A Knife Made Of Whispers

Daniel Linssen is on a roll when it comes to creative approaches to game design and A Knife Made Of Whispers is another reason to keep an eye on his releases and the projects he participates in. This little creation is a what you can call a poetry-driven platformer, it looks simple but it’s quite tough and there is a lot of depth to it.

A Knife Made Of Whispers is at its core a platformer, you have to roam around each level, collect items, kill enemies and find the doorway to the next stage. What makes this one interesting, besides the retro(ish) design, are the gameplay mechanics.

Your character will have to fight off some enemy critters but he won’t be able to do so while he’s in darkness. You will have to carry a glowing orb which works as a light source and only when near it can you swing your sword, but not while holding it.

The lantern needs to be positioned in certain places or thrown, you jump less when you carry it and every attack you perform weakens its glow.

In A Knife Made Of Whispers you play as a little pixel-man who finds himself in a dark minimalistic world to which he must find an exit. At the start of each level you see a short piece of text that obviously has meaning but it feels out of context. Put together each fragment as a line from a poem, finish the game and then read it all out loud.

For such as small game, A Knife Made Of Whispers has a lot going for it, there’s even an atmosphere to speak of. It’s simple, somewhat basic but it manages to connect you to the game.

You can’t but help to think that A Knife Made Of Whispers is built around the idea of sadness and personal loss. It sometimes feels sad but you need to push on. Maybe the end will come as as surprise.