Party for Introvert’s demo for their vampiric visual novel Cabernet will be available to play during Steam’s Visual Novel Fest. Fans can get a taste of blood during the limited-time demo from August 7th through August 14th. Cabernet follows a newly turned vampire, Liza, as she comes to terms with her new fledging status. However, eternal life is not as easy as it seems. Liza must fight to keep her humanity or give in to the chaos and become consumed by her newfound horrors.
Set in 1800’s Eastern Europe, Liza Morozova had just become a Doctor’s apprentice after being one of the first women to graduate from medical school. But her promising future is abruptly cut short after falling ill and dying shortly after. Liza soon wakes up in a strange basement, feeling uneasy as she tries to recollect how she got there. Once she persuades an unknown person to open her door and escape into the mansion, Liza is only thrown into a new unknown: the vampiric aristocratic society.
Credit: Party for IntrovertsThrough the basement and first foray into society, players are able to experience a small taste of what’s to come. Every interaction – whether conversational or physical action – will have some sort of impact later on. During Liza’s eulogy, players are able to build Liza’s character stats that will impact how she interacts with the vampire society. As you level up, you can also go back to improve specific traits to assist you in special dialogue choices that can improve your relationships with other members of society.
Another choice that will affect your interactions is the karma system. Throughout the game, you get prompts with either Humanity or Nihilism choices. These choices can come back to bite you later on. Humanity choices will show other members your empathetic nature and your bond to your personal humanity. Meanwhile, Nihilism feeds into the destructive nature of your vampirism.
The demo for Cabernet is an exciting first look into the stunning world, politics, and ethics of Liza’s new world. Not only are the visuals stunning but the dialogue of Liza processing through this dark and tempting world. Using your vampire skills to turn into a bat or pull humans (and hinted at possibly other vampires) under your trance is exciting – but I can’t wait to see how the rest of Liza’s story will unfold.
We get a glimpse of just how much Liza wants to cling to her humanity. The kindness she shows towards interacting with humans and talking about them with other society members is a little heartbreaking when thinking about how she will feed to sustain herself in the afterlife. Even in just the first chapter, Liza feels like a fully grounded character – graceful, curious, and empathetic. From her eulogy to the remarks said by other vampires about her family’s history with addiction, seeing just how consumption – and Liza’s willingness or fight against it – in later chapters will change her outcome has me counting down the days until its full release.
Check out Cabernet during Steam’s Visual Novel Fest here.
