the enemy invades. This will put the village under siege and prevent your troops from moving for several turns.
My poor planning led to my main army being stuck for at least half of my first 40 turns. The good news is you can use different resources to upgrade and fortify any ally kingdom, village or outpost.
Building
Building refers to two different things in Songs of Silence. Villages and kingdoms can get you so far, but the real building takes place within your armies. Similar to the former, it requires resources and can be done in villages.
But unlike that facet of the game, it requires some organization. You’re able to place your members into different starting positions and even place some into reserves. Since there are multiple types of soldier groups, organization can be key to success in combat. The last layer to it all is the cards, which are equally important.
Card Collecting
One of Songs of Silence’s greatest twists on the strategy genre it’s the way it includes a card system. With each level your army earns, they can have a card added to their collection. These cards allow you to add different groups to your army, summon reserves at will, and use special abilities and attacks in battle.
Some battle cards must recharge and other cards require specific resources so they’re not completely endless or all-powerful, but a good collection can be the difference between success and failure.
Stunning Visuals
Songs of Silence art direction and style in this game are extremely appealing. Every character and location is presented in a beautiful painted art style, and cutscenes are presented in a moving graphic novel style. The music maintains a feeling of resilience and keeps the anticipation high. All in all it’s a treat for the eyes and ears.
Depending on who you are, Songs of Silence may have high replayability. For fans of strategy or deck-building games, it has at least dozens of hours of enjoyment. With how long you can find yourself stuck in a sieged city, you may find it takes you a couple hours just to leave one area.
Conclusion
Songs of Silence is a unique take on the strategy and turn based genre. With its combination of structure upgrading, deck building, and combat system, players who enjoy strategy games will have a blast.
As for others, you’ll either get roped in with intrigue or find yourself defeated like I eventually did. And that’s okay. I still would recommend you give this title a try at the end of the day.
Joys
- Beautiful aesthetic
- Unique card-based combat
Cons
- The card system may feel disconnected from the action at times
