Blacktail

If there's one thing the French over most other nationalities, it's their originality, especially when it comes to video games. Before Ubisoft used the same droll formula on almost all their games, original and cool concepts came from them. Quantic Dream has also been responsible for a lot of unique experiences for me over the years, and last but not least there's Focus Entertainment, who have recently released some of the coolest and original games in a market that generally doesn't dare to take chances. Their latest addition is Blacktail, developed by The Parasight, which I've been enjoying over the festive period. The game is available for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox. I've been playing it on Steam.

You may or may not be aware of the legend of the witch Baba Yaga, but in the Slavic world she is a feared witch who is said to steal children. Many legends in the Slavic world are often dark, and so is this one. In Blacktail, you play 16-year-old Baba, who has been accused of witchcraft and, as a consequence, kicked out of her tribe. Fortunately, the world outside the town is quite lush and vibrant, so Baba can survive by using a bow and arrow.

The main character is called Baba, and I don't want to spoil anything but I wonder if there is a connection with the Baba Yaga? Potentially. The creatures you meet in the world are based on Slavic folktales, a few of which I knew, but I also experienced a lot of new ones that I've never heard of before. Baba sees a shadow of what she thinks is herself running into the woods, and she goes after it, only to be stopped by a broken bridge. Next to the bridge are a bunch of very large mushrooms that can magically talk. These three mushroom bullies tell Baba that they will make passage over the bridge possible if Baba kills the dragon they dislike. The three sponges are funny and their dialogue with Baba is full of humour, but also mysterious, which makes you think that there is more going on than you expect. The whole thing is super charming and the atmosphere is great. Throughout the story you meet a lot of quirky and entertaining creatures who are either honest, or manipulative, who want Baba to work for them so they can get their agenda through. This contributes to a great story where you constantly have to read between the lines to make sense of what is truth and what is lies. I love storytelling that makes me keep my tongue in my mouth, and when it's done as well as it is here, it's a treat.

As mentioned, the story is filled with choices that Baba must make. These choices have true meaning attached to them, as they can either make Baba an evil creature, or a good one. There are constantly big and small decisions she has to make that affect which abilities she can unlock, which is pretty cool. It's a bit reminiscent of the light and dark side found in Knights of the Old Republic, where one's morality unlocks benefits that are only available to those who are either good or evil. The choices one faces are many and of varying importance. You may meet a Myth Queen who wants to take over world domination, put a little on edge. You can either help her by enabling her ants to troll through the forest, or you can choose to destroy her anthills, thereby setting back her plans. There are hundreds of these choices throughout the story, and the world's inhabitants will also interact with Baba based on how good or evil she is, and that's cool. I myself played a good Baba, mostly because I generally have a hard time committing evil deeds in games. I was, however, seduced into doing a few deeds that I'm not proud of here afterwards, but that's also a testament to the game's well-written script, where you just have to see what happens if you don't shoot the bird caught in the forest floor.

The game mechanics themselves are a lot like other games with an open world. You are let loose in Blacktail's world, and then have to explore. It's nice and colourful, with a lot of different areas like forests, swamps and ruins. It's all charming and has personality. You have to find your own sticks and stones to make arrows to defend yourself with. You can only carry a certain number of arrows at first, but you unlock to carry more along the way. You gain more abilities as the game progresses, and you'll need them because otherwise you're going to die. Often. You can pick yellow flowers, which you put in vases all around. If you have, that's the place you resurrect when another goblin has gotten too close. I'm not quite a fan of this way of doing it, as you can lose a lot of progress. It's comparable to how you do it in many Souls-like games, and I've never liked that way of making death frustrating. But maybe I just need to "git gud". I don't think this approach fits a game like Blacktail. I repeatedly lost a lot of progression on that account.

In Blacktail you have to pick up everything you meet on your way, because everything can be used. You can buy abilities with everything you pick up. The most important things you can pick up are often in chests, which are guarded by creatures that don't want your best interests at heart. It can get a bit cumbersome to pick up everything, and you get a Fallout 4 feel where you pick up all the junk automatically as it will be used later to upgrade both equipment and abilities. The abilities you can then buy are upgrades to your character. More health, and arrows are the first things you can unlock, but later on it's also new attacks and abilities that make life a little easier for Baba.

There are boss fights in Blacktail too, but they feel a bit clunky, I think. These are little puzzles in general, where you have to find a way to damage the boss, or else have to deal with a bunch of extra creatures that the boss can spawn. They weren't the most fun I've tried, but I did get through them after a few tries.

Blacktail is a charming acquaintance, with the story in particular being cool to experience, but there are some criticisms that could be improved for next time if Blacktail gets a sequel. Overall, though, the game should be commended for the originality and fresh breath it brings to the open-world formula.