One of the more interesting things to see arise out of so many indie games coming to systems is small-scale games with a cultural hook to them. Unlikely to have ever found a publisher in the days where physical media reigned supreme, due to a lack of general familiarity, titles that lean on folklore or legends from less mainstream cultures can be fascinating, but there’s no doubt that their appeal can be quite narrow. Vasilisa and Baba Yaga is one such game, featuring a very distinctive art style and an unfamiliar story, but rather than just have people plod through walls of text, it also then makes a commendable attempt to include a variety of gameplay moments along the way as well.

You’ll play as a young woman, armed only with a special doll her mother gave her to help protect her from the many threats she’ll encounter along her journey. Venturing into the land of the dead in order to obtain the power of fire, her perseverance and strength will be tested by a number of challenges along the way. For the most part you’ll play through these battles and encounters, which admittedly are a little on the clunky side, but I’ll credit the team behind it for making an effort to keep the player engaged. 

Of course, there are some other issues here, namely the generally slow pacing, and still then the relatively short total runtime. The upside is that it isn’t a story you’ve seen or heard a billion times before, playing out in roughly the same ways you’ve already seen. Granted, there isn’t a ton of complexity to be had, given the short-ish journey, but some effort was at least put in to give the game a very unique woodcut style look, and relaying the story in its native tongue with some real passion (you’ll be able to read along with the subtitles). This is absolutely a niche sort of experience, but among its other generally understated peers I’d say it’s better than most, and at least shows signs of earnest effort on the part of the developers.