Cabernet Review - Monsters Are Hereditary
There’s so much delightful intrigue to uncover with Cabernet‘s core message of monsters being hereditary, a concept that initially seems solely meant to draw parallels between the protagonist’s vampirism and her father’s alcoholism. But Cabernet dares to go deeper with its message, delving into the cyclical nature of humanity’s cruelty to each other, especially regarding the treatment of the lower class, and how society’s many ills are often the result of the new rich inheriting the evils of the old. It all makes for a deeply compelling consequence-driven story where every choice carries the potential to surprise you with terrifying force. Some late-game glitches mar the game’s fantastic conclusion, but even if developer Party for Introverts doesn’t address those issues in post-launch updates, the journey to get to Cabernet’s final hour is an incredible piece of interactive fiction.
A 2D narrative-driven RPG set in 19th century Eastern Europe, Cabernet begins with protagonist Liza’s funeral, as you briefly roleplay as her uncle and give a eulogy that determines the direction of Liza’s life and which skills she specializes in. Control then shifts to Liza as you awake in a dungeon. Unsure of how she got there, Liza makes a pact with an unseen and silent presence for freedom, before finding herself at a party filled with vampires. It quickly becomes apparent that she is now a vampire as well, and this new life comes with a ton of rules, like needing to satiate a constant thirst for blood and staying away from sunlight. But there are immense freedoms associated with the transformation as well, as Liza is empowered with supernatural abilities that allow her to go to places she never could before, get away with acts others are often swiftly arrested for, and pursue passions and love most mortals of her station cannot yet readily do.
In this sense, Liza is a stand-in for the middle class, which was emerging during this period in real-life history. Liza cannot relate to the centuries-old Countess who commands all the vampires in the region and lives in a mansion filled with wealth, nor can she completely empathize with the poor farmer girl who dreams of learning music and bettering herself but must toil away in the fields for hours so her family can eat. But Liza can take small steps into both of their worlds to see their respective trials and tribulations, and although she cannot fundamentally change the relationship between the poor and rich, she is one of the few in town who can affect the lives of people in both social spheres. This setup grounds the otherwise supernatural fantasy in real-world politics, implementing considerations into the story that give even the simplest of choices substantial narrative weight.
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