Cabernet

About

Cabernet is a single player role playing game with horror, fantasy, romance and dark fantasy themes. It was developed by Party for Introverts and was released on October 24, 2024. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

Cabernet is a 2D narrative RPG set in a 19th century Eastern European inspired world, with a modern twist. Guide Liza, a young vampire in her new unlife among the unsuspecting townsfolk. Will you retain your humanity or descend further into the horror you have become?

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95%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,311 reviews

story449 positive mentions

stability57 negative mentions

Deeply engaging and compelling narrative with meaningful branching choices that truly impact the story and character outcomes.
Beautiful art style combined with excellent voice acting and haunting soundtrack that enhance the immersive gothic vampire atmosphere.
Strong character development with diverse, memorable NPCs and replayability driven by multiple endings and story paths.

Technical issues including bugs, broken quests, limited save system requiring return to a specific location, and occasional clunky controls disrupt gameplay experience.
Some storylines and endings feel rushed or underdeveloped, with abrupt final chapters and lack of closure for certain characters.
Certain gameplay elements, such as money management and timed quests, can be frustrating or unintuitive, and some dialogue choices or romance options are limited or inconsistently handled.

story
1,144 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
59%
2%
The story of "Cabernet" is widely praised for its rich, engaging narrative, well-developed characters, and meaningful player choices that significantly impact outcomes and relationships. Set in a Victorian-era Eastern European vampire society, it combines gothic atmosphere, folklore, and moral dilemmas to create a unique, emotional experience with multiple paths and endings. While the story shines in its depth and voice acting, some players note pacing issues, a rushed ending, and bugs affecting quest progression, but overall it is considered a compelling, immersive tale for fans of story-driven games.
- “The story is incredibly well thought out and done with love, the characters are compelling, and each of their storylines brings something genuinely unique to the world.”
- “The story is fantastic, the gameplay loop is great, the art is so unique and I'm obsessed.”
- “Cabernet has incredible storytelling, wonderfully written characters, and phenomenal voice acting.”
- “While I overall enjoyed the narrative of Cabernet and would recommend it to those who like story-focused games, it has a very slow start and suffers from introducing too many characters and side quests all at once.”
- “The prologue and the first few chapters have very solid writing, but as the story progresses, the writing gets worse until we reach an extremely rushed ending.”
- “Overall, the main story was lackluster by virtue of simply not enough time being spent interacting with the notable characters and it all feeling very railroaded. Much worse was that a critical character is introduced within the final hour of the game, simply adding to the rushed feeling of the story.”
gameplay
225 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
62%
3%
The gameplay primarily focuses on narrative-driven, choice-based mechanics with light RPG and time management elements, offering engaging but simple interactions such as dialogue choices, social stat development, and vampire abilities like flying and enchanting. While many appreciate the smooth, immersive, and meaningful gameplay loop that complements the story, common criticisms include occasional clunkiness, a restrictive time mechanic, bugs, and some underdeveloped mechanics. Overall, it appeals strongly to players who prioritize storytelling and character relationships over complex or challenging gameplay.
- “The mechanics are easy to learn and the menu has tutorials available when you need a refresher.”
- “The main gameplay revolves around putting points into social stats, managing your schedule, and maintaining relationships.”
- “The mechanics are simple but engaging, letting you plan your nights, build relationships, and decide how to 'feed.' It's a morally rich story that lingers in your mind long after you play.”
- “2 significant frustrations - the save process is far too complex, it's too easy to lose gameplay when you have to stop during a session.”
- “Cabernet has a really great and interesting core concept but several gameplay issues made it a bit of a frustrating experience.”
- “Unfortunately, some very big flaws appear in later chapters: the vampire powers don't evolve in any meaningful way, the time slot mechanic seems arbitrary, and morality is ultimately meaningless.”
graphics
198 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
43%
2%
The game features a beautiful, stylized 2D art style with hand-painted backgrounds and charming gothic aesthetics that many find immersive and fitting for its narrative and setting. While character animations and expressions are somewhat limited and there are occasional minor glitches, the visuals are praised for their unique paper-doll charm and nostalgic feel, complemented by excellent voice acting and an enchanting soundtrack. Some users note moments of unexpectedly graphic content that contrasts with the overall tone, but overall the graphics greatly enhance the storytelling and atmosphere.
