Cabernet thrusts you into vampire politics — and is better for it
Picture this: you’re a 19th-century lady of science, a doctor – one of the first female doctors in the world, who has sadly passed away due to unforeseen circumstances. Unbeknownst to you, your untimely demise is quickly shoved to one side, and you wake up locked away in a dungeon, with an unquenchable thirst for blood. If that’s got you intrigued, then you’ll probably want to know a little more about Cabernet – a 2D RPG game full of vampires and difficult choices.
Players take on the role of Liza who, after waking up from her deathly sleep, is thrust into the world of vampires with nothing to go on but a prayer. During my time with the preview of this game, I’m first introduced to Liza through the dialogue with her family during her funeral. This scene introduces Liza to the player, but also works as a great introduction to the choice and consequences that make up the heart of Cabernet. Players are able to pick and choose options that reflect Liza’s background, which then influences her stats. For example, if you say that Liza was fond of writing, it will increase her Literature and Writing stats, which will go on to unlock dialogue choices later on. I decided to give Liza a varied background, which gave me around 10 points in Literature and Writing and 5 in Music and Arts. I had a fantastic 0 in Science and Logic (terrible for a doctor, really) and another 0 in History and Politics.
Regardless of where you put your points, each will be helpful in guiding Liza throughout her new life. After waking up, Liza eventually manages to escape after speaking to a mysterious, grunting figure from behind her cell door. Players are able to point and click on objects to examine them, and it’s through this gameplay feature that Liza can quickly glean a few things as she ascends upwards to freedom. Depending on Liza’s stats, she can unearth even more information about her surroundings and the people she meets, or she can be absolutely clueless. I was the latter, which made Liza’s fish-out-of-water entrance to a beautiful ballroom packed full of glamorous guests even better. Considering she’s in a dirty nightgown, it’s far from the best first impression.
What I quickly noticed was the lack of utter surprise from the majority of the guests at Liza’s bedraggled appearance. Some did, of course, wonder why I was hoofing it around this lovely ball with nothing but nightclothes on, but the overall subdued reaction already set my teeth on edge. A few moments later (after inspecting each NPC I could) Liza is introduced to the Countess Orlova, the host of the ball and a domineering figure that could no doubt cause others to throw themselves off balconies if she dared look at them wrong. With that thought in mind, I keep any wise-cracking to a minimum and do what I’m told by heading out to the balcony to discover the truth: Liza is a vampire. I won’t spoil the why or the who, but it’s a conclusion that Liza herself can come to depending on the choices you’ve made previously. All in all, it’s up to you, the player, to take charge on how Liza reacts to this new information and how, later on, she can talk to others in regards to her new self.
Gusar, Countess Orlova’s man, also introduces Liza to her new supernatural abilities. This includes turning into a bat and having a mighty good time flying around, as well as hypnotizing humans and enforcing your will onto them. Morally, this sounds pretty awful, and it is, but Liza and the player can choose to use it for good. For example, I used Liza’s powers to subdue Trofim, a sad and lonely man who often turned to alcohol for comfort, from drinking as much. Doing so helped increase Liza’s Humanity, a stat in Liza’s morality system with its counter-opposite being Nihilism. As I addressed in my interview with Party for Introverts, this system may seem a little black-and-white on paper, but having points in one doesn’t necessarily take it from the other.
Yet despite the introduction to Liza’s powers, it’s the community of vampires (and the odd human) in Cabernet that Liza finds herself surrounded by which interested me the most. Some are melancholic from the sheer stress of living for so long, others desire nothing more but to grow powerful and see humanity as mere cattle, and then there are vampires who just wish to abide by the rules (unspoken and spoken) of vampire society and live in peace. Liza rubs shoulders with all of them, and it is so very tantalizing to behold.
My time with Cabernet was only short, but what I got to see has left me thirsty for more — just like your average vampire.
Cabernet will arrive for PC via Steam in early 2024.
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