A rough gem, Black Book starts simple and then grows, layer by layer (page by page) into something kind of extraordinary. There are so many small mechanical and narrative interactions here that just work, it's very impressive: the way each seal unlocks new keywords and deckbuilding thematics that correspond to the story beats, the way chort management and sin interact with both cards and story, the way the daily loop provides gameplay structure and also anchors you in village life.

You can get wildly OP with a smart deck, money quickly becomes irrelevant, the translation and voice acting is spotty (kudos to getting folks who can pronounce Russian!), the UI is buggy; but for a small team's first game, this intriguing, charming, moving epic is simply astonishing.

Oh and there's a literal encyclopedia of Russian folk tales to read. So many new words! Izba, chort, zagovar, banya, susedko. There's a glowing cat, and beautifully singing villagers, and a satisfying ending. I'm going to miss Vasilisa.

i cannot in good conscience recommend this game.

it's beautiful and unique and uncanny and your weird momentum will drop you in lava, or a pit, or a river, or an abyss, or a rapid, or a canyon, or a sinkhole, or a whirlpool, and will insta-kill you more often than the myriad infuriating insects or skeleton swarm.

however, several levels are just, entirely zipline rides.

i've never played anything like it, it's so beautiful, i hate it, 4 out of 5 stars.