‘Winter Ember’ is an upcoming stealth-based, action game developed by Sky Machine Studios and published by Blowfish Studios. It will be available on Steam, PS4 & 5, Xbox One, Series S|X and Nintendo Switch and along with the game, there is also a graphic novel that is available now.

The story will be based on the upcoming game and it is written by Kevin Grevioux, the creative writer behind the ‘Underworld’ movies while also starring in the movies as the character Raze.

Winter Ember is set in the Victorian era as the story follows Arthur Artorias. He has returned to his city of Anargal after an attack on his family years before and has spent his time away to train and prepare his revenge against the ‘Greater Heaven’ a religious cult that has taken power over the years within the city. Arthur returns with a new deadly skillset; mastery with the bow and arrow and swordsmanship with his only friend in the city being the shadows as he strikes and makes his moves.

The combat in Winter Ember is solid with the swordplay enabling you to parry timed hits and counter with big damage but it is the archery that is truly a work of art. Arthur is able to craft arrows in an arsenal of at least 30 different arrows that will always find a way out of a sticky spot.

Water arrows, for example, are ideal for putting out lanterns to create more shadows to make moving around easier, hook shot arrows are for climbing up to higher pathways and well fire arrows are for setting people and things on fire. There is an arrow for any play style and with the expansive skill tree that has three sections to focus on either with stealth, combat, or utility, you can tweak it to what makes you comfortable.

Graphically, Winter Ember starts off with an anime-style opening which I was instantly fell in love with from the start. The game itself is played from a downward view so you are able to see the proximity of Arthur and adjust any paths you are currently on. The character models are made with nice detail down to the small parts that give it those extra touches. For example, you are able to see all the details on the bow when it is on Arthur’s back while sneaking around.

The lighting in the environments is a work of praise whether it be out in the street and having lanterns being the light source or inside with chandeliers casting a lot of light but also creating shadows underneath where they hang, the attention to detail on the lighting aspect was great.

Audio-wise, my only complaint is the looping voice lines that the guards use. When I first discovered guards would talk out of combat I stalked a guard to hear what he may say in hopes he would reveal a secret to me. Sadly, instead, you will hear a loop about how cold it is, even other guards throughout the level must’ve all been thinking the exact same thing as that was the only lines they would say while being passive.

In conclusion, Winter Ember is shaping up to be a solid release for stealth players. This is a game that you should not skip out on. Pop culture fans are a must as you will be blown away even after watching the opening scenes. Even seeing what he learned, it made me think of ‘Batman’ and ‘Arrow’ and some sort of blended original story. I look forward to seeing where the full release of Winter Ember takes us and hope they do improve on the audio lines for guards.

Written by: Shane Walsh