BLACKTAIL PC Review

We all know fairy tales and folk stories and about how these stories are meant to teach us all the moral lessons we will carry with us as we grow older. But what if there were more to these stories? What lies beneath the retellings? What is the real truth behind the stories? BLACKTAIL, developed by THE PARASIGHT and published by Focus Entertainment, answered these questions.

BLACKTAIL seems to be THE PARASIGHT's first major game release, and it is definitely a fantastic start for the small studio. However, it does seem that the game's publisher, Focus Entertainment is following a trend, as the publisher is known for titles such as A Plague Tale: Requiem and Evil West. Two games that feature dark settings with a fantastical twist. But how does BLACKTAIL compare to their past releases?

 

In BLACKTAIL, you play as 16 year old Yaga, a young girl who, along with her sister Zora, both have been banished from her village after she was accused of the crime of witchcraft. All seems well in these strange woods until Yaga's sister goes missing. Now on her own in these woods, with nothing but her bow and a little magic. Yaga must hunt down her missing sister while confronting the lost memories that still haunt her dreams and mind.

BLACKTAIL takes heavy influence from Slavic mythology and folklore, in particular the story of the witch, Baba Yaga. As the tale goes, Baba Yaga is a great and powerful witch who dwells deep within the forest and is heavily connected to nature and all things that dwell within forests. Many may know her for her rather unique housing choice, her infamous hut on chicken legs.

There are many interpretations to the story; some say she is a hag, others say she is a girl, some say she's evil, while other stories say she's ambivalent. However, in BLACKTAIL we play as a young Baba Yaga, or in this case, just Yaga. In this interpretation of the story, Yaga is a human girl who wears a mask and hunts deer with her bow and arrow.

 

BLACKTAIL is a rather unique game that has a gameplay mechanic not seen in many titles. You see, the game is essentially a first-person shooter, but unlike other FPS games, we don't use any guns or heavy weaponry. We are instead equipped with spells and a wooden hunting bow, but despite her underwhelming arsenal, Yaga can achieve quite a lot.

Aside from her unnervingly simplistic loadout, another thing that separates BLACKTAIL from other FPS games is the crafting mechanic. You see, unlike in other first-person shooters, Yaga doesn't have access to ammo drops and instead needs to craft her own arrows on the fly. You do this by accessing a quick access menu wheel and selecting the item you wish to craft if you have the necessary materials to craft the item.

This quick access crafting system is fantastic, as you no longer have to slip out of combat in order to replenish potions or craft more arrows; you can simply restock your quiver mid combat. Keep in mind that it is a quick access system, so you do need to be quick as time isn't entirely frozen when you are on this menu; it's instead just slowed down.

 

Another excellent feature of BLACKTAIL's crafting system is that it encourages you to explore the game's beautiful open-world environments that are littered with valuable and useful materials. As for the environments themselves, they can be described with one word, Vibrant. The forest is brimming with color and life. From icy blue rivers ranging to toadstools as red as ripe cherries, the forest is packed with various shades and hues that make it feel so alive. Even the dreariest of its environments are never dull to look at.

Despite its vibrant woodland environments, BLACKTAIL does feature a rather dark story that touches on many myths and superstitions, as well as moral choices and uncovering the truth behind Yaga. We don't know much about our young protagonist, except that she was chased out of her village because of supposed witchcraft and that her sister is missing. We are never told what happened or why it happened. She is essentially a blank page in a storybook, a page that you, oh dear player, will be filling.

In BLACKTAIL, we are presented with moral choices. Some of these choices are small and insignificant, such as not shooting a bird or being polite; other times, the choices have long-term effects, such as helping the Ant Empress invade a human village. After all, the stories of Baba Yaga never tell us her true nature, and we don't know much about our protagonist, so whatever the truth is, it falls into your hands to uncover it.

 

As stated earlier, there are many conflicting stories about Baba Yaga. Was she cruel or was she kind? In the case of BLACKTAIL, she was both as Baba and Yaga were, two separate characters. We know Yaga is our young masked protagonist, but who is Baba. In the game's story, she is the forest witch of legend that kidnaps children and drags them to a cabin in the middle of the woods, a cabin that seems to be connected to Yaga somehow.

