The Black Book (2023)

The Black Book –Released in 2021 by Russian indie studio Morteshka, Black Book is a dark RPG adventure rooted deeply in Slavic folklore. It tells the story of Vasilisa, a young village witch navigating the supernatural and moral complexities of 19th-century rural Russia. While the game slipped under the radar here at the Codex—likely due to its card-based combat—it has quietly found admirers among our forum dwellers. One such fan, esteemed user BosanskiSeljak, now offers his thoughts on this moody, atmospheric title.

A Witch’s Work is Never Done

Once the game finds its footing, Black Book presents a surprisingly well-structured and fluid core loop. Your home base is your grandfather’s Izba—a traditional wooden cottage that doubles as HQ. It’s here that you manage companions, level up, and enjoy the quintessentially Russian pastime of playing Durak with local elders. Each new day begins with visitors seeking your help, and you step into your role as the local Koldun (sorcerer), dispensing folk wisdom, curses, or blessings as needed.
Quests usually begin with a visitor at your Izba, who kicks off the main objective. Subtlety isn’t the game’s strong suit—your grandfather may all but shout the importance of certain leads—but the journey remains unpredictable. You travel via a stylized map, making choices at branching paths that may reveal hidden side quests, combat encounters, or snippets of lore. While not an open-world game, the sense of discovery is preserved through smart pacing and branching detours.

Keeping Things Fresh

What Black Book does best is vary its structure to keep things from going stale. Just as a routine starts to form, the game upends it. One moment you're exploring the countryside; the next, you're trapped in a haunted village or descending into a demonic lair. These sharp pivots—sometimes lasting entire chapters—are effective in maintaining momentum and reinforcing the game’s eerie tone.

Gameplay segments are broken up by light exploration, card-based battles, and investigation. While not mechanically deep, this structure ensures the experience stays engaging. The game avoids the usual RPG pitfall of padding itself with filler or trash mobs—most encounters are brief and purposeful. Even dungeon segments, which appear sporadically as major set pieces, are compact and atmospheric rather than bloated grind-fests. Expect to explore forests, sunken lakes, underground ruins, and even Hell itself, all rendered with a painterly folk horror aesthetic.
A Game of Ritual and Rhythm

While Black Book is no sandbox, its rhythm is compelling. You deal with problems largely through dialogue and occasional combat, collecting lore and relics along the way. Dungeons offer light puzzle-solving and modest exploration, with minimal backtracking or filler. These segments serve the story rather than derail it, allowing the game to maintain its strong pacing. And while nothing here reinvents the RPG wheel, the design is confident in its scope and ambition.

With its strong sense of place, memorable atmosphere, and well-paced structure, Black Book carves out a niche for players more interested in mood and myth than min-maxing and mechanical depth. It won’t satisfy those looking for complex systems or sprawling exploration, but for those willing to step into its strange, folkloric world, there’s plenty of dark magic to discover.


Verdict:
Black Book isn’t the deepest RPG mechanically, but it excels at delivering a haunting journey through Russian folklore with strong atmosphere, tight pacing, and nearly zero filler. A worthwhile pick for players seeking a story-rich, culturally grounded adventure.