Stonework, Love, and Loss – The Tale of Bistun Review

If there’s one thing people keep coming back to, it’s the eternal appeal of the love story.  Basically for at least as long as we’ve had written words, we’ve had love stories and their universal appeal reflects the human condition in a way that few other stories do.  The Tale of Bistun is one such story but it’s not a new one.  In fact, the game is based on a 12^th Century tragic mythological romance (yes, you read that right) called Khosrow and Shirin popularized by the poet Nizami Ganjavi who died in 1209.  It’s famous in modern-day Iran and has spawned at least 8 movies in various countries as well as songs and other media.  In short, it’s a remarkably well-known ancient story that likely few gamers have ever heard of.   We’re talking four hundred years before Shakespeare here, folks.

Anyway, the developers over at Black Cube Games decided that it was high time more people experienced Khosrow and Shirin and they’ve turned it into The Tale of Bistun.  Now that’s a lot of preamble to get into the game but it’s worth it.  You play a stone carver named Farhad who wakes up with no recollection of who he is.  He awakens on a mountaintop and slowly comes to realize who he is.  He encounters a magical tree and by saving the tree, he is given pomegranates that gradually return his memories until he realizes that he was attempting to get back to his love, a woman named Shirin.  It’s a unique game that takes the player step by step through Farhad’s thought processes with the help of a narrator telling the entire story.

Now, this approach might not work for every gamer but the amount of effort that has gone into the design of The Tale of Bistun is nothing short of impressive.  As Farhad you’ll slowly upgrade your stoneworking equipment, carving statues and anvils out of the mountainside and breaking through Mount Bistun in your search for Shirin.  Along the way you’ll have to fight beasts created by mystical corruption and Persian mythological creatures such as divs and other fascinating monsters.  Being reunited with your love will have Farhad working with gods and goddesses in an attempt to make it back to Shirin.

Gameplay largely consists of exploring the lush visuals of Mount Bistun and entering combat areans filled with various Persian monsters.  Each arena locks you in and forces you to fight but the combat is fairly straightforward and never particularly difficult.  The focus here is on the plot and the gameplay is secondary to that.  Along the way you’ll find a variety of rocks that can be carved into statues which add more backstory and pots that can be smashed to find notes detailing the monsters and world around Farhad left by an unknown explorer.  The narrative continues throughout the game, slowly guiding you through the short story (around 3 or 4 hours depending on how much exploring you want to do…there isn’t a ton).

Normally, this would be a pretty short game for $18.  But honestly, the narrative is one of the most well-written things around and the voice work is simply outstanding.  It’s almost impossible not to get sucked into Farhad’s plight as he searches for Shirin and there’s more than a bit more going on aside from what you might expect here.  If you’re unfamiliar with the story of Khosrow and Shirin (as many of us are), it’s an absolutely excellent tale and the ending of the game is remarkably compelling.

As mentioned before, the visuals in The Tale of Bistun are excellent.  While Farhad and other main characters look blocky, it’s definitely an artistic choice and one that works well with the style of storytelling.  The entire feel of Bistun is a more artistic one and it’s clear that Black Cube Games knows what they’re doing in terms of visuals.  Between the portals Farhad steps through, the carving animations, and the gods and monsters of the game, the polygon work is simply excellent across the board here.  This is a game that will captivate imaginations, perfectly complementing the unique mythology of ancient Persia.  The Tale of Bistun is quite simply gorgeous.

That’s not to say the game is without fault entirely.  Some sections are more than a bit empty and a few pathways are strangely hard to spot.  The game’s responsiveness in combat leaves something to be desired as well, but with the low difficulty, it’s a non-issue.  Perhaps there could be more combat or the combat could be intrinsically linked to the story a bit more clearly, but honestly, the story is so good it really doesn’t matter all that much.  The music complements gameplay well too, and while the clearly ethnic music doesn’t have one single standout piece that needs to be noted, the soundtrack as a whole is excellent as well and provides great accompaniment and pacing for both story and combat.

It’s rather difficult to say more about The Tale of Bistun without giving away key plot points and that’s literally the meat of the game, so we won’t do that here.   While the game is short and the combat is a bit thin, you wouldn’t want it to drag on either.  This is the perfect length for the story to be told in and a longer, more involved game with lots of collectibles would water down the power of the narrative.  Sometimes short and sweet is best and it’s nice when the developers really realize that and clearly understand their material.  The Tale of Bistun never quite wears out its welcome and never quite makes to feeling like it drags on too long, the hallmark of good game design.

The Tale of Bistun stands out as a unique artistic achievement, converting a classic Persian story into a modern format and marketing it to Western audiences.  This is the kind of indie experimentation that provides insight into both new cultures and the universal human condition and it’s an absolute joy to play through the fascinating story of Farhad.  More game studios should feel enabled to take risks like this and hopefully gamers will be open to their work, because The Tale of Bistun is not to be missed.  The story will stick with you long after this short game is done and that’s definitely an accomplishment.   Don’t hesitate to pick up this remarkable game and enjoy the short time you spend with it.  You won’t regret it!

This review was based on a digital copy of The Tale of Bistun provided by the publisher.  It was played on an Xbox Series X with a 55” Sony 1080p TV.   The Tale of Bistun is also available on Steam and Epic Games.