Black Book, is a tactical card-based RPG based on Slavic myths. It charts the story of a young witch, Vasilisa, seeking the power of Black Book to revive her beloved one who took his life under very mysterious circumstances.
Fight evil forces in card-based battles and explore the world, where humans live alongside mythological creatures. Dive into the cold, yet alluring world of Slavic folktales — and uncover the secrets that hide in the darkness!
Ooooh, I do love me a good deck builder..... and this one is wonderful !
From Russian developers Morteshka and published by Hypetrain Digital, Black Book is unique and beautiful in so many ways. Although at it's core its a card battler, it encompasses so may other elements effortlessly and organically turns a deck builder into something much more. Part of the game feels like a traditional RPG, while other aspects feel almost like an old school point and click adventure.
Add into the mix a genuinely fascinating insight into Slavic folklore and a compelling story and this is a winner.
I think by now most of us are experts in Norse, Greek, Roman and Japanese mythology, so to have a subject matter that is new and interesting was an absolute pleasure. I found myself actually reading the dialogue and enjoying the narrative, as opposed to skipping text to just get to the next battle.
The campaign is centered around Vasilisa's journey, to unlock seals to save her love from hell. Along the way she will learn spells, recruit spirits and interact with the both the natural and supernatural to further her progression.
Side quests will have you deviate from the main story and offer the opportunity to earn extra rewards or items, as well as implementing a paragon system that reflects on how you interact with NPCs, which in turn affects the story and final outcome.
Visually I really appreciated the art style of this game, I think it fits perfectly with the subject matter, while not overly detailed, it's beautifully animated with a well chosen palette.
My only complaint with Black Book is the voice acting, it's awful, well, the English voice acting is awful. Its "I'm at acting college notice me, notice me" bad.
Thankfully there is an option to turn it off, however I switched to Russian language for voice and kept the game language set to English, this was FAR better and really helped with atmosphere and immersion.
Black Book is out now on PS, XBOX, NS and On PC via Steam, Epic, GOG priced $24.99 (at the time of publishing this there is a 15% launch discount available on all formats).
If you're a deck builder fan and have previously enjoyed games like Slay the Spire, then I'm pretty confident you'll enjoy this and it's well worth the price of admission.
Key Features:
A full English voice over with extensive story dialogues featuring over 150,000 words and 20 hours of gameplay
Experience a haunting tale of myth and mystery, set in the backdrop of towns and villages of the late 19th Century;
7 Chapters to get through — each with their own main unfolding narrative and multiple side-stories;
Battle the evil spirits with the card-collecting, deck-building battle system;
Meet all kinds of companions on your way through Cherdyn — from a war-battered soldier to a talking cat with a dry sense of humor;
Recruit demonic forces to your cause and use their power to grow stronger;
Dive into the world of Slavic legend and folklore, and test your newfound knowledge of its mythology.
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