[Game Review] First Look Preview: Cabernet (2024)

True within the video gaming world as it is within the film industry, horror is a genre that frequently houses some of the most uniquely interesting and successful projects being produced by smaller studios and creators. Following the release of its first official demo as part of Steam’s Visual Novel Fest, indie developer Party For Introverts’ upcoming vampiric narrative RPG Cabernet seems to be no exception.

Thrust directly into the player character’s funeral, Cabernet oozes with atmosphere as the initial chapter demo opens up into a dark and mysterious 19th century world. The wide-eyed, china doll-inspired art style, complete with the shadows, cobwebs, and orchestral score befitting the game’s tone, instantly transports you to the game’s gothic setting as protagonist Liza grapples with her newfound eternal life and bloodthirsty peers.

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The introduction of many of the gameplay mechanics is seamlessly integrated into this opening narrative, with no stark, immersion breaking tutorials present here. With the player choosing their starting statistics based on the content of Liza’s funeral eulogy, we are swiftly given the insight we need into her human backstory to empathise with her, while simultaneously directing her trajectory going forward, as some dialogue options and choices are locked behind certain skill levels. It is then up to Liza and the player to learn to navigate her newfound vampire fledgling status together. An initially clueless and eerie awakening in, and later escape from, a darkened basement leads you through all the basic controls, which should be easily accessible for even the most unseasoned gamer. Liza’s subsequent induction to vampire society provides a deceptively simple crash course in Cabernet’s basic roleplaying and visual novel mechanics, introducing clothing-based ability buffs, morality, consequential choices, and more at a languid, exploratory pace, before finally giving access to special vampire powers in the same lesson through which Liza herself learns to use them.

The storyline that accompanies these discreet tutorials similarly never fails to be engaging. Conversations with the visually distinct cast of characters feel full and vibrant, weaving hints of intentions, backstory, and foreshadowing through comparatively minimal dialogue. While largely absent within the demo, Party For Introverts have already confirmed their intention for the game to be fully voice acted at launch, and it should be a treat to hear the tone of these interactions in full to accompany the already excellent voice performance provided for Liza. 

These vampires are as sophisticated as they are violent, displaying in turn a taste for high society and knowledge, as well as ruthless punishment of their own should they step out of their leader, the Countess’, firmly drawn line.

Liza’s first foray into this complex world teases the moral quandaries the player may encounter down the line, and the relationships her decisions may forge, including one of two potential romances. The outcome of your discussions with Alisa, a possible female vampire paramour, directly shape the demo’s climax and ending, with consequences presumably reaching even further in the full game. It serves as a shocking denouement to a fantastically intriguing opening, and left me both surprised and disappointed when, upon trying to follow the story onward, I was instead met with the demo’s credits. This is the tangible power of Cabernet’s immersion, and should development continue until release at the same high standard, Party For Introverts could easily have a new indie horror gem on their hands. If you like vampire fiction, then you’ll definitely want to sample Cabernet’s delectable vintage.

Cabernet is set to release in full on PC in early 2024.

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