I picked up Black Book as a Christmas present for myself. It mixes visual novel and point-and-click adventure with card-based RPG battles. It’s set in 19th Century Russia. You play as a young village witch who wants to break the 7 seals of the Black Book to bring her fiancé back from hell.
Everything happens during twilight or the dead of night. It looks a bit like Kentucky Route Zero. The narrative oozes Christian and folkloric superstition. There’s a sin stat. You keep servant demons in a basket and need to assign them to torment villagers to keep the demon’s from tormenting you instead (I think this affects the sin stat).
Battles, so far, are about balancing your defensive barrier against your damage output. Seems straightforward 2 hours in, but there are some complicating interactions between cards, which are pages of the Black Book. Battles are one-off affairs, and I find them pretty engaging. The music sets an amazing mood, and there are some very cool but understated spell animations.
Very moody, evocative game.