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Black Book

Black Book Game Cover
85%Game Brain Score
story, gameplay
grinding, replayability
88% User Score Based on 1,450 reviews
Critic Score 70%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

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Black Book Game Cover

About

Black Book is a single player role playing game with horror, fantasy and historical themes. It was developed by Morteshka and was released on August 10, 2021. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

"Black Book" is a card-based RPG and adventure game that follows the story of a young sorceress named Vasilisa. After her betrothed's mysterious death, Vasilisa seeks out the Black Book, a demonic artifact said to grant any wish, in order to bring him back to life. The game features a dark Slavic folklore setting, where Vasilisa must solve the problems of common folk and uncover the seals of the Black Book through exorcisms and combat.

Genres & Tags
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Black Book screenshot
Black Book screenshot
Black Book screenshot
Black Book screenshot
Black Book screenshot
Black Book screenshot
Black Book screenshot
Black Book screenshot
Black Book screenshot
Black Book screenshot
Black Book screenshot
+7
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88%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,450 reviews
story460 positive mentions
grinding23 negative mentions
  • Deep and stunning folklore from Ural mountains, providing a rich cultural experience.
  • Engaging story with meaningful choices that impact the narrative and character relationships.
  • Unique deck-building mechanics that allow for various strategies and playstyles.
  • Combat can become repetitive and lacks depth, especially once players find powerful card combinations.
  • The game is lengthy, which may lead to pacing issues and a sense of dragging in the middle sections.
  • Some translation and voice acting inconsistencies detract from the overall immersion.
  • story
    1,061 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of "Black Book" is highly praised for its deep engagement with Slavic folklore, offering a rich narrative that spans approximately 20-30 hours, depending on side quests. Players appreciate the intricate character development, moral dilemmas, and the way choices impact the storyline, although some find the pacing slow and certain plot twists predictable. Overall, the game is celebrated for its captivating storytelling, atmospheric setting, and the seamless integration of folklore into its narrative structure, making it a compelling experience for fans of story-driven games.

    • “I love how much backstory you get into Slavic traditions and beliefs, which fuels the 20-30 hour story (depending on how many side quests you pursue).”
    • “The storyline is interesting and thought-provoking, the gameplay really relies on the player's knowledge and understanding of the folklore provided, it is challenging enough without being unplayable and the art style blends traditional and modern art with the sense of the period and region beautifully.”
    • “The story is engaging, but there is a lot of reading that you shouldn't skip over if you want to fully enjoy the game.”
    • “The main story is dull, hard to comprehend, and unrewarding.”
    • “The story feels hollow because it is so gamified: it is hard to care about the characters while also treating them as game mechanics to optimize.”
    • “Some story beats seemed kinda underwhelming, underdeveloped, certain plot points just seemingly ended abruptly when I expected there to be a battle for example.”
  • gameplay
    523 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of the game is a blend of card-based mechanics and narrative-driven RPG elements, drawing heavily from Slavic folklore. While many players appreciate the engaging story and atmospheric setting, opinions on the gameplay itself are mixed; some find it fun and immersive, while others criticize it for being repetitive, lacking depth, or overly simplistic. Overall, the game is seen as more focused on storytelling than on delivering a robust gameplay experience, with some mechanics feeling underdeveloped or poorly explained.

    • “The gameplay is fun, and the folklore is well done and engaging.”
    • “Black Book is a compelling blend of dark folklore, card-based combat, and narrative-driven RPG mechanics that immerses players in the haunting world of Slavic mythology.”
    • “The core gameplay revolves around a deck-building combat system that cleverly ties into the game’s narrative and thematic elements.”
    • “Personally, I found the gameplay loop very boring, and even though I was interested in the story, I couldn't get myself to play more because of the dull gameplay.”
    • “The card mechanics felt a bit shallow and lacked the depth I was hoping for.”
    • “The gameplay is decent at most, but the atmosphere... phenomenal.”
  • graphics
    255 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the unique art style that blends traditional and modern elements, creating a charming and atmospheric experience. While some criticize the simplistic, low-poly visuals and occasional clashing art styles, others find that the graphics effectively support the game's folklore narrative and immersive atmosphere. Overall, the visuals are seen as a fitting complement to the engaging story, despite not being technically advanced.

