Perm studio Morteshka under the direction of Vladimir Beletsky, consisting of only five people, was able not only to ride the complex genre of Slavic fantasy, but also to release an incredibly exciting and original project. “Black book”With a modest budget of 140 thousand dollars has achieved what many works with multi-million dollar investments cannot boast of – it is able to really interest and win over the player.
In the center of the plot is the girl Vasilisa from the Cherdyn district, who has a natural talent for magic and does not want to mess with evil spirits, but circumstances push her to a forbidden contract. The beloved beauty lays hands on himself, dooming his soul to plunge into the depths of hell. Confident that her beloved could not do this of his own free will, the girl asks the local sorcerer, grandfather Yegor, to teach her magic and help rescue the guy from the underworld. But for this she has to remove seven seals from the Black Book and defeat powerful demons. The Permian version of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice offers a much richer bestiary and a few unexpected plot twists. It is noticeable that the authors also drew inspiration from “Hearts of Parma” Alexey Ivanov…
Having become the successor of the rural sorcerer, a young vekshitsa, Vasilisa listens to local residents, spirits and devils, fulfilling their requests or giving a turn from the gate. For example, by agreeing to put a curse on the applicant’s competitors, you will receive money, but bring the “bad” ending closer by earning an armful of negative points. Good deeds, on the other hand, will give you positive points.
In addition to listening to requests and receiving assignments, in the initial hub-hut, you can talk with other characters, expand the local encyclopedia of knowledge and send free devils on missions. The latter resembles the tasks for the Assassins in the series. Assassin’s creed, but with only one caveat. Devils sitting idle inflict damage on Vasilisa, and by carrying out errands, they bring money, but at the same time add negative points to the heroine. In the hut they are allowed to play cards with other heroes – a thrown fool.
After talking with all the petitioners and available characters, Vasilisa is free to go on a mission. In this segment, the “Black Book” already resembles a mixture of games “Blood feud: The Witcher. Stories”And mobile Sorcery… Text selections hit the player with unexpected consequences.
At the beginning of each mission, you are offered a map, along which you can only move sequentially, opening the zones closed by question marks. In each location, you will find a short description and a choice of several options for action. Fortunately, there are no unpredictable consequences here, as in The banner saga… Somewhere a decision can be made on the basis of ordinary logic, somewhere a knowledge of Perm folklore is required, or an element of chance acts. Sometimes it won’t even help Google… For example, you must guess the riddle of a fairytale character or convince a powerful trait to avoid conflict. Sometimes the ability to turn into cards helps to evade the battle. But in most cases, you will have a fight with evil spirits.
