The Healer's Blade

The Healer’s Blade takes place in a plague-filled world where it’s your duty to protect the only one who can heal the sickness.

Immediately, the story throws you onto the road with a task to protect Lenore, a girl who can destroy the infection within the infected. As the player, I too felt it was my duty to protect this girl and I wanted to. The way Alisiia Matrenitckaia, the author of this story, presented her world made it feel very real.

Both the plot and characters pulled me in, and I felt completely immersed in this tale. Lenore was brave and caring, and Calder, the player character, was dutiful and vigilant. As I went through the story, I saw how special Lenore was beyond being the healer who could save them all. She led from the heart and did so boldly. As Calder, I wanted to protect that heart. This went beyond duty. This became respect and admiration.

I would suggest this interactive audio story to anyone who enjoys a dark world, a gripping plot and characters that provide hope in the grimmest of circumstances.

This was a fun grimdark story. Overall the prose was well done, though maybe a bit inconsistent at times. There were a few instances of exposition at times that, if trimmed, may have allowed more suspense to ripen into grander reveals. A little more subtlety might have done when exploring the themes and motivations for certain characters, as well, to add more unpredictability and reflection on the player’s part. Some of the choices could also have been clearer. Overall these are minor criticisms though, as the writer displays a lot of potential here, and their work will only continue to excel!

The zombie/fantasy world was very cool and unique, and I was interested in most of the lore. The characters were relatively well written given the length of the story.

There is a great deal of enjoyment to be derived from this highly self-contained experience, especially given it’s few major contrivances as regards the type of story it’s telling. The descriptions are wonderfully vivid, and although I was not initially convinced by the dynamic between Calder and Lenore at the beginning of the story, I certainly was by the end, largely because the choice design predominantly shaped this aspect of the story. That said, I think the nature of the disease at the heart of the story could have benefited from even more visceral description, though I acknowledge that this may simply come down to personal preference 😉

I enjoyed the story. The writing was so good that it sometimes made me feel a bit uneasy because the story involves elements of body horror.

I was immersed from the start and wanted to know what would happen next. The choices in the beginning didn’t feel too important, but I still enjoyed taking the relationship with the girl in a kinder, more empathetic direction.

The choices closer to the end felt more meaningful and I was worried a few times that I’d made the wrong one! However, the game ended on a hopeful and satisfying note.