- “The visuals have a unique, stylized 2.5d storybook art style with beautiful hand-painted backgrounds that help capture the otherwise melancholic atmosphere.”
- “An art style gorgeous enough to be memorable for decades to come, yet not intense enough to fry a graphics card.”
- “Beautiful, hand-drawn graphics, lovely characters with whom you can pursue all sorts of relationships, and quests that span whole chapters.”
- “The art style is fine but movement feels very rigid and kind of took away from the story at some points.”
- “For anyone fond of that era of graphical presentation, I might say it would tickle some nostalgia, but anyone else might find it a little cheap.”
- “Not the best graphics, a few bugs here and there, but the characters and the story do bring you on a great adventure, I am actually sad it is over...”
music
153 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
44%
2%
The music in Cabernet is widely praised for its haunting, melancholic piano and orchestral soundtrack that perfectly captures the game's eerie, somber atmosphere and enhances immersion. While mostly considered beautiful, thematic, and masterful, some players noted occasional repetitiveness and audio mixing issues, though overall, the music significantly contributes to the game's charm and emotional impact.
- “The music—a melancholy blend of strings and ambient piano—is very effective at reinforcing the eerie, somber emotional tone without being distracting, which is great because you'll be listening to it quite a bit.”
- “The soundtrack is hauntingly beautiful and I find myself humming the songs long after I've stepped away from my computer.”
- “The music is sublime in that classic and rare game soundtrack way in which a loop can play for hours and you still love it.”
- “Music also tends to loop and get a little obnoxious.”
- “Audio mixing was also sometimes not the best, with the music occasionally being a bit louder than the dialogue (even with music volume turned down in the settings), which was distracting.”
- “Most of the music consists of ambient tracks, which can get fairly repetitive during lengthy play sessions.”
atmosphere
86 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
37%
3%
The game is widely praised for its rich, immersive atmosphere characterized by gothic, Victorian, and melancholic aesthetics enhanced by beautiful art, music, and voice acting. Players appreciate its moody, candlelit settings, brooding tone, and narrative depth, which blend folklore, ethical dilemmas, and vampire themes to create a captivating and emotionally engaging experience. Overall, the atmosphere is considered one of the game's strongest aspects, deeply drawing players into its unique, story-driven world.
- “Rich with character and personality, rife in mythological/folklore references (as a huge mythology nerd myself I greatly appreciate that) and dripping with gothic/gloomy atmosphere, this is a hugely enjoyable experience.”
- “Cabernet is a slow-burning, atmospheric narrative vampire RPG that actually respects your brain.”
- “The characters feel alive, and the world has this melancholic, almost poetic atmosphere that sticks with you after you stop playing.”
- “The atmosphere leans into crumbling estates, candlelit corridors, velvet darkness, and cold stone rather than glitter or modern gothic glam.”
- “Overall, the game had a strong set-up for the story, but its pacing felt like someone slammed on the brakes and said, 'hey, ride's over!' However, the parallels, atmosphere, and blood-sucking aspect of the game were great.”
- “The game’s art is great, the voice-over is even better, and I like the atmosphere, but the rest of the game feels lacking.”
emotional
70 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game delivers a deeply emotional experience, blending touching storytelling, compelling characters, and a heartfelt exploration of themes like immortality, relationships, hope, and despair. Players commonly describe moments of laughter, tears, and reflection, praising its mature, genuine narrative and evocative music that enhance the overall atmosphere. While some note a desire for more emotional depth or closure, the game leaves a lasting impact and resonates strongly with those seeking a thoughtful, immersive vampire RPG.
- “I went into this expecting a lovely little vampire RPG, but this is such a beautiful, heartfelt, and genuine work of art that will probably stick with me for the rest of my life.”
- “Despite this, I still felt deeply moved by each of their stories and cared a lot about what became of their lives; therefore, I didn't really mind this being the ending since I had such emotional stakes in these characters and that was enough to drive my motivation.”
- “The story is wonderful and emotional, and it's obvious there was a lot of love and effort put into this game.”
stability
59 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
97%
The game suffers from numerous stability issues, including frequent visual glitches, quest-breaking bugs, and occasional soft-locks that often require reloading saves to progress. Although many bugs are minor and do not severely impact gameplay, some players found them frustrating and immersion-breaking. The developers appear to be actively patching issues, but the game still requires further fixes for a smoother experience.
- “Perfectly suited for cosying up on the sofa, runs great on my handheld gaming PC!”
