30 Nov, 2021
0The rats are back, and they’re looking bloodier than ever with Tails of Iron’s significant “Bloody Whiskers” expansion released free to all players on November 24.
I have had the pleasure of playing quite a few indies this year, but as we come to December when “Best Of” lists need drafted up, when gaming fandoms wage war on each other in a who’s who of insufferability, and Geoff Keighley begins to look out his best blazer/t-shirt combo for The Game Awards once again, it is the games that immediately spring to mind that are worth going back over again. For me, Tails of Iron has been one such game, so I was delighted to see Odd Bug Studio already coming through with a new update for the critically acclaimed title that brings both entirely new content and a reason to play through Redgi’s brutal tale all over again with even more blood, sweat, and tears.
New Difficulty Modes With Bloody Whiskers
If you haven’t played/completed Tails of Iron before now then look no further. We reviewed the game upon release back in October, and, as I did then, I would strongly urge you to go play it immediately. As far as 2D souls-likes go Tails of Iron is an exceptional one. We’re all kicking time until Elden Ring’s release in February anyway, so why not grab a little slice of that souls-like goodness just now with a bloodied tale of rats to tide you over.
Plus, with the Bloody Whiskers expansion too you may be able to kill time that little while longer with Tails of Iron as, on top of new content, the expansion adds new difficulty settings. By popular demand, those who have already tested their might against the frog hordes can do so again with increased challenges in the “Bloody Whiskers” difficulty mode, which ups the ante on enemy deadliness. Described as “Tails of Iron with a double shot of bug juice”, the new mode brings greater numbers of enemies, all of which both hit harder than before and possess a substantive iron will for taking damage themselves, so Redgi is going to have to get quite a bit craftier. Your skills are really going to have to be honed for this one but it will make a second playthrough all that more rewarding.
By contrast, if you just want to be spun a wonderful tale of catastrophe, bloodied rise, and judicial revenge without the stresses and hardships of combat, then the all-new Fairy Tale mode allows for a story-first experience.
Both additions are welcomed for the casual player and the more hardcore alike, making Tails of Iron just that little bit more rounded for all.
Prove Your Worth as King In New Story Content
Having climbed painstakingly back to his rightful throne, saving and reuniting the kingdom along the way, Redgi might have hoped to be able to rest on his laurels. But by an ancient royal decree every king must prove their ultimate supremacy in a tournament of champions, so it is time to adorn your armaments again and head out to face your challengers.
Bloody Whiskers sees four challengers coming to you for an arena style tournament, much in the same vein of the gladiator pit in the underground mole town. Some of these challengers are new, others familiar faces coming to test Redgi again (such as his brother Denis). For the most part these combatants are not too challenging, somewhat unfortunately – certainly at least no more challenging than anything else you have faced up to this point, which is a little disappointing if it is to be the ultimate test of kingship. I did however continue to play in the normal difficulty so I will give Odd Bug the benefit of its new hard mode which the tournament is perhaps really intended for.
Defeating your 4 challengers will grant you the king’s key, finally, to the mysteriously locked door in the upstairs of your castle. No longer will this mystery door and its hidden contents plague the Tails of Iron community as King Rattus leaves behind his most deviant secret of all for Redgi to find—not all is so simple inside the castle, it seems.
Bloody Whiskers is a very short story update since this is the end of the piece again, and should probably take no more than an hour overall to cover the new stuff, but it is certainly a welcome addition all the same and helps to uncover just a little more of the world. Plus, you know, it’s free.
A couple of extra new weapon skins and armour sets are available for the fashionista rats out there as well, and with the gruff, dulcet tones of Doug Cockle returning again to add his excellent narration too Tails of Iron’s free expansion is welcome bonus of just more of what you already love along with a huge boost to the replayability of the game with its harder difficulty—which is probably more the bigger story here anyway.
Your tail continues—test your iron if you dare now on all main console platforms and PC for free.
