Released just in time for Christmas, the debut game from studio The Parasight isBlacktail,a fairytale origin storythat follows the Baba Yaga long before she became the evil witch of cautionary bedtime stories. Instead, the witch is just a young girl named Yaga who has lost her memories and was exiled from her village due to accusations of witchcraft. Yaga must go on a journey through a gorgeous and subtly foreboding land in search of her lost memories, and her missing sister.
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The gameplay ofBlacktailis presentedthrough the lens of a first-person shooter.However, while Yaga has her bow and a slew of spells at her disposal, the game doesn’t ever turn into a full-0blown shoot ‘em up. Instead, players must be precise with their aim and crafty with their timing to defeat Yaga’s enemies. At least, the obvious enemies. Many of the characters in the game come across as potentially threatening, but just like everything else around her, it’s hard to tell what is real and what exists solely in Yaga’s mind. In such a setting, the following mistakes are easy for players to make, so check here first before embarking on Yaga’s journey.
10Exploring Too Much Too Early
The map ofBlacktailIis a semi-open world,and as such, players are free to explore most of its corners right from the game’s outset. Exploration brings with it many valuable rewards that are well worth venturing away from the main path, but early on, venturing too far can result in getting stuck.
There are certain upgrades that Yaga will unlock only after completing a main story quest. One of the early upgrades is a traversal mechanic, and if players wander too far they can get stuck somewhere that they’re supposed to use that mechanic to get out of. If they don’t have it, they’ll have to reload a save point, which can be frustrating. It’s best to progress the story far enough to get the first couple of unlocks before fully diving into exploration.
9Ignoring Totems
Throughout the game world, players will come across Totems, which can be activated by approaching and interacting with them. There are 12 Totems in total, with between three and four in the first three areas of the game, with the final Totem being found in the fourth area.
When they’re first discovered, players may be unsure what activating these Totems accomplishes. However, once all are activated, it will unlock a memory for Yaga that fleshes out more of the story. Activating all 12 Totems is also required for unlocking the “Loremaster” achievement.
8Missing Lost Pages
Similarly to the Totems mentioned previously, Yaga can find hidden Lost Pages. However, the purpose of these pages is much clearer from the outset. Each Lost Page will unlock a new spell for Yaga to use once she brings them to the cauldron at her hut.
Some of these Lost Pages are found automatically by completing story missions. Others are found in side missions, but there are also some that need to be tracked down in the open world. The latter are found in chests, which are hidden in tricky corners of the map, but also provide some ofthe game’s most valuable spells.
7Not Kissing Toads
Another set of collectibles inBlacktailare giant toads. These are all hidden and will require exploration to discover. Once discovered, Yaga will need to interact with them to give each one a kiss. Doing so will transform the toad into its true form, and it will then join Yaga’s inventory. She can then drop the toads off at her hut, where they will stay and add to the already mystical scenery.
To go along with the “Always Worth A Try” achievement that collecting all 12 toads unlocks, each toad will also unlock a short memory of Yaga’s. Altogether, these memories come together to tell a much larger story, which further expands upon Yaga’s past and her abilities.
6Missing The Amber Spiders
Finally, there are four Amber Spiders scattered throughout the game world. These are literally spiders that have been trapped in amber, which Yaga must then free in order to “make them talk.” There is one Amber Spider to be found in each of the game’s four main areas.
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Once the Amber Spiders are found, Yaga can return to her hut and drop each one into her cauldron. Each spider will unlock a new memory for Yaga to decipher. Unlocking all four memories will also grant the player with the “Entangled” achievement, as well as some additional lore.
5Not Collecting Red Flowers
If it isn’t obvious by now, there are a ton of different collectibles inBlacktail. Between resources, quest items, and pieces of lore, it can be easy to overlook some items simply due to the overwhelming number of different things available to be picked up. One resource that is crucial to not ignore are red flowers.
The save system inBlacktailis a bit archaic and can lead to some frustrating moments later in the game. The best way to mitigate these moments is to save often, and in order to save, players must have a red flower and bring it to a save shrine. These flowers can be found throughout the world, but ensuring that Yaga always has a healthy supply of them is the best way to make sure that players can save their game at any time.No red flowers, no saving.
4Ignoring Side Quests
BecauseBlacktail’sworld is only semi-open at any given time, it’s relatively easy for players to stick to the main path and never venture off into the unknown. While it is wise to stick to the main story at first as mentioned earlier, not exploring after that would be a huge misstep.
There are the obvious consequences which would be a lack of new spells and upgrades that Yaga could make use of in the game’s later stages. More importantly, not completing side quests would have players missing out onsome of the game’s best moments.For all its intrigue and mysticism,Blacktail’soverall story is a bit predictable. The same absolutely can not be said about its side quests.
3Choosing The “Good” Path
Among the many other systems at play inBlacktailis a morality system which makes Yaga chooseif she will be a good or evil witch. Both options are equally valid and won’t affect the game’s ending, only Yaga’s overall abilities and their passive effects on enemies, although her choices can affect the game’s characters. However, one morality option is vastly superior to the other.
Unless players are looking for a much steeper challenge, it’s wise to choose the evil path. This grants Yaga more healing options to go along with her powers, which takes her from feeling vulnerable to feeling much more powerful. Particularly in the game’s first hours, those extra healing abilities are indispensable. Since it won’t change the game’s ending, choosing the evil path is the much more powerful option, and also makes for a more interesting version of Yaga as a character.
2Forcing The Optional Boss
For the most part, the combat inBlacktailis pretty solid. Yaga’s abilities and her bow work together to create some exciting moments, and the enemies she faces put up a challenge but aren’t overly difficult. That goes out the window with the game’s boss fights. Each boss fight brings with it a fairly significant difficulty spike. They aren’t bad fights by any stretch, but they do push the needle from challenging to frustrating on occasion.
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However, there is one fight that can become extremely frustrating. Thankfully, it’s an optional boss fight. It’s not worth spoiling here - players will know it when they find it - but it should be noted that the rewards for completing the fight are negligible, so anyone who isn’t a completionist shouldn’t worry too much if they decide to leave that particular boss undefeated.
1Taking The World At Face Value
This is probably the easiest mistake to make while playingBlacktail. The world Yaga inhabits is rich and filled with interesting - and slightly creepy - characters, and they all present information in a way that is a bit cryptic. Even Yaga’s own abilities and actions can be hard to decipher.
In order to come away with a good understanding of the game’s story, it’s important that players never take anything they see at face value. Very little inBlacktailis as it seems. Many characters are disguising the truth if not outright lying, and even the ones that help Yaga may not be doing so for the reasons she believes. Trust no one, not even Yaga herself.
Blacktailwas released on December 15th, 2022, and is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
