Cabernet Review – Monsters Are Hereditary

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In Cabernet, there’s a captivating layer of mystery waiting to be discovered. The central theme that monstrosity is genetic serves as a starting point for drawing comparisons between the protagonist’s vampirism and her father’s alcoholism. However, Cabernet doesn’t stop there, delving more profoundly into the recurring pattern of mankind’s cruelty towards each other, particularly in relation to the treatment of the lower class. It explores how societal issues often arise when the newly wealthy inherit the vices of the old. This complex narrative creates a gripping tale where every decision could shock you with unexpected intensity. Unfortunately, some technical glitches towards the end detract from the game’s otherwise impressive ending. Despite the developer, Party for Introverts, not addressing these issues in post-launch updates, the journey to Cabernet’s climactic hour is an exceptional work of interactive storytelling.

In this 2D role-playing game, Cabernet, you start in 19th century Eastern Europe, attending Liza’s funeral as her uncle. Your eulogy shapes Liza’s life and skills. Soon after, control switches to Liza, who wakes up in a dungeon, bewildered about how she got there. She strikes a deal with an unseen entity for freedom, only to find herself at a party filled with vampires. It turns out that Liza is now a vampire herself, complete with rules like the constant need to quench her thirst for blood and avoid sunlight. However, this transformation also offers significant freedoms, such as supernatural powers that let her access places she couldn’t before, commit acts others are punished for swiftly, and pursue passions and love that her social status would normally restrict.

In essence, Liza symbolizes the rising middle class during this particular timeframe, mirroring their experiences in reality. She struggles to connect with the ancient Countess who rules over the local vampires and lives lavishly, as well as the impoverished farmer girl yearning for musical education while laboring tirelessly in the fields to feed her family. However, Liza manages to glimpse into their contrasting lives and hardships, even though she can’t bridge the gap between the rich and poor entirely. Remarkably, she interacts with people from both social backgrounds, making her unique among the townsfolk as someone who can influence the lives of individuals in diverse spheres. This setup lends a touch of real-world societal issues to the fantastical narrative, imbuing even minor decisions with significant story implications.

In a chilling, almost ironic fashion, Liza finds herself in a new role as a vampire, bound to cater to the capricious desires of an affluent, everlasting aristocracy while subsisting on the blood of commoners. Despite her attempts to resist this metaphor by purchasing bottled blood during her nights, she’s left with few resources for self-improvement through literature and fashion. To advance in any way, Liza must eventually feed on people, but Cabernet ensures that the wealthiest characters remain perpetually out of reach for her fangs.

In the narrative of Cabernet, Liza’s moral compass is depicted as a delicate balance between her human qualities and her nihilistic tendencies. This unique moral system avoids categorizing choices as purely good or evil. While decisions that foster Liza’s humanity are usually considered moral, they aren’t always entirely virtuous. Conversely, choices that lean towards nihilism may not be wholly malevolent. For instance, feeding on rabbit blood to save money or lying to spare feelings can be seen as nihilistic actions, while advocating peace and trust in authority can be a humane choice.

The game strategically guides Liza towards being more human or more nihilistic, as this affects her interactions with certain characters and opens up unique dialogue options that aid in handling challenging conversations. However, Liza’s expertise in specific areas also influences the choices she can make, and I chose to focus on Liza’s proficiency in art and science rather than history or literature. This allows for a wide range of approaches when tackling problems.

In most cases, problem-solving is a significant part of Cabernet’s gameplay. Liza, with her tight time constraints at night for completing tasks that vary in duration, must strategically organize and plan her schedule. While it might seem feasible to fulfill every task for everyone and achieve all optional objectives, my playthrough revealed the necessity of being more selective in what I tackled. The order in which I assisted individuals also mattered, as it affected the outcomes. Managing Liza’s role as an assistant to the town doctor, nurturing relationships with numerous key characters, and addressing her blood-drinking need adds complexity. Though you can purchase bottled blood, financial constraints due to other expenses quickly arise.

In the folklore of Cabernet, vampires are bound by a rule that they must enchant their victims before feeding, or risk exposing their existence. Similarly, Liza’s enchantment power only works on those who trust her. This necessitates building relationships with potential victims and making difficult decisions about whom to feed upon when faced with dire circumstances. Although the victims do not consciously recall what Liza does to them due to the enchantment, they may subtly feel as if they’ve been wronged, which could negatively influence their perception of Liza and future interactions. To heighten both excitement and fear, you can’t see the physical condition of your victim during feeding; instead, you monitor the amount of blood taken and observe how much Liza seems to be enjoying the experience as color returns to her face. When you believe Liza has had enough, you can order her to stop. Taking insufficient blood may force Liza to feed again soon, while taking too much could potentially lead to the death of the individual involved.

