Blacktail (Slavic Dark Fantasy Arrow Combat)

 

Here’s a game that’s simply amazing. Little else needs to be said, but here goes. I hadn’t heard word of Blacktail until I saw it drop on GeForce Now, but the premise intrigued me, as it’s essentially billed as an origin story of the legendary witch of Eastern Europe, Baba-Yaga. Taking place in a dark fantasy world it’s one of the most lush and amazing games I’ve ever encountered. Mixing traditional Slavic folklore with a story of female empowerment on the path of a rejected, and misunderstood outsider who blasts scum with arrows, the story alone will drag you in, but the gameplay is beyond that. Simply amazing.

 
 

The focus in Blacktail is on arrow combat, with a crafting element as part of the challenge, requiring you to keep up your supply of different items. As Yaga, you’re accused of witchcraft and have to determine your own identity while completing a variety of challenges, including memories from childhood on occasion where you take the form of different animals. The primary action takes place in a dark fantasy realm with an amazingly dense collection of flora and fauna and a quest system that can lead to a number of subplots outside of the main story. Tracking various discoveries and quests is easy, and you’re provided with build options including the choice of two primary paths, one good and one evil, which can determine how various elements of the game work. But the environment…heavenly God this is great… The textures and attention to detail are deity level, with foliage hiding any number of surprises and an amazingly complex bestiary and characters to encounter. Combat can be intense but is extremely well-balanced with the various tricks at Yaga’s disposal. So get dark, get folk, become the Baba.

 

Blacktail Official Steam

Written by Stanley, Devourer of Souls

Blacktail
THE PARASIGHT (developer), Focus Entertainment (publisher)
5 / 5