The best games don’t just live in your monitor, they become ethereal and enter the air. Drifting between your ears to squat in your brain, the absolute best games take on a new life that continues to draw breath even after you stop playing. Songs of Silence is set to join that number with a heady combination of genres wrapped up in some of the most gorgeous art in gaming.
The first thing that will probably grip you when you check out Songs of Silence is its art style. Drawing on Art Nouveau, the art movement popular around the Belle Époque, it gives you a vibrant map filled with units and buildings which echo the living world around us. This unique artistic vision makes it clear right from the start that Songs of Silence isn’t your normal strategy game, this is something that’s aiming its sights elsewhere.
While there are comparisons to be drawn between it and other 4X games like Civilization 6 or Endless Legend, you don’t have to dig too deep to see where Songs of Silence stamps its own seal on things. That’s not to say 4X strategy veterans won’t be at home here as it bears all the hallmarks of the genre. You’ll take your faction and expand it through turn-based decision making, forming armies, taking over regions, defending, and building your empire up into something altogether more powerful.
It’s the combat that really sets out the stall for Songs of Silence being something unique. When you encounter another opponent the action zooms in, giving you a view similar to the classic 4X game Master of Magic. You won’t be engaging in anything turn-based, however, instead what plays out is a real time automatic fight you have little direct control over. What you do have in your arsenal is a series of cards you collect as you explore the game’s campaign, each allowing you to issue orders or enact special effects. You can call a charge, rally troops, or ask the heavens for assistance, should you need it.
This means that while you’ll be putting the legwork in to prepare yourself for your next combat encounter, plans can go out the window when two armies collide. Much like in real warfare, no plan survives contact with the enemy, so you’ll need to make sure you have the cards and troops necessary to bust up your foe before they take you down.
Combine all that with a soundtrack from Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy 12, and Valkyria Chronicles composer Hitoshi Sakimoto, and you begin to see why Songs of Silence may just be one of those games that lives with you for a long time after you’ve stopped playing.
Songs of Silence is out now in early access and you can save 10% until Tuesday June 18. Head over to the game’s Steam page to check it out for yourself.
You can also take a look at our guide to the best RTS games you can play on PC or our best 4X games guide, for something else in this vein we’re sure you’ll love.
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