Blacktail

With its bewitching fairy-tale presentation, satisfying combat, enticing exploration of a beautiful world and a narrative that is lovingly inspired by dark Slavic fables, I really enjoyed my time with Blacktail. Though the various gameplay systems are very much inspired from what we've seen in similar games already and the platforming side of things isn't quite as polished as I might like, Blackta...

BLACKTAIL is an RPG full of exploration, crafting, and magic. Based on Slavic Folklore, this isn’t your typical happy story; this is a dark tale full of difficult choices. It may take some time to learn how to use your bow well, but once you figure out the proper timing and technique, you will be more successful in battle.

2022 has been one hell of a year for games, despite what many of us thought early on, with the announcement of massive delays across all platforms. Focus Home has had an especially great year, publishing some of the most noteworthy titles, including the tense narrative spectacle Plague Tales Requiem, and the unique space puzzle game Hardspace: Shipbreaker. However, BLACKTAIL stands out to me as so...

The music, writing, and voice acting all match the graphics with only a few of the side characters feeling a bit out of place.  Most of the characters have vaguely British accents, but a couple of Yaga’s “friends” sounded American.  It’s not a big thing but it did take me out of it a little bit for a story I imagine as always being in Europe. The narrator ended up being one of my favorite parts, w...

Blacktail provides an excellent foray into Slavic folklore and some terrific bow-based combat. You get to follow the journey of a timid teenager as she learns to stand on her own two feet while also handing a solid smackdown to some really cool boss fights. There's more than enough depth here to keep you coming back to the game.

Taking a fairy tale about a witch and turning it into a video game could have easily been a cheesy turn, with a cliché spooky forest that is dark, without a lot of detail, full of owls, and a cackling hag witch. However, The Parasight took this story and added its own elements that give some context to a classic tale and give it a rebirth. The ending was a little bit predictable, but the adventure...

Originality is a rare quality in games, and Blacktail has this in spades – the Slavic folklore, the surrealist narrative, the unusual plot structure, the craggy yet dreamlike artstyle, the archery-based gameplay. Sure, some of the systems could be simplified and streamlined, but at least they aim to test the boundaries and seek a different point of view. Blacktail may not be a graphical marvel or ...

Blacktail isn’t going for revolutionary status, and most of the things it does do are slight by comparison to the hitmakers of the genres it inhabits, but as a package, it’s a delightfully dark fairy tale-infused adventure that keeps you invested throughout.

Blacktail is a beautiful adventure steeped in Slavic dark fantasy, though this setting sometimes sits at odds with its pan-Atlantic voice acting and script.

Players familiar with fast-paced combat and dark depictions of fairy tales will find that Blacktail has a lot to offer. Unfortunately, however, Blacktail often trips over its own feet by trying too hard to create a large variety of gameplay mechanics and easily losing track of the goals of its narrative.

Blacktail tells a wonderful fairytale in a storybook world, but not all of its breadcrumbs lead home.

Blacktail has potential, but it's been buried underneath questionable design decisions and performance issues.