    • “The artwork is beautiful and the story is creative.”
    • “Visually, Black Book uses a stylized, storybook-like aesthetic that suits its folkloric roots perfectly.”
    • “The art style is simple but very charming; several locations are just delightful to look at.”
    • “There's a couple of clashing art styles which I'm not really a fan of (I would much rather have static models reflected from the actual in-game model in conversation than the cartoonish models used in every conversation here).”
    • “The graphics are low but add an ambiance to it; but the story, music, and actually challenging puzzle combat is what draws you in.”
    • “Let's be honest about a few things: the game 3D graphics are awful.”
  • music
    186 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is widely praised for its atmospheric and immersive qualities, featuring a blend of haunting choral pieces and traditional Russian folk songs that enhance the storytelling and emotional depth. Players appreciate the ability to collect songs throughout the game, which adds a unique layer to the experience, while the sound design effectively complements the game's darker themes and settings. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout element, contributing significantly to the game's ambiance and cultural authenticity.

    • “Sound design plays a critical role, with an eerie, ambient soundtrack that underscores the game’s darker moments and traditional Russian folk music that adds authenticity and emotional depth.”
    • “The music is immaculate; every time I find a new song, I stop and listen to the entire thing.”
    • “The game has beautiful vocal music from a women's choir, singing traditional folk music which adds nicely to the gloomy, rough land life in 19th century Russia.”
    • “The music is decent and appropriate.”
    • “You only get to hear the song when you pick it up; you can't even play it in the background.”
    • “For the most part, it's just ambient music.”
  • atmosphere
    178 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its captivating blend of 19th-century Russian folklore, moody visuals, and haunting sound design, creating an immersive experience that draws players into its dark, enchanting world. While the graphics are often described as simplistic, they effectively support the game's rich narrative and cultural depth, enhanced further by the use of original Russian audio. Overall, the game's atmosphere is considered one of its strongest aspects, making it a compelling choice for fans of story-driven adventures.

    • “The environments are moody and detailed, often bathed in mist or darkness, capturing the cold, rural atmosphere of 19th-century Russia.”
    • “The atmosphere is so good, it makes you feel like you are inside an old Russian fairy tale (without all the starving and vodka, of course).”
    • “Black Book is a richly atmospheric blend of visual novel-style storytelling and turn-based deckbuilding combat.”
    • “The atmosphere is a dark, brooding, encompassing dread with breaks of tranquility, making it a great game for the autumn/Halloween season as well.”
    • “My main difficulty to truly recommend this is the disconnect between the atmosphere of the lore and the world's artwork.”
    • “The blocky/cartoonish style takes away from the gloomy atmosphere of the surroundings.”
  • grinding
    26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and time-consuming, often feeling that it detracts from the overall enjoyment. While some appreciate the unique story and card mechanics, many express frustration with repetitive boss battles and the necessity to grind for progress, leading to a sense of monotony. Overall, the grinding experience is seen as a significant hurdle that can overshadow the game's more engaging elements.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “A lot of grinding.”
    • “While the plot is okay, its progression felt slow and partially tedious.”
    • “Combat system sucks however - it seems overcomplicated and underdeveloped, far too easy to exploit, so fights quickly become tedious and free of any risk.”
    • “Because you need to hit every single location in order to grow properly, you basically start to see the pattern early on and it becomes quite tedious.”
  • emotional
    19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its haunting soundtrack and a deeply engaging story that resonates with players, often evoking strong feelings and connections to Slavic culture. Many reviewers appreciate the heartfelt character development and plot twists, despite some criticism of the pacing and voice acting quality. Overall, the game is described as both beautiful and touching, successfully immersing players in its emotional narrative.

    • “Sound design also plays a critical role, with an eerie, ambient soundtrack that underscores the game’s darker moments and traditional Russian folk music that adds authenticity and emotional depth.”
    • “This game is beautiful and very emotional.”
    • “I love the story, how you can learn about Slavic culture, the character developments (Proshka being my favorite one), the plot twist, the card battles... I think everything made me feel really connected and interested in this game.”
    • “Janky gameplay, middling deckbuilding, boring story.”
  • humor
    16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is characterized by memorable and campy demons, amusing dialogues, and a blend of intentional and unintentional comedic moments, such as translation quirks and awkward character models. Players appreciate the dry wit and the humorous interactions with NPCs, which enhance the immersive experience, despite some gameplay frustrations. Overall, the humor is a significant and entertaining aspect, contributing to the game's charm and appeal.

    • “The demons were also really memorable, camp, and funny too.”
    • “Interesting and funny dialogues.”
    • “A lot of humor both in English and Russian translation, you will not be bored.”
  • replayability
    15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's replayability is considered limited, with most players noting that while there are some variations in playthroughs (such as moral choices and different sin levels), the core story remains largely the same. Many reviewers express a desire for more diverse gameplay elements to enhance replay value, as the current mechanics do not offer enough incentive to replay the game extensively. While some enjoy the narrative and mechanics, they feel that the lack of significant changes in subsequent playthroughs diminishes the overall replayability experience.