You'll have access to the cabin in the woods and can use the cabin's cauldron to make more craftable items and potions, along with upgrading her bow and arrows by using the materials you have gathered in your journey. The Cauldron isn't just used for crafting useful items; it is also the place where you, as Yaga, can learn and expand your repertoire of spells and magic.

Gathering resources isn't the only thing Yaga needs to do if she wishes to survive. When exploring the forests of BLACKTAIL, you will occasionally stumble across wild deer. These deer can easily be slain with a few shots from Yaga's bow. You'll need to be careful, as these large bucks can be easily spooked and scared off. Deer provide you with the incredibly valuable resource of meat which needs to be cooked over campfires. Campfires offer Yaga a small resting point where she can also speak to the Black Cat. This shadowy feline allows you to teleport to and from the Cabin whenever your heart desires.

 

Besides her quiver of arrows, Yaga also has access to spells. These spells can be incredibly useful in combat as they can be used to either knock down or stun enemies or even be used to damage them when you run out of arrows. That's not to say you will be slinging spells left, right and center, as there will be a cool down after you cast a spell; pair this with a magic or mana bar, and you will soon realize that you will need to use your magic wisely and carefully.

As for non-spell combat, it's not the best. The combat is probably the game's biggest drawback and arguably brings the game down as a whole. The combat in BLACKTAIL feels comparative to the bow and arrow combat seen in a game like Skyrim, meaning it feels incredibly clunky and hard to control. The clunky combat doesn't work with the character of Yaga, who is presented as being incredibly agile, lithe, and quite well-versed in the use of a bow. The bow and arrow play a major part in both gameplay and storytelling, but due to the clunky usage, it brings both down considerably.

Perhaps to counteract the lackluster combat, you are given a dash mechanic. Dashing gives you more maneuverability and allows you to quickly bolt through certain obstacles and enemies blocking your path. While a dash mechanic would be useful in combat, it doesn't add much as the distance created between you and your enemies isn't enough to avoid attacks, and this dash ability feels just as underdeveloped as the game's combat.

 

The legend of Baba Yaga isn't the only piece of Slavic folklore that BLACKTAIL takes inspiration from. Many of the more wondrous creatures you encounter have roots in Slavic mythology, from trolls and goblins to small pinecones like Bobok that will reveal hidden secrets when you shoot them down. Bobok will also turn into Shellok, a useful material you can use in the cauldron.

Along with these creatures from folk legend and myth are some equally wondrous original characters, such as the giant talking mushrooms. These mushrooms are separated into two categories that work with Yaga's two moral states. Grand mushrooms believe in what is fair and just and compliments Yaga's good morality. Cursed mushrooms are the complete opposite, believing in selfish wants and desires and seeking to feed Yaga's bad morality. Depending on your morality state, you will be able to do quests for either type of mushroom, but the respective counterpart will, unfortunately, be hostile toward you.

BLACKTAIL's amazing sound design will immerss you in the overgrown forest that forms part of Yaga's home. Depending on where you walk, the sound of Yaga's footsteps changes too - leaves will sound crisp, gravel and dirt will sound crunchy, and grass will swish as you walk through it. The forest is full of life; you can hear pine trees rustling in the wind, bugs buzzing past you, and even beautiful birdsong. The ambiance is so peaceful and serene; it's almost a pity to have disturb it.

 

The sound design isn't the only wonderful use of sound in this game. The game does feature a beautiful soundtrack, but it tends to use it sparingly, preferring to immerse players in the wilderness. When the music does play in the background, it is often meant to set the mood during a cutscene of importance or is used to set the stage during a boss fight. As for what to expect to hear, BLACKTAIL's soundtrack is composed of mainly Slavic vocal songs layered with a minimal folk instrumental that is simplistic yet beautiful.

BLACKTAIL feels like an interactive folk story; with the use of Slavic myths as well as its own original ideas, the storytelling and immersion are truly excellent. Despite all the praise, combat is a huge drawback and does bring the story down quite a bit, but BLACKTAIL is truly like no other and gives an excellent twist to a classic folk story.

Daman Shelley (@UndeadandTired)
Editor, NoobFeed