BLACKTAIL Reviews

BLACKTAIL is ranked in the 79th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
10 / 10.0
Dec 16, 2022

Blacktail is a game everyone is raving about and with good reason. The stunning little adventure game has a unique experience to sell you and beautiful visuals to show you along the way. While not everyone is going to have the patience to make it through Blacktail’s single-player experience, if any part of it looks interesting to you then I recommend you give it a try, as it’s shockingly cheap.

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9.8 / 10.0
Dec 15, 2022

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.

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90 / 100
Dec 16, 2022

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.

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9 / 10.0
Dec 15, 2022

Blacktail is beautiful, from the sun-kissed rivers found in its summer-themed areas to its foreboding spider-infested caves, every inch of the world has been a pleasure to explore. While the morality system doesn't offer the impactful experience we had hoped, it's a lovely way to measure your interaction with the world, adding to the game's overarching enjoyability. Combat is fun and well-balanced but sits behind Blacktail's explorative elements as the most exciting feature on offer. It's stunning to look at, exciting to explore, and enjoyable to play... charming.

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Wccftech
Top Critic
8.7 / 10.0
Dec 15, 2022

Blacktail offers so much with a strong tone throughout. While some areas could have had more polish, what we get is still fantastic.

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8.5 / 10.0
Dec 16, 2022

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.

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GBAtemp
Top Critic
8.5 / 10.0
Dec 17, 2022

There is almost everything to love in Blacktail with a unique premise and beautiful world. Despite some flaws in performance and gameplay, I would very much recommend giving this game a try even for those that are just slightly interested.

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85 / 100
Dec 30, 2022

Venturing into the dark, fairytale world of BLACKTAIL and being part of Yaga's story is a unique experience. If we take into account the excellent narrative and the good replay factor that the morality system can offer, what we have here is a great game that is definitely deserves your attention.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review

8.5 / 10.0
Jan 24, 2023

BLACKTAIL is an RPG full of exploration, crafting, and magic. Based on Slavic Folklore, this isn't your typical happy story; this is a dark tale full of difficult choices. It may take some time to learn how to use your bow well, but once you figure out the proper timing and technique, you will be more successful in battle.

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8.5 / 10.0
Dec 15, 2022

BLACKTAIL is one of the biggest surprises of the year. It’s a game that pulled me into its mysterious and beautifully crafted world, filled with plenty of mysteries to discover. BLACKTAIL is a constantly engaging experience with only a few minor drawbacks.

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GameSpace
Brau3er
Top Critic
8.5 / 10.0
Dec 28, 2022

Blacktail is one of the most unexpected, original and atmospheric games not only of December, but of the entire outgoing year. Of course, the authors still lack experience and skill, but they approached the concept of an adventure about the young Baba Yaga with soul and scope.

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84 / 100
Dec 15, 2022

In a landscape littered with copycat games, Blacktail’s originality make it a winner. Set aside the game’s mechanically frustrating and probably unnecessary boss battles. Blacktail’s world, characters and narrative are easily worth the very reasonable price of admission.

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8.3 / 10.0
Dec 15, 2022

Blacktail mixes folklore and an original story in a compelling way, offering an interesting experience despite something lacking in its core gameplay.

Review in Italian | Read full review

8.3 / 10.0
Dec 15, 2022

BLACKTAIL is a well-made, highly polished title that is easy to recommend. Make sure you have the time to properly level up and explore. This beautiful, haunting world is one I hope to come back to time and time again.

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8 / 10
Dec 15, 2022

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.

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8 / 10.0
Dec 15, 2022

Blacktail may not put every foot right, but it's still an enjoyable, compelling romp through a dark and beautiful fairytale world.

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Dec 18, 2022

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.

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8 / 10.0
Dec 28, 2022

Blacktail is a great game with some minor flaws here and there, but nothing that really takes away from the experience. The morality mechanics do a great job at shaping your abilities and what you're able to do and the storytelling is pretty well done. If you're not great at survival games you might struggle a bit with the game's resource management, especially since your bow and arrows are your only physical weapons. Overall though, as long as you remember that survival is priority one and firing arrows at everything in sight is priority zero, you should still have an enjoyable time with Blacktail.

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GameMAG
Top Critic
8 / 10
Jan 14, 2023

Blacktail is a rich and atmospheric piece that can be very enjoyable to any who can enjoy slavic folklore.

Review in Russian | Read full review

4 / 5.0
Dec 15, 2022

If you have ever wanted to play a game where you actually feel like a witch in the woods, then you have every reason to pick up Blacktail and won’t regret it. Considering this is the first game from developer The Parasight, there is every reason to be incredibly excited about where they go from here.

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