“Fade to Silence” – PC Review
3 min read
The wind, it sounds like whispers. The blizzard roars with a demonic rage. The cold pierces straight to the bones. Death is a welcoming embrace. No, you must fight. Overcoming the evil of this land is mandatory. The answers will come. Survival will be challenging.
Survival in Fade to Silence is definitely a struggle. Produced by THQ Nordic and developed by Black Forest Games, Fade to Silence is a survival, adventure game placed in a post apocalyptic USA and more specifically around the supervolcano at Yellowstone National Park. The main character is Ash, a mysterious survivor that has a strange connection with the demonic force that has taken over the land.
The story of Fade to Silence is brilliant and full of suspense. You start by waking from death in a sort of crypt called The Veil. This location will be your base for the whole of the game. As you emerge from the crypt you hear your daughter screaming for help. Your settlement has been overrun by monsters. Everything has been destroyed. As you spend more time in this wasteland you will come across more survivors. These survivors can become followers if you would like, and each one has special feats that will make living easier. Gathering supplies and building up your settlement play a huge part in Fade to Silence. More areas will be unlocked as you progress through the story, and more advanced gear will be made available.
The main goal of Fade to Silence is to clean the corruption from the land. This can be done in three ways: Killing the monsters is the easiest way but the least effective, cleansing Nests make areas accessible and farmable, and finally there are stronghold crystals to cleanse that unlock port locations and a place to access camp when you are exploring. There are several stronghold locations to unlock, and dozens more nests to go after.
Gathering supplies is what will take up most of your time during early to mid game. During all this scavenging you’ll be traveling on foot with a minimal amount of stamina. No exaggeration, you will have the stamina of a ninety-year-old smoker. Sprinting will last for 5 seconds before cool down, and you will be able to perform one light attack combo, or a single power attack before complete exhaustion. Eventually, you will be able to unlock a dog sled to travel faster, but you will soon learn the dog sled can be more trouble than it’s worth. Either you will get dismounted because of terrain, or the dogs will get stuck, clipped into the environment. After you get your followers though, you can leave gathering up to them while you just explore.
The sounds and music of Fade to Silence is what gets you hooked. In a game that is slow, I mean sloth slow, the sounds are what break you from the blank stare one may get. Either crows cawing as you run by, the wind whistling in changing intensities, or suspenseful music cues to make you think you are being attacked. Most elements of the game are broken down to an audio cue. For example, the increasing wind means a blizzard is coming, the ominous music is played during the red eclipse, and hooves stamping around lets you know dinner is nearby. The audio serves a purpose in Fade to Silence and it was executed in the best way to fit the game.
There is plenty more that can be discussed about Fade to Silence, but that will have to come once I have completed the game. I’m so close. Fade to Silence is a good game full of typical survival themes, with a touch of settlement RTS elements, and unforgiving world that seems to want you dead. If survival games are your jam this is a must play single player, or co-op with a friend.
