Black Sect
| Developer: N/A | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Lankhor | Sound: |
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| Year: 1994 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Adventure | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
7/10 | |
Originally, a text-based adventure game with illustrations, released on Amstrad (La Secte Noire, 1990), adapted for Atari ST and PC three years later, and then on Amiga.
The story takes place in a small, remote village with a somewhat troubled past (the village of Issegeac in the Black Périgord, relocated to Yorkshire for English-speaking players). Centuries ago, an exorcist (the great Homorius) was called to end disturbing phenomena linked to witchcraft. Before leaving, he entrusted a mysterious grimoire to the village elder, and peace returned…
The grimoire was passed down through generations until one day, its guardian, your grandfather, was found dead. Deprived of their precious talisman, the villagers now feel threatened by a mysterious secret society. You alone can help them…
This traditional adventure game is part of the series of interactive investigations games developed by the French company Lankhor (Mortville Manor and Maupiti Island). It shares the same features: beautiful graphics but poor animation, a slow pace, real time management (you must be in the right place at the right time to unlock a situation), and a pun-filled humor that fits the rural setting (“even agrarian”). However, there are no more spoken dialogues … which is a shame.
Its main flaw is its Byzantine interface, which is very slow to use. To pick up an item, you need to click through a series of confusing icons. The loading times don’t help either. For these reasons, and to enjoy many improvements, I recommend the PC remake, released in 2012 (in English).
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