The Blind Prophet is a dark point-and-click demon-slaying adventure game from the studio of Ars Goetia. I got a review copy of the game on Steam and played it on PC. Although I was a bit skeptical, the game hooked me on immediately. While point-and-click games are not something that everyone would enjoy, The Blind Prophet has a good and solid story right from the start, paired with the beautiful visuals and artwork that will definitely intrigue and entice you.
Besides the intriguing story, which the game excellently tells, I have to admit that the best thing about the game is its artwork. You can immediately see that it is highly inspired by graphic novels, where every cut scene in the game is a beautifully made artwork that tells the story in comic style segments. It kind of takes me back to the old days when I played the first Max Payne game featuring such a style of comic visuals. Top that off with the beautiful artwork that brings out the true gravity of the scene that the game is trying to show. It really sets up the dark and somber mood pretty early in the game.
When you start The Blind Prophet, the game will waste no time in getting you to terms. You immediately sense that you are nor ordinary character, but someone with special abilities sent on a mission. You play as Bartholomeus, who is an apostle of God sent to the city of Rotbork to slay and root out the evil occupying the city. The city of Rotbork is a dark and mysterious place that is taken over by Demons. Your job as the apostle is to locate, kill and find out more about them to bring normalcy back in the city.
The first scene you engage in requires you to save a young girl from being sexually assaulted by a man. While you have no mechanics to fight the man in order to save the woman, the beautiful artwork doesn’t shy away from showing you the outcome of this small battle, where the man clearly stands no chance against you. The encounter also sets up the story for the rest of the game, where you find out how the Demons have corrupted the innocent people of the city, increasing such criminal acts throughout the city.
The woman you save is called Vic, who is the first friendly face in the city that you meet. She also helps you get up to speed with the city, the recent events that have unfolded in the city, and where you need to go to find out more clues. Slowly but surely, you will find out more and more about the city, the real truth behind the events and how you need to rid the city from this menace. Bartholomeus may have been a successful apostle to date, but there are many greater challenges that he still has to face.
As far as the gameplay is concerned, it is a simple point-and-click game requiring you to interact with objects, pick them up, talk to them, and even observe them. Every interactable item or human is highlighted when you move the cursor towards them or hover it over an item. The interaction buttons are pretty simple and obvious, where you can observe the person or item, before engaging them in a conversation or deciding to pick up the item. You can also move from one place to the other, similar to other point-and-click games, where you can click to go further or to another location. The artwork does a good job of explaining where you need to go, or where a street or alleyway is leading the way.
The only challenging thing in the game, or the part where you actually feel like you are in control, is by figuring out where you need to head next, how to get inside doors and unlock new areas. The game makes things pretty easy by giving you subtle hints but doesn’t give you too much to spoil the experience. You have to figure out new ways on your own, by locating keys, finding new clues that lead you to other items that you can then pick up and use for a certain puzzle or new path unlock.
The various characters you meet are also a big part of the game, where any interaction will provide you a piece of new information. This can either be information about your current objective or if you are interested in more details about the past or recent events of the city. Other characters that you converse with also include the baddies, which in the game are usually the poor souls that are taken over by Demons inside them. Such characters are usually identifiable by their red glowing eyes, which our protagonist is really good at making out almost instantly.
All said and done, the game does come with a few minor issues. Fortunately, the issues are nothing major and can be disregarded which is what I did. The first thing that I noticed was that there were a few spelling errors in the dialogue, often indicating a typo. Another issue that I had was that I was unable to interact with certain items after a cut scene. This often had me stuck in a place, guessing if I am in the right place or not. The issue, however, solved itself when I moved to a different location and returned back. The issues do make things awkward but I’m sure it can be fixed quickly with a patch update.
Final Verdict
The Blind Prophet comes as another title in the point-and-click genre with many strong points and storytelling features. However, the thing that takes the cake here is the stunning artwork in every single scene of the game. The story is not overburdening and will want you to find out what is next. The puzzles add another layer of intractability in the game, persuading you to find out clues and unfold the story for yourself. Another good feature in the game is its music and the ambient sounds that are implemented in each scene or background. The game might not be for everyone, especially if point-and-click type games are not your thing. But the visuals and the artwork are among some features that demand appreciation, and I will highly recommend you to give this game a shot.
Final Score: 8.5/10
