Game news While waiting for Assassin’s Creed Witch, I retraced the story of the witch Baba Yaga in FPS Blacktail
Put yourself in the shoes of one of the most emblematic witches of Slavic folklore, do you like it? Better still, Blacktail invites you to discover the origins of the famous Baba Yaga through an exploration and action game. I’ll take you on an adventure that is as magical as it is macabre.
Baba Yaga, don’t you know? This emblematic figure of Slavic legends is sometimes depicted as a child-eating ogress or a pretty exiled witch. She made many children tremble and to this day enlivens Slavic fireplace evenings. Such myths have always fascinated me personally. Knowing the stories around which different civilizations have built their beliefs, traditions and way of life is simply fascinating. And with Baba Yaga we touch on a topic that fascinates me all the more: witchcraft. That’s also why, at the time of the Assassin’s Creed license 15th anniversary announcements, the project that caught my attention the most is absolutely not the one that takes us to Japan, but the cryptic Assassin’s Creed witch, which a priori should speak of witchcraft. But I’ll have to be patient as we don’t know anything about this rather special Assassin’s Creed and therefore have a hard time imagining a release any time soon. So we inevitably fall back on what we can. And I have my sights set on The Parasight’s first game to be featured at Summer Game Fest 2021: Blacktail. It is precisely the latter that takes us on board to discover the origins of the Baba Yaga through an FPS based on free will and magic. And obviously I’m not the only one intrigued as publisher Focus decided to oversee the project. Today we invite you to discover the fruits of this collaboration. How did Baba Yaga become the evil witch everyone knows? Here is The Parasight’s answer.
This is an indie review of JV:
There’s Wanted, your new column about quirky and fun indie games, and there’s this column. It’s dedicated to the games you want to discover, in a slightly more personal register, like a ticket and with some video clips.
My name is Yaga, Baba Yaga
Another day away from my sister Zora… It’s been days or maybe even weeks since she disappeared… I lost count looking for her. Especially since it is difficult to keep your bearings alone in this enchanted forest. The people in the village don’t like me very much. In your opinion, I am a vile witch who indulges in the magic of black magic … All because of a simple mole on my face. To hide this I wear a mask in the hope that that way people will stop calling me a witch. It’s absurd, isn’t it? Handling a bow like no other is my only skill, and there’s nothing magical about it. It must be said that since my exile I had no other choice. This enchanted forest is my only refuge. But if it’s pleasant to browse, it remains hostile. In order to survive, I must hunt for food, but also defend myself against the dangerous and mystical creatures that inhabit these places. Inevitably, I became an excellent archer. I even make my own arrows and some concoctions to get me out of trouble. I feel a bit like a survivor or an explorer. Also, I often get lost in the surrounding nature looking for twigs, flowers, feathers or boboks. When I say losing myself, that’s not negative. I really enjoy exploring every corner of my new home. I love to lose myself in it, simply because it’s so adorable.
There is something that emerges from this forest. We feel like she’s not really like the others. Populated by gnolls, rushes and even hornets, it has that folksy side that sets it apart from the crowd. A mix of magic and rot, iridescent colors and morbid darkness… Strange, isn’t it, that I like it so much? I feel like I’m in a fairy tale. Alice in Wonderland. And it’s not the colorful characters that populate these places that contradict that sentiment. Whether it’s the Machiavellian Ant Queen or the lost Mr. Larva, not forgetting Bovy Borko, Rebelle or even Jack the Eel Mushrooms, they all seem to have sprung from a psychedelic dream, be it because of their personality or their atypical looks. And when I want sweets, I can even count on the black cat to follow me all over this vast forest. Always there, whenever I feed on a fire or recharge my batteries in front of an altar, its faint meowing sometimes directs me when I’m not quite sure where to go.
And Zora there? I’m still looking for her… Sometimes I feel like I need to know where she is, a strange feeling. And these constant nightmares don’t help. It’s always the same, always the same strange hut. But yesterday, reality took precedence over nightmares. I found this famous cabin… And nothing has been the same ever since. I feel animated by a strange power, like magic. Some parts of the forest are accessible to me now and I have a feeling that others will be as good as I get stronger. The voice in my head is there to guide me, to teach me how to take advantage of all these new opportunities that are available to me. But I also feel like she’s trying to bring me closer to the dark side. Her pettiness is never exhausted and I will admit that she easily manages to make me cringe with selfishness and hatred of others. But something tells me that my actions will not go unpunished, or at least that there will be consequences. And then there are these ghosts of missing children who invite me to follow them. Those children kidnapped by the forest witch that the villagers suspect I’m helping. why did you come to me Where are you taking me? All of these unanswered questions are driving me to unravel this new mystery. Maybe he’ll lead me on the right path to finally find my sister… Who knows…
Explore, tinker, develop
Let’s leave our young Yaga aside for a while if you don’t mind telling you a little bit about the gameplay. Blacktail is not a visual novel or narrative game, popular genres of this type of items. It is therefore difficult to explain the gameplay to you from the young witch’s point of view. Especially since he is surprisingly rich. vYou will understand that Blacktail is a game that emphasizes exploration with action and survival phases.
Despite everything, it’s difficult to get any serious idea of such a title with only one hour of gameplay. (A priori it takes a dozen to complete the main story). So I took a look at Metacritic. With 6 ratings on PC (platform I launched the game on) it gets the fine score of 80, which is a 16 for us. Note that there are only 4 recorded reviews on PS5, which are less flattering, bringing the score down to 73. And in truth, it’s not very surprising. Blacktail is not perfect. The combat system is not always very exciting, at least at the beginning. Plus a strawberry AI and you get a game that quickly reaches its limits on the action side. Despite this, its ease of use, its fluidity and its charming universe at all levels have managed to make me forget these few shortcomings. These will likely put some off, but for a first game it’s far from shaming. Especially since the Poles from The Parasight did the most: They want to dive back into their title to unravel all of its mysteries. In this respect, it is a small victory that is worth dwelling on.
Blacktail is an exploration and action game that impresses with its cryptic universe and story. Lovers of folk tales, this game has everything to please you, but it can also find favor in the eyes of lovers of exploration and new adventures. Blacktail is already available for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series.
