Winterlore Chapter I is a point-and-click game created by Moroi Springs.
Format
Style of Play:
- Play on demand
- Point-and-click
Required Equipment: computer with an internet connection or mobile device
Recommended Team Size: 1
Play Time: No game clock; expect 30 minutes at most.
Price: $1.00 on itch.io, $0.99 on Google Play
Booking: purchase and play at your leisure
Description
This was a standard point-and-click game for one player. Find inventory items and combine them with other items, or use them in the environment to solve puzzles and advance the story.
Andrew Reynolds’ Reaction
Winterlore Chapter I bills itself as a “folkloric mystery adventure,” and while I wouldn’t say there’s much adventure, the game is indeed steeped in folklore and a feeling of mystery. It is an exploration of the memories you have after losing someone dear to you. All the puzzles here are colored by Balkan tradition, and the setting of the game – a cabin in the woods – begins to feel like home as you solve these puzzles. While Winterlore is not very long (expect to play for at most 30 minutes), it plays at a steady pace once you get going.
The atmosphere of this game is split two ways. First, there is the growing warmth of the memories the character talks you through – memories of family and of culturally important foods and traditions. This increasing coziness is juxtaposed by the stark environment at the beginning of the game, and the sort of creeping dread and weirdness that sets in as you play. When you finish, the cabin is much more inviting, but what are you inviting in?
Cindi S’ Reaction
Winterlore is a point-and-click game that closely resembles the look and feel of the popular Rusty Lake games. This first chapter was quick, and I finished it in under 30 minutes. But within the first few clicks, I was immersed in a somber, moody environment and a tale of memories, tradition, and fate. The puzzling was not at all difficult, though there was a sense of satisfaction when discovering and using items successfully to complete the tasks. But it was the themes and atmosphere that drew me in, and though the story was hard to follow at first, the underlying sadness left me wanting to learn more. I immediately purchased Chapter II.
Matthew Stein’s Reaction
Moroi Spring’s Winterlore is an elegantly designed point-and-click escape room that stands out for its vivid depiction of Romanian folklore. Beautiful art of a traditional Romanian house facilitated a range of puzzles centered around tasks like making traditional food and crafts. Small colorful details, like traditional woven table coverings, apparel, and table settings, immediately brought me back to my own travels through Transylvania, where I saw, heard, and tasted many of the items so lovingly and accurately represented in Winterlore.
In contrast to many escape rooms, Winterlore thrived in its embrace of both the fantastical and the mundane, and many puzzle interactions that were simple in mechanic were elevated in effect through what they symbolized. Each action had meaning, and these puzzles directly told a personal story. The game itself is short and sweet, easily playable in a single sitting, and though they are separate apps, I enjoyed playing Winterlore Chapter I and Chapter II back-to-back.