We haven't really heard much about this one over the past few months, but Focus Entertainment has just released a brand-new action-adventure game on Xbox Series X|S called Blacktail, developed by new Polish studio The Parasight.

Blacktail is described as a "surreal first-person action-adventure", with a gameplay style that combines "intense FPS archery, combat, magic and dark storytelling set in a vibrant fairy-tale world inspired by old Slavic myths."

"You play as Yaga, a 16-year-old girl accused of witchcraft and expelled from a medieval Slavic settlement. When living memories of your past return as foul, walking spirits, you are left with no other option than to hunt them down in hopes of unravelling your own mystery."

Sound interesting? We think so too. Although we haven't had a chance to go hands-on with this one yet here at Pure Xbox, various critics have been sharing their opinions already, and a lot of these reviews are pretty impressive!

DualShockers (9.8/10)

"Blacktail is a game to be savored, peeling away its world a little more at a time. If you meet it halfway, you’ll be left with a breath of fresh air rarely seen in the industry these days: a well paced game that only tries to be what it wants to be and never compromises that vision."

ShackNews (8/10)

"Originality is a rare quality in games, and Blacktail has this in spades – the Slavic folklore, the surrealist narrative, the unusual plot structure, the craggy yet dreamlike artstyle, the archery-based gameplay."

God Is A Geek (8/10)

"Blacktail may not put every foot right, but it's still an enjoyable, compelling romp through a dark and beautiful fairytale world."

Game Watcher (7.5/10)

"Blacktail isn’t going for revolutionary status, and most of the things it does do are slight by comparison to the hitmakers of the genres it inhabits, but as a package, it’s a delightfully dark fairy tale-infused adventure that keeps you invested throughout."

The Gamer (6/10)

"My time with Blacktail was frustrating. Not because it was a pain to play or that the writing was awful, but because there’s a strong game buried underneath some strange design decisions and disappointing performance issues."

It's not perfect, then, but Blacktail is getting some fairly good reviews on the whole! It currently holds a "Very Positive" rating on the Steam platform for PC, while its Metacritic rating sits at 80 for PC and 73 for PlayStation 5 (there's no Xbox Series X rating yet). On OpenCritic, it has a Top Critic Average of 81 across all platforms.

You can check out more details about Blacktail below, along with some screenshots. The game is currently available on the Xbox Store at a reduced cost of £19.99 / $23.99, although it'll be going up in price slightly in two weeks' time.

"Become the guardian of the woods or the terror nightmares are made of. Forge the legend of Baba Yaga and live out its origins in BLACKTAIL, a one-of-a-kind blend of intense archery combat, magic and dark storytelling set in a vibrant fairy tale world.

Liking the look of Blacktail? Let us know down in the comments section below.