''Black Book'' is an

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extr ...

role-playing Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing as ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

, developed by Morteshka, which created ''

The Mooseman ''The Mooseman'' is an adventure video game developed by the Perm-based Russian studio Morteshka and released in 2017. The game is based on the mythology of Komi, as well as other Finno-Ugric peoples, and is an attempt at artistic reconstructio ...

'', and published by HypeTrain Digital. The game was released on August 10, 2021. Taking place in 19th century Russia, the game is heavily inspired by

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and Komi folklore narrative is based on

Bailichka (in ) is a story from Russian folklore about an allegedly true event involving a meeting with spirits. In contrast to the ''byvalschina'', here the story is conducted with an emphasis on the personal testimony of the narrator. See also * Byva ...

s. To ensure the authenticity in depiction of myths and real-life locations, the developers worked alongside Russian

ethnographers Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

Gameplay

In the game, players control Vasilisa - a young

sorceress Sorceress or The Sorceress may refer to: * A female practitioner of supernatural magic Film * ''Sorceress'' (1982 film), a fantasy film directed by Jack Hill * ''Sorceress'' (1995 film), a fantasy film directed by Jim Wynorski Literature * S ...

, who travels across the landscape of rural Russia, aiding commonfolk along the way. The players achieve that by solving puzzles and engaging in battle using a deck-building card combat system. Throughout the journey, choices made by the player will affect the plot and general progression of the game.

Plot

A young girl named Vasilisa, destined to become a witch, decides to throw her fate away and marry her beloved - but that dream is shattered when her betrothed dies under mysterious circumstances. Aching for her lost love, Vasilisa seeks out Black Book - a demonic artifact, said to be powerful enough to grant any wish to the one who uncovers all 7 of its seals.

Development

Development of the game started in 2017. The game was released for

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporizat ...

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

and

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a tablet that can either be docked for use as a home console or used as a portable device, making it a ...

on August 10, 2021. It is the second game developed by Russian team Morteshka. ''Black Book'' was designed to bear some connections with the previous game, ''Mooseman''. The game's scope expanded compared to what it was intended to be at the beginning of its Kickstarter campaign.

Reception

Rock Paper Shotgun ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' (also rendered ''Rock, Paper, Shotgun''; short ''RPS'') is a UK-based website for reporting on video games, primarily for PC. Originally launched on 13 July 2007 as an independent site, ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' was acquir ...

'' found that while the card battles were sometimes ill-balanced, they praised the game for its specific approach to Russian folklore, stating that it was where it "shows its heart".

References

External links

* 2021 video games Adventure games Role-playing video games Indie games Single-player video games Linux games MacOS games Nintendo Switch games PlayStation 4 games Video games developed in Russia Windows games Video games set in the 19th century Video games set in Russia Video games based on mythology Video games based on Slavic mythology Video games based on Uralic mythology Video games about witchcraft Xbox One games Video games featuring female protagonists Morteshka games HypeTrain Digital games {{rpg-videogame-stub