PC REVIEW | Fading Serenades

Welcome to Clifford Island, a land of music, mail and mysteries. At first glance, Fading Serenades appears to be a cosy game similar to Stardew Valley or Graveyard Keeper; however, unlike those games, it focuses on delivering mail to the islanders rather than maintaining a farm or personal property, allowing you to earn money and gather information along the way.

There are a few surprises to discover along the way as you progress through Fading Serenades, which help to explain the lore in a fun yet intriguing way. Just who is running the island? Why did you go there? And why is your backpack just that wee bit too small? Let’s carefully navigate our way across the island as we check out the good and the bad of Fading Serenades.

Things I liked!

• Relaxing Atmosphere | Fading Serenades is first and foremost a cosy game; you are meant to take your time and take in the sights and sounds of the island as you perform tasks for the residents. There is nothing that makes you feel rushed or overwhelmed as you traverse the map. Don’t get me wrong, the game is not just a walking simulator, but not once did I feel stressed or annoyed even when I occasionally failed one of the minigames. Everything about this game just quietly murmurs, ‘Relax and enjoy the story,’ so that is exactly how I took it.

• Soundscape | There are so many chill tunes to discover as you venture through the world of Fading Serenades that you won’t find yourself lowering the volume. Each area has its own unique musical style, which actually helps you to remember where you are, and with a lack of a holdable map, you will need to keep an eye on landmarks and music to help you traverse through the island. There is no voice acting involved in the game, but I actually felt it didn’t need it, as you are meant to take the game at your own pace, and I feel that having voiceovers might have created unneeded filler when all you need is your imagination.
  
• Gameplay | After playing so many fast-paced horror games recently, I actually found the more relaxed, slow-paced gameplay of Fading Serenades to be quite refreshing. You don’t need to run or rush your way through the game, and the tasks, while a little repetitive, are never overbearing or boring. The inventory backpack is a nice wee touch, giving an extra puzzle element to the game in which you must make sure everything you are delivering can fit neatly so you are taking fewer trips to complete your tasks. The backpack space can be increased with money you earn as you play, and as the game progresses, you will need that extra room to fit a lot of the items that the islanders want you to deliver. There are also a few little minigames you have to play as you wander through the map, such as balancing on a log to cross a river or pressing certain buttons to jump across some stones. All in all it is a good balance of gameplay to story that should keep you interested throughout.

Mixed & disliked!

• Save Points | One of my issues with Fading Serenades is the lack of an autosave. The first time I played, I got through the tutorial section and decided to turn it off so I could have some lunch, but when I returned, I had to start from the beginning again. Later on you discover that the only way to save is through a journal/microwave machine, which comes a little later in the game after you first sleep at the office. Now why sleeping doesn’t save your game I don’t know, but as someone who is now used to games like this having an autosave function, it was a little jarring. Once you get used to it, though, it’s not too bad, but if you forget to save after a long session of playing, you will find yourself having to do a lot of backtracking, which can get a little frustrating. I hope that the game will get an autosave feature at some point soon.

• Crashes | There were a few crashes when I first started playing the game, which, due to my last point about saves, meant that progress was hindered somewhat, and, to be honest, I felt like I wanted to stop playing. The issues seem to have been sorted for the moment, but if there are more bugs in later parts of the game, it could seriously disrupt the cosy feeling the game is trying to portray.
  
• Length | The one major shortfall of Fading Serenades is the length of the game; it’s very short in comparison to other cosy games. I feel that with a little more time put into the story and the inclusion of perhaps other islands to discover, this could actually be a game that I would happily spend a few more hours playing. As it stands, though, with the lack of content, I can’t really say that this is a game I would go back to after completing.

How long did I play the review before publishing? 2 hours
How long to beat the story? between 4 to 6 hours
How many Achievements did I earn before publishing? 3 out of 8
You’ll love this game if you like these | Stardew Valley, Graveyard Keeper

CONCLUSION

Score: 72/100

Does Fading Serenades deliver a cosy experience, or will the music of the island fade like a half-remembered dream? Faded Serenades is a game that has a lot of potential to be something more; the ideas are there, but the island just isn’t big enough to take this game from a short burst of relaxation to a full relaxing retreat. With some more work put into expanding the universe and going further ahead with some of the themes included, I would expect to see this game thriving. For the moment, though, with not much to keep you coming back after completion, I would say play it if you want a relaxed story with no stress, but don’t expect too much more than that for now.