Greetings, kolduns!
It’s been quite some time since our last message, and we kind of hope you’ve missed us. We know many of you are eager for news about Black Book, so we’ve decided to share a behind-the-scenes update — just a glimpse into what's happening at the studio, even if it’s only the initial stage.
We’re currently working on turning the Black Book artbook into a physical edition, in collaboration with EKSMO publishing house. The book will most likely be available this fall and, at first, will be published in Russian only.
We’ve rallied our fiendish powers and finally begun the preproduction phase for the continuation of our demonological tale. For now, we can’t reveal much — only a few ideas and some earlier concepts. We’d love to hear your thoughts and comments, as they’ll help us determine whether we're heading in the right direction.
But before we dive into new ideas, let us revisit the long-touched but forgotten DLC about Old Egor. We had made some progress on this DLC in the past, and we’ll be using illustrations from those early developments to help convey our current vision.
Old Egor meets a leshy in winter. Pre-production concept art from the Old Egor DLC
The continuation of the story begins in the snowy expanses of the late 19th-century Russian Empire.
Why winter? The first game turned out to be almost encyclopedic — covering a vast array of mythological evil spirits. Few remain untouched, and among those worth exploring are the demons of Christmastide. Familiar spirits will also return, though in new and unexpected forms.
Besides, snow-covered forests and fields, along with the winter clothing of the late 19th century, are simply stunning.
Whether the entire game will take place in winter, or whether we’ll revisit the familiar summer landscapes from the first part, remains to be seen.
Snowstorm in Cherdyn County. Pre-production concept art from the Old Egor DLC
There’s still much to figure out, but we’re considering a shift from the traditional card-based combat to RPG or even JRPG-style mechanics. This direction could allow us to explore more characters and, who knows — maybe even assemble a team of colorful heroes?
We’re curious to know how attached you, our players, are to the current combat system. We’re open to experimenting with unexpected, unconventional, and — God willing — truly unique ideas for the gameplay’s combat component.
Old Egor summons evil spirits — in the style of Magic: The Gathering and Etherlords. Pre-production concept art from the Old Egor DLC
We want to evolve the dialogue system to make it feel more dynamic, while preserving its core mechanics. While the first game played like a visual novel in parts, the new system will build on that with livelier conversations: characters will be able to interrupt one another, and the player will hear background lines and minor exclamations from characters sharing the scene.
This will make dialogue feel more natural, more realistic — and more compact: no need to wait for every sigh or muttered comment to finish before a new line can begin.
The exploration mechanics also deserve an upgrade. We know that many players felt the exploration segments with Vasilisa were a bit rough — and we agree. They’re getting a level-up.
Traveling on the map, too, will be made more engaging. In the first game, the map offered little real choice — a clear shortcoming. In the new version, we aim to make the travel system more interesting and thoughtful, while still letting you explore every nook and cranny of the world.
Old Egor, ten years before the events of Black Book. Pre-production concept art from the Old Egor DLC
Old Egor DLC
We still feel a strong connection to this story and would love to return to it. That said, we do not plan to make his story a Black Book DLC. Perhaps this addition could be released as a DLC for the sequel — or maybe as a short standalone game. What do you think? We’d love to hear your thoughts.
Thank you for reading — we look forward to your feedback.
Stay tuned for more news: a small surprise is coming soon for owners of the Black Book Supporter Pack.
Thank you for supporting our studio!
— Vladimir Beletsky, Game Designer