- “UI bugs, visual glitches, models and layers overlapping, broken quests that sometimes fix themselves and sometimes stay broken permanently.”
- “The game is also buggy at points, with several quests breaking or the character locked into certain areas leading to several reloads to fix the issue.”
- “This game is still quite buggy... as you play there's definitely going to be random visual, audio, or bugs that make you load back to the last save or relaunch the game; some bugs might even affect gameplay itself which is frustrating.”
replayability
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
49%
8%
The game offers strong replayability through multiple meaningful choices, diverse endings, and varied character routes, encouraging players to explore different outcomes and achievements. While some find the content depth and moral complexity especially engaging for subsequent playthroughs, others note its relatively short length but still appreciate the incentive to replay. Overall, the replay value is widely regarded as a key strength, enhancing long-term enjoyment.
- “Incredible storytelling that made me cry once or twice, great replayability (I'm on my third playthrough to explore all the options), and an overall amazing game.”
- “It has lots of replayability and roleplay options, the morality system is more than just a or b, and there's a good amount of choice and consequence with the various individual little stories and actions you can take.”
- “Before playing I was worried it would be too short after seeing people say they finished it within 8 hours, but my first run was around 14 hours from start to finish and it's very replayable to get the other achievements, storylines, and different endings.”
- “Replayability - 5/10”
- “☐ no replay value”
- “I don't know about replayability because I don't see myself making different choices the next time around, but it's amusing and poignant and choices feel important, even if I know logically that they probably aren't.”
grinding
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
88%
Reviews on grinding in the game are mixed, with some players finding repetitive tasks and backtracking tedious, especially in early sections or due to buggy or clunky UI elements. However, others appreciate that side quests and resource management add depth without feeling grindy or forced, and certain gameplay mechanics (like the bat form) help alleviate tedious travel. Overall, grinding may impact pacing for some, but it doesn't overshadow the story or core gameplay enjoyment.
- “The first half of the game is very tedious and repetitive.”
- “This makes multiple playthroughs tedious, and the lack of visual novel QoL plus the game-breaking bugs make replaying the game unlikely anytime soon.”
- “I recommend keeping a permanent save after the first chapter, since for replays there are no important choices in that chapter and it would just be tedious to go through it again.”
optimization
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
23%
33%
The game offers great performance on the Steam Deck but suffers from occasional stutters, especially during loading, and some technical issues like a broken quest log that can cause progress loss. Menu navigation is somewhat unintuitive and may require control configuration adjustments. Overall, performance is decent but could be improved for smoother gameplay.
- “Great performance on Steam Deck.”
- “Technical issues and performance are well managed, resulting in a smooth experience.”
- “Performance is excellent, providing a seamless gameplay experience.”
- “Not optimized as navigating menus was a mix of using the joysticks or trackpads as well as face buttons, and I couldn't seem to tweak a trackpad to perform as a mouse with a large range of motion the way I can for many games - you may want to edit your control configuration to suit your tastes.”
- “If I have any criticism it would be that sometimes the game's performance in certain areas, especially loading from disk, stutters momentarily.”
- “Some issues are ignorable like the walk cycle animation loop stuttering, some are quite noticeable like the entire quest log being constantly broken, but the worst ones force you to lose all progress since you last saved.”
humor
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is praised for being clever and occasionally hilarious, with engaging character-driven moments that evoke both laughter and emotional depth. However, some players find that the initial fun and witty interactions become repetitive and less enjoyable over time, and bugs sometimes undermine the comedic experience.
- “Hilarious stuff.”
- “The story is yours, it draws you in, and the game is clever and funny at times, and at other times, the characters and their stories make you want to cry.”
- “Take Hussar for example, taking the time to learn his story and befriend him rewards you with learning what is under that armor of charm and humor.”
character development
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The game excels in character development, featuring compelling writing and excellent voice acting that bring the characters to life. Combined with captivating art and design, the story and characters feel genuinely real and deeply engaging.
- “But where this game truly shines is the story and character design!”
- “Excellent voice acting and character development.”
- “Not only was the art style captivating, but the writing and character development blew me away.”