The Blind Prophet | PC Review

Demon hunting is usually a profession left for the first-person shooters or hack-and-slashers. Who didn’t like a nice game of Doom, or went mental on those pesky demons in Diablo or Silent Hill? But the point and click adventure game genre is surprisingly light on this subject. Granted, Monkey Island’s LeChuck is all kinds of evil, and recently Unavowed and Mage’s Initiation dabbled with demons, but it’s not as common as you would think. Developer Ars Goetia decided to change that, and they came out with The Blind Prophet (published by Ars Goetia, Plug In Digital and Maple Whispering Limited), in which you play a very specific hunter of demons.

Apostle Of Death

As you probably have guessed, you play the titular blind prophet, an apostle named Bartholomeus. When things spiral out of control with demonic influences, God sends you down to earth to set things straight and kill the demons. This has been your on-and-off job for 2000 years, and you have been very successful at it. This time you’re sent to the corrupted town of Rotbork.

This (fictional) city was once a very successful fishing community, but has fallen on hard times due to a spiraling series of events. Now demons are preying on its citizens, and Bartholomeus has to clean the city up by taking out the big demon bosses. The shit hits the fan from the moment you land on Rotbork’s harbour, and have to save a young lady from being assaulted by a huge guy with glowing eyes. And it gets a lot darker from there. An awful lot darker.

Witcher Meets Supernatural

The Blind Prophet is a traditional point and click adventure game that I can best describe as Witcher meets Supernatural in comic book form. Bartholomeus looks a lot like Geralt of Rivia with his white hair and grumpy demeanor, and even carries a huge sword that he is not afraid to use. The art style is very European; every scene is handpainted and looks really beautiful. They flow effortlessly into the cutscenes, that are like a motion comic book. They are short and effective, getting you back into the game as soon as possible. Combined with a cool, thumping techno soundtrack, this adds a lot to the atmosphere. There is some great music in this game!

Demon Sight

The controls are very straightforward and traditional. By clicking on a hot spot, you can either Observe, Take, Use or Discuss. You can also do this with inventory items and combine them. It’s really smooth, keeping the focus on the story by making the gameplay as easy as possible. You can’t really walk around in the scenes, though, making the game look a bit static. I didn’t mind it that much, as movement was done by clicking on exits and that was easy enough. Ars Goetia implemented a nice little feature that is Bartholomeus’ demon sight, which allows him to see important and often demonic things. This basically is used to see the hot spots in a scene and it works really well, because it doesn’t take you out of the game. You can use it as much as you want and you need it a lot in the game. 

Arcade Sequences

There are some arcade sequences in the puzzles (like lockpicking or fixing electricity circuits), and also one demon fight that is more relying on reflexes than brains. Usually I’m not a big fan of arcade elements in my adventure games, but here it’s not overdone and they’re not too challenging. Most of these puzzles I could solve fairly quickly, and the puzzles in general were nicely challenging. 

Dark Story

The story is enthralling and very dark, and dives deep into the history of Rotbork, as this is tied to the demonic influence. It’s also very much tied thematically to a lot of issues the real world is facing today, which gives it an extra edge. There are a few curveballs along the way, and even though Bartholomeus is powerful, he has to give it all he’s got to win the battle against the arch-demons. It’s a lot of fun, and I thought it actually ended too soon. I wanted to hunt more demons!

Bugs That Weren’t Slayed

I played The Blind Prophet right after it came out, and while my overall opinion is very positive, there were still a few bugs in the game. Mostly this was text or dialogue that wasn’t translated or didn’t pop up (the original language is French), and a few spelling and grammar errors. Nothing game breaking or anything, as I could finish the game without problems. I expect these to be resolved very quickly. If you’re a fan of point and click adventure games, of demon hunting, and/or of a very dark and interesting story, then The Blind Prophet is definitely a game you should pick up. The Great Evil is waiting for you to vanquish it!

This review is based on a Windows PC (Steam) copy of The Blind Prophet provided by Community Villa for coverage purposes. It is also available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Mac.