Night Book

Release Date: July 27, 2021

Adventure, thriller, indie games, full motion video, singleplayer

5.7

OpenCritic

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An occult thriller adventure game made with the use of FMV technique. The main heroine of Night Book is Loralyn, who accidentally summons a demon to her house. How her fate will turn out depends on decisions we make.

Videos and Screens

[1:52] Night Book trailer #1

5.7

OpenCritic Rating

Game is Recomended by 12% of Critics. There are 18 Critic Reviews.

OpenCritic

Explosion Network: 5 / 10 by Dylan Blight

It'll take you less than an hour to finish one playthrough of Night Book, and the premise is engaging enough that I wanted to see where it was going, however, this isn't a scary game, something anyone wanting to play Night Book will be disappointed to hear.

Full Review

FingerGuns: 7 / 10 by Sean Davies

An interesting product from an unusual time in video game history, Night Book displays how creative FMV game makers have had to be over the past 18 months. Using suspenseful music, a fun concept and some pretty ingenious if well trodden budget horror movie tricks, Night Book manages to be a good time if not a scary or shocking one. If you’re looking for a way to spend and evening alone or with a partner/friends, you could do much worse than this.

Full Review

PC Invasion: 5.5 / 10 by Blake Grundman

As much as I wanted Night Book to be good, not even FMV can salvage this otherwise lackluster experience. Despite solid acting performances from the entire cast, it isn't enough to elevate this paint-by-numbers slog to the next level. It's probably best to leave this tome on the shelf where it belongs.

Full Review

Night Book is an adventure game set in occult thriller convention and using FMV technology. Game is a result of cooperation between Good Gate Media studio and Wales Interactive company, which has in its portfolio such titles as The Complex, Five Dates or Maid of Sker.

Plot

The protagonist of Night Book is Loralyn. In the absence of her husband, who is far from home, a pregnant woman takes care of her mentally ill father and also works remotely as a translator. One night, unaware of the consequences of her actions, she reads an ancient book and summons a demon to her home. From now on her life turns into a real nightmare, and how her fate will turn out depends on the decisions we make.

Mechanics

In terms of mechanics Night Book doesn't differ too much from what we're used to from other productions made with FMV technology. During the game, we follow the conversations carried out by the heroine with the use of webcam, gradually getting to know both Loralyn herself and the relationships connecting her with particular people. As befits a thriller, as the game progresses we witness more and more terrifying events involving the protagonist. From time to time we have to make choices that affect the further course of the story and determine the protagonist's fate, which leads to one of several endings.

Technical aspects

Apart from the interface, Night Book has no visuals; the game consists only of scenes with the participation of real actors. Leading the cast are Julie Dray (Avenue 5) and Colin Salmon (Resident Evil, Mortal Engines). It is worth noting that the entire project was shot remotely, during a lockdown.