If there’s something where the French have the gold medal over most other nationalities, it’s in their originality, especially when it comes to video games. Before Ubisoft used the same fun formula in almost all its titles, original and cool concepts always came from the French. In my view, Quantic Dream has also made it its mission to offer unique experiences over the years, and last but not least we have done so focus entertainment, which has released some of the most impressive and original games in recent memory to a market that wouldn’t normally take chances. Its latest addition was Blacktail, developed by The Parasight, which I was able to enjoy on Steam this Christmas. It is available for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox.
You may or may not know the legend of Baba Yaga, but in the Slavic world she is a very feared witch because she is said to kidnap children. Often, various legends from the Slavic world have a much darker tone than those we carry in Western Europe, and this one is no different. In Blacktail, you take on the role of 16-year-old Baba, who was accused of witchcraft and subsequently expelled from her tribe. Luckily, the world outside of the village is quite lush and alive, allowing Baba to survive with a bow and arrow.
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The protagonist is called baby and I don’t want to except, but I’m wondering if you have any Connection to Baba Yaga. Most likely yes. The creatures you encounter are based on Slavic folk tales; some I knew, but many others I discovered for the first time in the game. Baba sees a shadow that looks like herself running into the forest so she chases after him until she has to stop because there is a broken bridge. Next to the bridge there are many mushrooms that can speak magic and three of them tell Baba that if she kills the dragon they don’t like, they will make a way for her to cross the bridge. They are funny and the conversation they have with Baba is full of humor but also mysterious which leads you to believe that something different is going on than expected. The overall interaction is engaging and has a great vibe. Throughout the story, you’ll encounter a number of whimsical and entertaining creatures that are either honest or manipulate slime to do things for them and get something they want. This contributes to making this a fantastic story that requires reading between the lines to figure out what’s true and what’s false. I love plots that keep me on track and when done well it’s a real pleasure.
Like I said, the History is full of choices that Baba has to take and they have real meaning as they can turn Baba into an evil creature or into a good one. There are always decisions, big or small, that you have to make that can affect the skills you can unlock, which is pretty cool. It reminds me a bit of the dark side or the light side in Knights of the Old Republic, where morale unlocks perks that are only available by being good or evil. The choices one faces are varied and of different importance; Maybe you’ll meet a mythological queen who wants to rule the world and is a bit nervous, and you can either help her by letting her ants invade the forest, or you can destroy the anthills and hinder her plans. There are hundreds of choices like this throughout the game, and the denizens of the world will also interact with Slime depending on how good or bad he is, which is awesome. In my case, the main reason I chose a good slime is because I generally have a bad time doing bad things in video games. However, I was tempted to pull off some feats that I wasn’t proud of later on, but this is also a testament to how well written the game is where you just have to wait and see what happens when you decide not to play the to shoot a bird that is caught on the forest floor.
The game mechanics themselves are very similar to other open world titles. They drop you into the world of Blacktail and then you have to explore them. It’s pretty and colorful and has many different areas like forests, swamps and ruins. Everything is charming and has personality. You’ll need to find your own sticks and rocks to craft arrows to use to defend yourself, and you can only carry a limited number of arrows, but you’ll unlock more space over time. You will gain skills as you progress through the game and you will need them to survive. A lot of. You can pick yellow flowers and put them in vases anywhere; Doing this will allow you to revive that spot if a goblin got too close. I’m not a big fan of this because you can lose a lot of progress. It’s similar to how it works in a lot of Souls-like works and I’ve never really liked how it makes death frustrating, although maybe I just need to improve and that’s it. I don’t think this approach suits a game like Blacktail because it would repeatedly lose a lot of progress.
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In Blacktail you have to collect everything that gets in your way because everything has a use, you can buy skills with everything you collect. The most important things you can pick up are usually in chests guarded by creatures that don’t really want your best. It can get a little tricky to pick up everything, and it feels a bit like Fallout 4 in that you pick up all the junk automatically since you can use it later to upgrade gear and abilities. The skills you can then buy are upgrades for your character; More health and more arrows are the first things you unlock, but later there are also new attacks and abilities that make Slime’s life a little easier.
There are also boss fights in Blacktail, but they seem a bit sloppy to me. In general, they are simple puzzles where you have to find a way to hurt the enemy or deal with a bunch of additional creatures that are under the boss’s command. They’re not the funniest I’ve tried, but I passed a few after a few tries.
Blacktail is a nice title and the storyline in particular is a great experience, but there are a few things that could be improved for the next installment if there is a sequel at the end. All in all, I think it’s a release that should be commended for its originality and the fresh touch it brings to the open-world formula.
