![]() ![]() Often, solving a puzzle requires just picking up one object in an area and using it on the only other object. The game asks you with combining a metal object and a rope to fashion a grappling hook on, like, three separate occasions. But, more often, the puzzles are straightforward to the point of being tedious. One, featuring a riddle and a nautical automaton, was particularly good. That said, story is one half of the point-and-click formula, and The Blind Prophet does have some pretty good set-piece puzzles. There just isn’t much there, and there’s even less for the supporting characters to do. Her only real trait is being a tattoo artist who’s afraid of needles. The Blind Prophet does a decent job at establishing Bart as a character, but is less successful in its portrait of Vic. An early typo finds the ageless Bartholomeus referring to himself as an “immoral being.” Others are less funny, with characters, at points, using sexist language and ableist slurs. Conversations are frequently clunky, ill-phrased and/or marred by typos, which may be the result of Ars Goetia ambitiously offering English, French and Chinese language options at launch. These thematic issues are compounded by a hit-or-miss approach to dialogue and story. ![]() But, the game is conflicted on whether Bart’s violence is salvific or sinful. Ars Goetia’s game is slightly more introspective, and briefly even sends Bart to confession. The Blind Prophet ’s apparent outlook on Bartholomeus reminded me of the credulous attitude The Boondock Saints adopted toward its central characters. As an Apostle, you aren’t quite an angel, but you are sent by God to bring violent law and order to Rotbork. This is in keeping with Bartholomeus’ core ideology - and, maybe, the game’s. Nearly every woman you meet in this game is an oppressed damsel-in-distress. But, the game constantly casts the player as savior, rescuing women from traumatic fates. ![]() If Ars Goetia is attempting to communicate the idea that systems of oppression are especially detrimental to women and other marginalized communities, then I agree. A local gang, which has been corrupted by the demon’s power, keeps a harem of women forced into prostitution in prison cells. Her would-be rapist frequented a brothel bar employing underage girls. At every turn, the game uses the oppression of women as a shorthand for demonic influence. Ultimately, I’m conflicted about the way the game depicts evil in action. Rotbork is, generally, a bleakly gorgeous place to visit, but there is no real sense of history undergirding the art. But, compelling as it is, this idea doesn’t get enough room to breathe. It’s an interesting idea - and could have led to a compelling exploration of the ways “economic anxiety” can lead to populist support for oppressive ideas. With their primary source of income gone, the town’s men are out of work and more susceptible to demonic influence. Instead, “Recession” is the name this fishing city gives to the mysterious disappearance of every fish from the surrounding waters. Rotbork went through a Recession 20 years before Bartholomeus arrived, but not a strictly monetary one. Someone is corrupting the people of Rotbork with demonic energy, and the city’s government and various institutions have been compromised.įrench developer Ars Goetia has some interesting ideas about how a city could fall under the sway of a demonic presence. With the perpetrators hand in hand, you set off on a quest for justice and quickly find that the issues in the city go higher up than one-off violent crimes. You are Bartholomeus, a heaven-sent immortal warrior, and as the game begins, you have just saved a young woman named Vic from sexual assault, slicing off her assailant’s hand in the process. ![]() The Blind Prophet ’s story, though, doesn’t reward that kind of scrutiny. In my early hours with the game, I found myself studying each new panel carefully, absorbing the lovingly detailed line art that comprises the central city of Rotbork. The Blind Prophet isn’t as ambitious as any of those games - each screen is presented as a static panel with extremely limited interactivity - but, for my money, it looks just as good. Comic book art has had a growing presence in games recently, with Void Bastards, Borderlands 3 and the upcoming Sable all borrowing heavily from the medium. With gorgeous graphic novel-inspired art that borrows from the work of Frank Miller and Mike Mignola, this adventure game invites screenshots as much as points and clicks. From the first, it’s clear why The Blind Prophet was a success on Kickstarter. ![]()
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