Black Book

I enjoyed my time with Black Book, but it’s definitely held back by some of its shortcomings. This isn’t necessarily due to lack of skill from the developers, but more an issue with such a small budget. However, I think they would have benefited from a different art style, perhaps like the one found in their other game, The Mooseman.

Black Book could be accused of being slow at times, but it has so much to offer and is so dense that it’s completely necessary. It isn’t slow; it’s just intentionally paced. It’s not flawless by any means. At times there is quite significant pop in. I would often select the wrong item or not be able to walk towards what I had selected in the environment. But none of that is important when compared to the immersive world developer Morteshka has delivered. If you have even a slight interest in 19th Century Russia, Slavic folklore, or deck building games in general, Black Book is a game you must check out.

If you can immerse yourself into the story early on, Black Book will be your go to for many, many gaming sessions. Black Book is structured in a way that you can spend hours on end playing through it or pick up and play it mission by mission without losing your way in this incredibly well-crafted RPG adventure.