Many Nights a Whisper Review

Wishing upon a falling star, a blown-out candle, or a coin flipped into a well is something most of us are pretty familiar with. Being able to cast out our hopes onto the mercurial whims of destiny can be relieving and freeing, as surely said dream is out of our hands now. However, have you considered what it would be like to be on the other side of that wish? It is this idea that Selkie Harbour and Deconstructeam explore in their title, Many Nights a Whisper.

In the game, we play as the Dreamer, a religious figure chosen out of the local populace with the sole goal of… shooting a slingshot to light a brazier. Okay, it’s a bit more than that, but that is the gist of the game: you are trained in the art of slingshottery by your Mentor in a secluded temple for 10 years so you can shoot a gigantic bowl a fair distance into the nearby ocean. The kicker in this whole thing is that if you make your shot, you can make any dream come true.

The plot unfolds in the final week of your training before the day of the ritual, with each being cut into two distinct phases in gameplay terms. During the day, you are allowed to train with your slingshot and explore the small area of the temple. There are multiple smaller braziers situated here and there, which you can light as practice, though you can also just call it a day immediately without any issue. Once you finish up, you will move on to the evening stage, where the Dreamer must take part in an interesting ritual.

You see, anyone can petition you to fulfil their dream as you hit your penultimate target by offering up a very long braid they have grown. You sit in silence and listen to their case, and if you agree, you slice off the braid, adding it to a bowl. If you do not, you simply allow them to end their monologue and leave. Every braid cut is then added to your slingshot, giving it better reach, with the “cost” of making the petitioners' dream a reality upon lighting the final flame. After each nightly ritual, you are given a hazy description of what your choices may mean for the asker and the world itself.

As you can imagine, these wishes start off as simple things, like more rain or the return of an extinct flower, but as the days go on, you’ll be presented with more and more difficult conundrums and ethical dilemmas. Many Nights a Whisper doesn’t judge you, however, it simply poses the question, which I found fascinating. Will you make smoking healthy and without drawbacks? Is removing the souls of animals to make eating meat the right move? You may find that the prayers themselves become more and more despicable, making you want to abstain completely… but then you may not have enough power to make the shot.

The game is delightfully devious in making the player weigh their own morals and want to succeed. You never see the petitioners themselves and don’t even interact beyond choosing to either cut their hair or not. Even your mentor abstains, leaving the choice solely up to you! You could, of course, simply grant all wishes and get the most powerful slingshot known across the land, but apparently, someone already did that, and things did not end well…

Mechanically, gameplay is very simple. You click a button to go into aiming mode, then hold another down to gather power into the shot. When you feel everything is correct, you let go and watch as your fireball flies. You CAN hit the Chalice of Wish-Granting (not the actual name) early, and are actively encouraged to do so, but only the shot fired on the night of the ritual counts. You are free to use as much or as little time training, and while the world doesn’t change much during each day, you may find an extra target or two.

The game offers no reticle or other way to aim other than the Dreamer’s outstretched hand, so it does take a bit of skill to hit the same target with any degree of reliability, especially when your slingshot may not have the same strength from day to day! It is very possible to simply miss the final shot, and that’s that, which I respect.

Visually, this title is pretty great; it has this very subtle pixelated style that makes everything look smooth on the surface, but with a sprinkling of retro added in. The world itself is simple, with little to distract from the many torches to set alight; however, there are enough little details to tell a story. Fascinatingly, Many Nights a Whisper has little to no indicators on when the story takes place. The temple and rituals themselves speak of a mediaeval-esque period, but then the Dreamer herself has logo T-shirts and piercings? Honestly, it works in its favour.

The soundscape is very simple, but relaxing and meditative, as is the goal of Many Nights a Whisper. You’re never left completely alone with your thoughts, but the music also never distracts you, until the night of the ritual, where the music swells and quiets with excellent timing.

In terms of length, the title is on the short side, lasting for about an hour, depending on how much training you do per day. As it is meant to be played in one sitting, the length is very fitting and would seem to offer some replayability, as choosing to accept or ignore different wishes results in different summaries for each day. However, this is where Many Nights a Whisper hits a bit of a snag. If you are interested in playing it at all, I heartily recommend skipping the next paragraph!

Many Nights a Whisper is very much about the journey, not the destination. Pondering what wishes you may grant and why is the whole point, and the ritual at the end is more of a motivator than a goal. For some gamers, this is enough and replaying the game will bring the same introspective charm every time; however, if you want to see what kind of results different combinations of wishes can create, you will be left wanting.

Being asked to confront our own thoughts on morality, ethics, and deep questions can be a fun time, especially when explored in a safe and judgment-free environment, and I think Many Nights a Whisper does manage to facilitate that while also adding in a fun little game about lobbing fireballs at targets. However, the game needs to be approached as such to get the most out of it, and I think the experience will vary quite a bit depending on who is wielding the slingshot. Regardless, I do recommend giving it a shot if you ever want a small but thought-provoking snack. With the current price point of £2.49, it’s not much of a miss if it doesn’t hit home.