Review for Cabernet
A vampire-themed role-playing game that packs a real bite, Cabernet tells a story as full and flavorful as the wine that is its namesake. Developed by Party for Introverts and published by Akupara Games, this adventure is full of hope or horror depending on players’ choices. Just like a sommelier presiding over a wine tasting, players determine how they experience the various quests. They explore a luscious world of sight and sound populated with many expertly voiced characters. Despite a few frustrating timed events – and no matter how the choices are made when encountering various challenges – partaking of Cabernet is an adventure that no player will forget.
Cabernet recounts the tale of Elizaveta (Liza) Morozova, a young doctor who, through no fault of her own, is transformed into a vampire. Liza’s new life grants her many player-controlled powers. She can mutate into a bat and fly, become invisible, hypnotize and influence people, and feed on characters by draining the blood from their bodies. Players choose how Liza views her new life through her dialogue and actions. If she makes a choice that benefits others, she gains Humanity. If she makes a selfish choice, she gains Nihilism. Liza’s skills are strengthened like fermenting wine by completing side quests promulgated by various non-player characters. One memorable task involves helping a mystical, vengeful Resulka get even with her human lover. After confronting the lover, who reveals a certain truth, I directed Liza to spare his life. The Resalka was not pleased.
Together, the stylized visual and eerie auditory elements that comprise this piece of interactive art create the perfect world for a vampire story. The outdoor settings are somber, yet beautifully detailed, particularly the lake setting with gleaming moonlight on the water. (This is also where the game’s plot speeds up.) My favorite indoor location, Liza’s room, can be customized to players’ tastes, including the coffin where she sleeps.
The breathtaking sound design adds to the ominous ambiance. Liza’s lullaby, for instance, is a wonderful blend of melancholy and menacing melodies. The voice acting is top-notch and clearly signals empathy toward Liza’s harrowing plight.
I played Cabernet on a PC using the mouse and keyboard. Liza’s actions are easy to control via the arrow keys. When she’s near something she can pick up or open, the cursor becomes a hand, and left-clicking on the object enables access to it. Clicking on a character unveils a topic list at the bottom of the screen. (Some of the choices may be unavailable unless Liza’s skills meet or exceed a certain number.) These skills involve art and music, literature and writing, science and logic, and finally, history and politics. Liza may augment her abilities by wearing certain outfits. When she receives experience points by completing tasks given to her by characters or by reading books, her skill level will incrementally increase.
Players control Liza’s powers by holding down the right-mouse button, moving the mouse until they select the ability they want to employ, then releasing the button. The game does a good job of explaining the various advantages and foibles. Liza’s powers need blood to work. If she doesn’t regularly imbibe, they turn out to be unreliable and she could starve to death. If she over-imbibes, she becomes feral and loses herself to her blood lust. (The game lore makes mention of this reaction, but I didn’t notice any actual consequences.) If she is outside at dawn, she must hurry to return to her coffin before burning to death. (I did experience that consequence.)
If Liza dies, players see a fail screen and a brief paragraph with red letters describing her fate. They have the option to load their game at a point right before they die so they can make a different choice. Players may save their game by left-clicking on the vanity in Liza’s room. There are four save slots including one Autosave slot. They can’t be labeled, but accessing the Quests tab using the Tab button does a great job of keeping track of progress. During the finale, players may save their game by left-clicking on the book on the desk in the town hall.
Timed events – like responding to attacks – could frustrate players with slow reflexes. Certain timed challenges are doable through sheer persistence. However, not all of the reflex-based challenges are so straightforward. For example, at one point Liza rushes to the scene of a medical emergency. She must arrive quickly before tragedy strikes. After trying ten times, I was unable to successfully complete the task. Even so, it’s an important part of the narrative, providing a sense of drama and reinforcing Liza’s position as a doctor. Fortunately, players don’t need to conclude the sequence to finish the story.
Set within the spectral world of the mythical undead, Cabernet is a wonderfully interactive experience, brimming with adventure and role-playing challenges. It successfully immerses players in a complex tale that endows them with the agency to make it either tragic or optimistic, depending on their preferences and subsequent actions.
WHERE CAN I DOWNLOAD Cabernet
Cabernet is available at:
We get a small commission from any game you buy through these links (except Steam).Our Verdict:
Cabernet is an exceedingly creative adventure, introducing role-playing elements that suit its phantasmal themes. The lovely, stylized graphics, engaging story, choice-based gameplay, and terrific voice acting all combine to produce an experience for gamers (especially vampire enthusiasts) that shouldn’t be missed.
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