BLACKTAIL
OpenCritic Rating
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
BLACKTAIL Trailers
BLACKTAIL - 'The Forest Awaits' Gameplay Trailer
BLACKTAIL - Gameplay Overview Trailer
BLACKTAIL | Official Announcement Teaser
Critic Reviews for BLACKTAIL
Blacktail is an indie RPG survival game based on the Slavic Baba Yaga tale with some minor issues that don't stop it from competing with big names.
My time with Blacktail was frustrating. Not because it was a pain to play or that the writing was awful, but because there’s a strong game buried underneath some strange design decisions and disappointing performance issues. If you have the patience to see past some pretty major flaws, then you might get some enjoyment out of Blacktail. It’s one to skip for the rest of you though, and that’s a real shame.
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.
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 a masterstroke in action gameplay, but this indie title has a fascinating magic all its own that’s difficult to define and even harder to find in games today.
Blacktail may not put every foot right, but it's still an enjoyable, compelling romp through a dark and beautiful fairytale world.
Beyond that though, the only thing Blacktail has against it is that it calls for patient, curious players. If you’re the sort who insists on only following a dotted line and ignoring everything off to the sides, you’ll miss out on some of the best moments in Blacktail, like saving a mushroom spymaster’s best agent, or spelunking through gorgeously lit caverns. Blacktail is a game to be savored, peeling away its world a little more at a time. If you meet it halfway, you’ll be left with a breath of fresh air rarely seen in the industry these days: a well paced game that only tries to be what it wants to be and never compromises that vision. A beautiful, touching piece of work that’s bound to stick with you long after you finish it, Blacktail is a world worth getting lost in.
Blacktail’s art and captivating storytelling take the narrative genre in a new direction. Backed by a combination of solid gameplay and in-depth moral system, the game excels in almost every aspect.
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, Blacktail nonetheless is a thoroughly enjoyable action RPG that serves as a stellar debut effort for Polish developer The Parasight. I can't wait to see what they come up with next.