In the game Cabernet, there are parallels drawn between vampirism and alcoholism, yet the gameplay mechanics fall short in their execution. The game alerts you of potential risks like turning into a mindless bloodsucker or harming someone, but I never encountered these issues. However, managing Liza’s blood levels feels more like monitoring a hunger gauge in a survival game rather than dealing with an addiction. This discrepancy doesn’t significantly affect the gameplay, but it does create a slight disconnect as characters frequently warn Liza about her dependency on blood affecting her relationships and well-being, yet these consequences never materialize. There is an intriguing aspect where overfilling the blood meter makes it deplete faster, suggesting that frequent feeding could make self-control difficult, but this is easy to avoid by limiting feeding sessions. I found that Liza could easily survive with only one or two feedings per week, which had minimal impact on her relationships.

In essence, what truly shines in this story isn’t the vampire aspect, but rather the human elements. The game, Cabernet, is built on making choices, yet its power lies in the tale woven around those choices. Each scene is vividly portrayed with a dark intensity reminiscent of art from that era, and Jim Fowler, known for his work on Bloodborne and LittleBigPlanet, adds a captivating gothic atmosphere to the overall experience. Moreover, almost every significant character leaves an indelible mark on the narrative, largely due to exceptional voice acting. The joy of following the individual journeys of Liza’s friends, foes, and acquaintances is surpassed only by the thrill of discovering how their stories intertwine, contributing to the broader narrative and Liza’s role in the world.

In this scenario, Liza is initially assigned a task by the Countess: her objective is to win over either the neighboring couple, either the husband or wife, gain entry into their home, secretly explore and pilfer some crucial papers, and subsequently deliver these documents to an intermediary. It’s your call whether Liza chooses to comply with the Countess’ instructions and, if she does, you must decide on a strategy for achieving this goal. The target couple is experiencing significant marital and financial difficulties; the wife is a gifted musician who yearns for creative freedom but is bound by her husband’s insistence that she focuses on homemaking while he grapples with his artistic endeavors at the bottom of a vodka bottle.

The question now arises: should Liza aim to befriend one or both members of this troubled couple? Additionally, when would she make her move and infiltrate their home after receiving an invitation? Once inside, would Liza surreptitiously search for valuables among her new friends, disregarding the Countess’ orders and rummaging through documents upon discovery? Or would Liza abide by the Countess’ instructions and pass along the stolen papers to the handler, perhaps even fabricating a story if she never located them?

This mission has numerous possible conclusions, shaping the perspectives of at least four significant characters regarding Liza for the rest of the storyline. Tales like this are found throughout Cabernet, where you can opt to engage or disregard them as time progresses. For instance, you might promise a girl that you’ll save her brother, even though he’s miles away and the countdown showing when he will bleed out is running short. Or perhaps a scorned lover tasks you with finding and killing her ex-partner, leaving you to decide whether to fulfill their dark wish. Alternatively, you might help two unhappy individuals fall in love or drive them apart so you can pursue one of them romantically. Each choice I made had an impact, and despite the unforeseen twists and turns, the game’s outcomes never seemed unfair or unwarranted. After the credits rolled, I felt greatly contented but also yearned to replay the game to explore how different decisions might alter the ultimate result.

During my playthrough of Cabernet, I encountered several late-game bugs that caused inconvenience. Liza was unable to send letters or complete the final stages of two side quests due to these glitches. Another bug even locked me during the finale, preventing me from resolving a conflict using Liza’s persuasive skills developed throughout the game. After numerous attempts and failing to progress as planned, I had no choice but to restart and force Liza out of the predicament. It wasn’t ideal, but it allowed me to continue playing and finish the game. Unfortunately, these bugs spoiled the climactic moments of an RPG that I had greatly enjoyed up until then. Here’s hoping that post-launch patches address these issues and improve my overall experience.

Ignoring any problems, Cabernet is an outstanding role-playing game. The idea of likening vampirism to addiction isn’t novel, but setting this narrative within the actual historical context of the middle class in the 19th century gives Liza’s story a thought-provoking depth as she interacts with friends, foes, and romantic interests throughout her journey to accept her new life. The repercussions of Liza’s choices are impactful, and witnessing each character’s development until their conclusions provides a satisfying narrative experience. This is the caliber of storytelling that vampire tales should aim for.

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2025-02-21 22:40