Cabernet

Release Date: February 20, 2025

RPG, 2D, indie games, side-scroll, vampires, 19th century, urban fantasy, singleplayer

8.1

OpenCritic

93%

Steam

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An RPG set in a world inspired by 19th century Eastern Europe. Cabernet allows us to play as a young female vampire. We push the main story forward, gradually meeting new characters and deciding their fate - we can either leave them alone or decide to drink their blood.

Story
Gameplay
Graphics

Cabernet is an RPG that allows us to play as a young vampire discovering the advantages and disadvantages of their new nature. The game was developed by the independent British studio Party for Introverts.

Story

Cabernet transports us to a world inspired by Eastern Europe of the 19th century. The main character of the game is a young vampire named Liza, who, while learning about life from dusk till dawn, gets drawn into a whirlwind of intrigues along with political and class conflicts. It depends on us whether she will manage to maintain morality and humanity, or whether she will lose control over herself, giving in to her bloodlust.

Gameplay

In Cabernet we watch the action from the side. Liza can explore the game world on foot or in the form of a bat. We get to know inhabitants of the game's world and gradually discover subsequent plot elements.

As we progress, we improve Liza's abilities related to art, literature, science and logic, as well as history and politics. Her growing knowledge on these topics makes her an increasingly interesting conversationalist, and consequently - an increasingly effective vampire, ensuring her access to new places and characters.

Bloodlust

The protagonist must occasionally satisfy her thirst for blood. By conducting conversations with neutral characters, we gradually learn more about them. Thanks to this, we can decide which ones will be useful to us in the future, and which ones we can treat solely as a source of blood.

However, if we want to enjoy another meal, we first need to lure the character to a secluded place. To gain such an opportunity, it is necessary to know the desires of a particular person, and then cleverly use them.

On the other hand, nothing prevents us from refraining from sinking our teeth into the neck of a given unfortunate and instead helping him solve his troubling problems. The choice is always ours to make.

Graphics

The two-dimensional graphics of Cabernet were maintained in a cartoon style.

Videos and Screens

[1:13] Cabernet - Launch Trailer

[1:23] Cabernet - Release Date Announcement

8.1

OpenCritic Rating

Game is Recomended by 86% of Critics. There are 10 Critic Reviews.

OpenCritic

Checkpoint Gaming: 8.5 / 10 by Bree Maybe

Cabernet is a game with a lot of heart. It puts so much work into establishing the eastern-European setting, the vampire lore and all of its wonderful characters, which all have impressive voice acting that makes the story more emotional throughout. While the game does certainly lack a little polish in spots, it's a highly engaging story that's more than worth sinking your teeth into.

Full Review

Quest Daily: 8 / 10 by Tom Greer

Cabernet delivers a compelling, blood-soaked adventure that’s worth sinking your teeth into.

Full Review

GameSpot: 9 / 10 by Jordan Ramée

A few glitches hold it back, but Cabernet is an incredible story-driven RPG that grounds its mythical threats in real-world politics.

Full Review

93%

STEAM Score

All Reviews: Very Positive (76)

STEAM

User Reviews Summary generated by AI

The main pros of the game

Engaging Story and Characters: Many players praised the narrative depth and emotional impact of the story, with well-developed characters and philosophical themes.
Art Style: The game's visuals received high praise for their beauty and atmospheric quality, enhancing the overall experience.
Voice Acting: The voice acting was highlighted as a strong point, contributing to character immersion and engagement.
Gameplay Mechanics: The ability to make meaningful choices that affect the narrative, including a morality system (humanity vs. nihilism), was well-received.
Unique Vampire Mechanics: Players enjoyed the vampiric powers and interactions, such as turning into a bat and hypnotizing townsfolk.
Nostalgic and Cultural References: The game incorporates elements of Eastern European folklore, which resonated well with players familiar with the culture.

The main cons of the game

Bugs and Glitches: A significant number of users reported encountering various bugs, including game-breaking issues that required reloading saves, soft locks, and visual glitches.
Limited Save System: The saving mechanism was criticized for being inflexible, allowing saves only in specific locations with a limited number of slots, which led to frustrations when players lost progress.
Clunky Controls: Some players found the controls frustrating, particularly when interacting with objects or navigating the environment, leading to accidental actions.
Inconsistent Dialogue and Choices: Users noted that dialogue options sometimes did not reflect the character's responses accurately, leading to confusion about the outcomes of their choices.
Pacing Issues: Some players felt that certain plotlines were rushed or lacked development, particularly towards the end of the game.

The features or elements that are missing from the game according to users

Quality of Life Improvements: Players requested features such as the ability to skip text quickly, save anywhere, and have a more accessible text log.
Enhanced Character Interaction: There were calls for more depth in character relationships, including additional romance options and consequences for actions taken within those relationships.
Better Quest Management: Users expressed a desire for clearer quest indicators and a more intuitive quest system to avoid getting locked out of content or missing objectives.
Improved Voice Acting Quality: While some voice acting was praised, others felt that certain performances lacked emotion or were inconsistent, suggesting a need for more polished voice work.

Summary

Overall, while "Cabernet" has been lauded for its artistic and narrative strengths, it suffers from technical issues and design choices that detract from the player experience. Many users expressed hope for future patches to address these concerns, indicating a strong desire to see the game's potential fully realized.

Summary generated on: March 17, 2025