    • “In terms of replayability, you basically have an 'evil' and 'good' playthrough.”
    • “Game has some replayability factors, like your approach to situations (battle, puzzle, skip), moral choices (spare, punish, etc.) and sins-meter, that defines some ending choices and rewards during playthrough.”
    • “I don't expect the kind of replayability that I got from something like Slay the Spire, but this game has far more plot than games like that could ever hope to have.”
    • “Unless you want to reload some save files for achievement completion or start a new high sin/low sin playthrough, I don't see a lot of replayability coming from this game.”
    • “Replayability doesn't seem to be there, as while going for different builds might be interesting, progressing through the same story again doesn't seem like fun.”
    • “Replayability: 5/10 unless you want to relive the story or mechanics, little to no reason.”
  • stability
    13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with many users reporting various bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, such as issues with card mechanics and saving progress. While some players have experienced a relatively smooth experience, others have found the game to be frustratingly unbalanced and riddled with minor but noticeable issues. Overall, the game's stability appears to need significant improvement to enhance the player experience.

    • “Runs great on Steam Deck.”
    • “I encountered a couple of glitches that were pretty frustrating.”
    • “Hopefully the developers have fixed these glitches, but as of July 28, 2023, the card Blood & Clot stopped working halfway through the game (health loss != defense), unable to save the game at a particular stage of the map, rebirth from Priputnik herb did not work during the battle with Grandpa, some dialogs were not translated into English, and a number of other minor but noticeable glitches.”
    • “The game is also terribly unbalanced and buggy.”
  • character development
    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development in the game is generally praised for its distinct and expressive designs, contributing to a fairy tale-like atmosphere, and is complemented by a strong storyline and worldbuilding. However, some players feel that the inclusion of puzzle battles detracts from character growth, leading to a more linear experience that could benefit from deeper development. While opinions vary, many agree that the character arcs are engaging, with a good balance of main story and side quests, despite some criticisms of their depth and complexity.

    • “Character designs are distinct and expressive, with a hand-drawn quality that enhances the game’s fairy tale-like presentation.”
    • “Overall, the storyline, worldbuilding, folklore vibes, and character development really stand out.”
    • “Pacing-wise, it feels suitably epic with a perfect mix of daily life, side quests, main story, and character development, with a good variety of consequences to your choices.”
    • “I understand some of the complaints, and there are a few things I would've done differently (mainly not having the puzzle battles - they detract from character development to a degree, though I understand they're there to show new cards and their uses).”
    • “There are some 'puzzle battles' with fixed decks and one (or few) solution(s) -- at first I was put off because this sidesteps character development and death is likely because it's a process of learning through failure.”
    • “Character development is bland and the game is very linear, even though there are a lot of side quests.”
  • optimization
    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The optimization of the game has received mixed feedback; while it generally runs smoothly at 60 fps on max settings, there are notable performance drops during intense moments, such as the final battle. Some players found the optimization necessary due to difficulty spikes, while others criticized the lack of emotional depth in performances and the game's impact on battery life for handheld devices. Overall, the game's optimization is seen as a double-edged sword, balancing smooth performance with occasional issues.

    • “Wow, very unique, great artwork, runs smoothly, interesting storyline, well done.”
    • “The card pool gets deep fast, and there's a ton of space for optimization.”
    • “The performance of the game wasn't great; this ended up consuming my Steam Deck's battery far more than expected.”
    • “Normally I would be okay with that - just don't optimize the deck that much - but the difficulty has huge spikes and the optimization feels necessary.”
    • “Performance-wise, the game ran at a stable 60 fps at max settings all the way through, except during the final battle, where the intense rain effect swallowed up about 20 frames.”
  • monetization
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization aspect of the game features well-integrated advertising that enhances the atmosphere, supported by strong voice acting. However, some users feel that the translation could be improved, though they appreciate its quirky charm.

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70%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews
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27h Median play time
23h Average play time
15-31h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 11 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Black Book is a role playing game with horror, fantasy and historical themes.

Black Book is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, iPhone and others.

On average players spend around 23 hours playing Black Book.

Black Book was released on August 10, 2021.

Black Book was developed by Morteshka.

Black Book has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

Black Book is a single player game.

Similar games include Black Book: Prologue, The Thaumaturge, Chrono Ark, Knock on the Coffin Lid, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden and others.