The idea of being a vampire sounds tantalizing. After all, becoming a vampire grants you immortality. However, when you look at it beyond the surface level, the problems of being a vampire become apparent. Never being able to see the sun again, being forced to a blood only diet, and of course, outliving your human loved ones. Cabernet is an upcoming narrative RPG that focuses on those issues.
You play as Liza, a young vampire who must quickly adapt to this new lifestyle, and how she does is up to you. Will she be able to hold onto her humanity, or will she slowly lose herself to hunger and corruption?
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A Tale of Immortality and Morality
Every action has its consequences. In this game, you have Humanity and Nihilism. Being considerate of those around you will cause Liza’s Humanity to go up. However, acting selfish and stealing money will make her Nihilism increase. Now, you may always want to take the easy, selfless path. However, sometimes that isn’t an option.
You see, Liza needs to eat to survive the night. To do this, she has to either feed on a human or a small creature in the woods. To feed on a human, you must befriend them and then enchant them with Liza’s newfound power of hypnosis.
From there, you can choose to drain them completely of their blood or just suck enough of it to quench your appetite. Doing the former will guarantee your survival for the night but will cause Liza’s Nihilism points to go up. The latter, spares your target. It’s a noble decision, but eventually, you’ll need to go out again and find another meal. If it’s late enough into the night, you’ll need to go into the woods to feed on rabbits, which will also cause your Nihilism to go up.
There is a third option, for those looking to try and keep their hands clean. You can purchase vials of blood from the shop, but they don’t come cheap, and money is a valuable resource that could be used elsewhere.
I really love the decision-making in Cabernet. It shows that you can’t always make the “good” decision, especially when it’s pertaining to your survival. Just like in real life, sometimes, you’ll need to make tough decisions. Although the story is fictional, its writing and choices are grounded in reality.
Forging Relationships and Learning Skills
Thankfully, Liza isn’t alone. There are other vampires, as well as humans, that she can find comfort in, platonically or romantically. Who you befriend could open up new possibilities, like quests. But be careful, not everyone in this world has your best interests at heart, and sometimes, you might not either.
As you progress through the game, you’ll gain experience. Upon a level up, you can put points into one of four skills: Music & Art, Literature & Writing, Science & Logic, and History & Politics. By having enough points in a certain skill, you can unlock choices that’ll allow you to learn more about the world around you or open up new paths for yourself that will impact the game’s story. It pays off to be smart.
Thoughts So Far on Cabernet
So far, I’m really liking what I’m seeing from Cabernet. It promises a thrilling adventure full of mystery, romance, and me spending minutes anxiously sitting in my computer chair trying to decide what choice to make. Cabernet is set to release sometime in 2024 on PC. If you would like to keep up with the development of the game, you can follow the developer, Party for Introverts, on Twitter and TikTok!
