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Fade to Silence

Fade to Silence

Black Forest Games · released Apr 30, 2019

RPG

Fade to Silence is a single-player and co-op survival adventure set in a post-apocalyptic world that is frozen in an eternal winter. Snow and ice have shaped a merciless landscape. Nature is corrupted. Monstrous creatures out of an Eldritch horror dream roam the frozen wasteland.

62
VGC Score
·No trend datamedium confidence
60%
At launch
62%
Steam all-time
57%
Press
42%
Recent sentiment

Screenshots & trailers

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

ComponentPositiveQuality (0-100)Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (OpenCritic)5723
All-time Steam reviews62%62669
Metacritic user ratings0
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)42%462
Calibration prior (typical game)7250

Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 5 reviews sampled · 5 total reviews in window · weighted 1.6 up / 2.3 down · computed 4h ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (50)

Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.

  • 50
    trust 78May 6, 2019

    Attempts to build a new type of survival on the Dark Souls foundation has failed. Opponents are stupid, and mechanics are pretty dull.

    read full review ↗
  • 50
    trust 78Jul 24, 2019

    Fade to Silence's world atmosphere, survival mechanics, exploration and camp building are good and I thoroughly enjoyed them for the first few hours. The core gameplay loop though, is not enough to make a complete game and feels more like side content. With permadeath being a simple restart of the exact world with just a few perks Fade to Silence didn't grip me for more than couple runs.

    read full review ↗
  • 70
    trust 75May 3, 2019

    Clunky at times, Fade to Silence excels in one major area: creating a sense of community, of prospering in face of peril. It makes you worry about its characters and do your best to keep them safe. A more positive take on a post-apocalyptic world.

    read full review ↗
  • 55
    trust 70Apr 29, 2019

    Fade to Silence still needs work. It has a solid foundation of survival and crafting mechanics, coupled with great visuals, but is let down by an incoherent story, awful combat, and the glitches that go with it.

    read full review ↗
  • 60
    trust 69Apr 29, 2019

    Stunning visuals and survival mechanics shine in Fade to Silence. Unfortunately, companion management, bugs, crashes, and uninspiring combat lead to an experience that you just want to fade away.

    read full review ↗
  • 50
    trust 69Apr 29, 2019

    Fade to Silence is an amalgamation of mechanics and systems that only work some of the time. Extensive survival procedures and dynamic weather patterns provide the potential for a memorable experience, but nothing takes advantage of that. Controls frustrate, crafting is lacklustre, and combat is missing any sort of depth. Keen survivalists will find something to like here, but those with only a passing interest should probably steer clear.

    read full review ↗
  • 60
    trust 69May 17, 2019

    Fade to Silence’s strong premise is marred by clumsy execution, poor writing, and painfully slowed pacing.

    read full review ↗
  • 70
    trust 67May 10, 2019

    Overall, while there are some performance issues and the graphical quality for the style isn’t as high as it could have been, Fade to Silence is on my list for top games of 2019. Maybe it won’t win any awards, but it’s blend of styles into a survival setting were simply fantastic and it’s an experience that will keep me coming back to it for a while to come.

    read full review ↗
  • 40
    trust 67May 10, 2019

    Fade to Silence as some really unique ideas, they’re just layered behind a boring and tedious set of systems.

    read full review ↗
  • 50
    trust 66May 27, 2019

    Not so good survival game in frozen wasteland with poor story and weak gameplay.

    read full review ↗
  • 70
    trust 65May 8, 2019

    For the flaws that it has, Fade to Silence is an ambitious game that provides a unique experience in a crowded genre. The world is stark, cold and unwelcoming, and there's a discomposing atmosphere that always puts you on edge. Fade to Silence isn't for everyone, but for those who want to experience a harsh, unforgiving world, this is just the ticket - just don't rush into permadeath mode right away.

    read full review ↗
  • 30
    trust 64May 8, 2019

    A survival game that, despite a few interesting ideas, struggles to provide any reason to persevere with its overfamiliar gameplay and poorly handled storytelling.

    read full review ↗

…and 38 more tracked reviews.

Patch history

  1. LIGHT Update Notes 1.1
    Apr 30, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  2. Patch Notes 1.0.1759
    Dec 13, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  3. Hotfix!
    Oct 23, 2018
  4. Promise Update Change-Log
    Oct 18, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  5. Quick Hotfix!
    Aug 2, 2018
  6. HUNGER UPDATE LIVE! Including CO-OP!
    Aug 1, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  7. GUILT UPDATE (release notes 1.0.1123)
    Jun 21, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  8. The FEAR update is here
    Apr 23, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  9. Patch Notes!
    Apr 5, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  10. Patch Notes!
    Apr 5, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  11. Change-Log for 1.0.747Hotfix3
    Mar 14, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  12. Change-Log for 1.0.747Hotfix3
    Mar 14, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  13. Change-Log Build [1.0.747]
    Feb 28, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  14. Change-Log Build [1.0.747]
    Feb 28, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  15. BFG Unlocked!
    Feb 16, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  16. Update "Hope"
    Jan 31, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  17. Update "Hope"
    Jan 31, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  18. BFG Episode 9!
    Jan 28, 2018

…and 10 earlier patch announcements.