Narrative RPG Cabernet gives morality systems a vampiric bite
A chill delight.
I've always found the concept of immortality to be horrific. How, as the years churn by, new memories and experiences drown the ones which lie at the foundations of your personality, eroding them until a new person inhabits your skin. You are not yourself anymore. Vampire mythology adds a physical stake to this curse - to be a vampire is to be a monster in body and appetite, but whether you become one in spirit is up to you. Do you try to preserve your humanity or indulge in the hedonism your new form makes so easy? Or become a creature trapped between the two? It’s these questions Cabernet, an upcoming narrative RPG, seeks to explore through its protagonist Liza - recently deceased.
While Cabernet may begin with Liza's funeral, she doesn’t truly comprehend her new vampiric nature until witnessing a fellow creature of the night transform into a bat. From here on, the outlook she takes on her undead existence is in your hands, with many of the dialogue choices and actions Liza can take raising either her humanity or nihilism metre. The differentiation between the two is clear: speaking honestly and treating people kindly increases her humanity as you try to preserve the person Liza once was, while revelling in her new powers and treating humans as mere playthings sees Liza embracing the darkest aspects of being a vampire and, in return, raises her nihilism.
The impact of Liza's choice - on both her and those around her - is clear even in the short demo. One vampire asks Liza whether her new status as a vampire has changed her view on the value of human life: is it more important, equal, or less than her own undead? Returning to this vampire later on, she explained the new understanding my answer gave her, no matter whether I had decided to be cruel or kind. I'm yet to discover if this decision has lasting implications, but one I do expect to have them comes when Liza hypnotises a human. Once again, she's given a choice: encourage the man to drink less, start stealing or, what Cabernet makes clear is the worst option, drink more.
There's a sinister undercurrent to this scene as it reveals Liza may not be the only casualty in the struggle between the remnants of her humanity and the hunger forced upon her. She now has the power to force her will - her humanity or newborn nihilism - upon others and watch as they live out the consequences. It's this ability that allows an extra layer of temptation to enter your decision making, because, no matter how kindhearted you want Liza to be, those vampire powers, that set of fangs, are always waiting to offer a bloodier solution. Through it, Cabernet’s morality system promises to not just be a way for you to weave Liza's story, but a record of the impact she leaves upon the world. After all, when life is endless, surely the consequences of our actions are everlasting.
This piece is part of Wishlisted, a week-long series on Eurogamer covering some of our favourite games from February 2024's Steam Next Fest. You can read all the other pieces from the series at our Wishlisted hub.