Black Book
I’m a relative newcomer to card battlers. I’d played Magic: The Gathering in person, of course, and this stream started as a Poxnora stream. The genre as a whole, though, didn’t much strike my fancy, at least until Slay the Spire, and what I see as its partner, Black Book. Now, all my Steam recommendations are card battlers, and I’m pretty sure I dream in card games.
must…play…card…games…
Black Book follows the story of Vasilisa, a newly minted witch, on her journey to remove the seals from the Black Book so she can free her lover’s soul from Hell. The cards used in battles are spells in her book (called zagovors), and lend themselves to a wide variety of strategies. Coupled with this combat mechanic is a heavy RPG element, leading the player through Russian folklore. It’s a good combination, and the desire to learn fuels a lot of engagement.
This is good, because we have no money for bread.
It’s tough to say which element - the RPG or the card-battler - works more in Black Book’s favour. Both do an excellent job drawing the player in, whether through the exploration of Russian folklore and the story of random journeys, or through well designed card mechanics. I got as much joy out of the encounters I had with people on the road as I did with crafting my deck and seeing it in action. Indeed, the folklore elements and the decision not to translate Russian terms into simpler English terms did a lot to build the world and make rural 19th century Russia seem like a mystical place.
Because this is precisely who we should ask for directions.
All told, the combination of the combat mechanics and the meandering journey through Russian folklore work beautifully to make Black Book an excellent addition to the genre. It provides options for both those who are coming from card-battlers like Slay the Spire, and for those who played way too much Witcher 3 and want to immerse themselves in that world once again. It is excellent.
Developer: Morteshka
Genre: Card Battler, Rpg
Year: 2021
Country: Russia
Language: English
Play Time: 20 Hours