Beware Black Book, The Scariest Deck Builder Ever Built

Deck building games don't exactly have a reputation for being scary. Publisher HypeTrain Digital and developer Morteshka teamed up to prove that even card collecting can be a little spooky. Today, they have announced a cool, creepy, and distinctly Slavic game called Black Book.

In an imaginative amalgam of card-based RPGs and adventure games, Black Book takes us to the darkness of the 19th century, where we meet Vasilisa. She was destined to be a witch, but decided that she wanted a normal life with her true love. Destiny had other plans, and took her lover from her. Now Vasilisa must embrace her witchy side in order to uncover the seven seals of the Black Book. This demonic diary is said to grant a wish to those who can find all of the seals. We're pretty sure we know which wish Vasilisa wants granted.

This search for the seven seals is, as many things are, easier said than done. This is where the card collecting part comes in. Collecting new cards will give Vasilisa new spells for fighting enemies. Yes, there are enemies galore lurking in the Russian countryside. And demons. But the demons are actually your friends... sort of. Apparently, you're free to gather a flock of demons to do your dark bidding, "but idle demons will torture you if you don't find them something to do." Can we call this a demon management game?

The demons in question are apparently kind of the real deal. Morteshka got together with actual anthropologists in order to research Northern Russian mythology, and base their baddies on real folktales. Players will be reckoning with these folktales and the worries and problems of regular Russian folks. Not everything is all about Vasilisa. There are plenty of side quests, too. 

Everything we know about the game at the moment comes from Steam and blackbookgame.com. While there is no solid release date in sight, we can expect to roam around Russia sometime in 2020.