Demon Mark: A Russian Saga

Demon Mark: A Russian Saga

Choice of Games · 2017 · Adventure, Indie, RPG, Text-Based, Interactive Fiction

PC
7 user reviews57% · 7
Best price
$5.99
lowest tracked $2.99
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Standard Edition · Steam
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About Demon Mark: A Russian Saga

Call upon the power of your cursed Demon Mark to battle dragons, witches, and an undead army! Beware: each time you use it, the Mark grows stronger.

Demon Mark: A Russian Saga is a 200,000-word interactive fantasy novel by Vlad Barash and Lorraine Fryer, steeped in Russian folklore. It's entirely text-based, without graphics or sound effects, and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.

Once upon a time, in the land of Rus, you lived a simple life as the firstborn child of peasant farmers. But when the evil demon Uhin places the Demon Mark upon you and kidnaps your parents' second child, you'll set out on an epic adventure to reunite your family.

On your journey through Russian folklore, you'll confront the treacherous witch Baba Yaga, the seven-headed dragon Zmey Gorynych, the mythic giant Svyatogor, and the villainous Koschei the Deathless with his army of corpses.

Team up with the bogatyrs, the heroes of Russian folk tales: strong Ilya Muromets, pious Alyosha Popovich, and wise Marya Morevna. You and your talking animal companion will journey all the way to the Tsar and Tsaritsa's court in Kiev for assistance on your quest. Will the bards of Kiev sing the tale of your heroic victory, or your tragic sacrifice?

The Demon Mark is whispering to you. Do you hear it? Should you listen when it calls your name?
  • Play as male, female, or non-binary
  • Meet the monsters and marvels of Russian folk tales, from Kiev to Koschei's Fortress.
  • Convince the Tsar and Tsaritsa to help you hunt down the demon who marked you
  • Court the Grey Wolf, a mysterious creature who can assist you on your journey
  • Defeat the seven-headed dragon Zmey Gorynych
  • Listen to the stories of Svyatogor...and stay awake!
  • Complete Baba Yaga's impossible tasks
  • Escape the dungeons of Koschei the Deathless
  • Battle the demon Uhin and reunite your family
  • Embrace the power of the Demon Mark and become a demon yourself

What Steam players say

Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.

Recommended Jan 31, 2018
It was an okay two to three hour story, my first ending was a success but my way home seemed pretty dark to me so i questioned if it was a good or bad ending.My second ending was a pretty dark one but oddly felt like a good ending to me.Not sure if i am going to bother with a third try as my choices in this dont feel that importent exept at the ending and a couple optional ones that may or may not affect the story.Its not the best text based adventure game i have played but its also not the worst either but its nothing special, tho i do hope for more in the future as i did have fun despite it being so short. To me the price of this game is pretty cheap, but if you expect to : Play as male, female, or non-binary then yes you can do that but there is no romance here. Meet the monsters and marvels of Russian folk tales, from Kiev to Koschei's Fortress.From my 5 hours of playing i have yet to run into any monsters but maybe i some how dodged them all?Who knows. Convince the Tsar and Tsaritsa to help you hunt down the demon who marked you.I did not really get any help as i see it but i suppose if you mess up the adventure might end or be harder?Not sure as i did okay. Court the Gre…
6 found this helpful
Recommended Aug 9, 2020
Sadly, Russian folklore is underrepresented in the gaming industry. While Demon Mark is not a 100% correct representation of the most popular fairytale characters and mythological creatures, but rather a modern work of fiction inspired by them, I still couldn't help but enjoy playing it. Yes, there definitely weren't any non-binary characters in the tales my grandmas used to tell me and some of them stray a bit too far from the origin, but being able to meet Baba-Yaga, fight against terrifying Zmey Gorynych and ruthless Koschei, share a table with Ilya Muromets... It definitely wasn't a waste of time.
4 found this helpful
Not recommended Jun 28, 2019
Nonsensical set of endings that do not correlate at all to your choices throughout the game. Various items or choices occur throughout the game that are unresolved/unused/unpaid off. The climax is both anti-climatic and unsatisfying. I also do not know how the stats are being handled for this game, but some never seem to move irrespective of your choices, whereas others move in ways that do not make any sense given the choice you made. Finally, there is very much a need for more choices at various points of the game. You're often confronted with a huge wall of text telling you you did something (usually stupid or out of character) that you likely would not have done had you been given a choice in the wall of text. In terms of positives, there is an interesting use of various Russian pieces of fairy tales/folklore, and the authors are clearly well acquainted with that material. I also think the authors are not untalented writers, and there is some good use of descriptive language at places.
1 found this helpful
Recommended Feb 1, 2026
This is a fun adventure. I got sucked in more than I expected and found myself going through multiple times to see where different paths led and if different choices might lead to a better outcome. I liked learning about the mythology and different ways of life, and the animal friends, and the different characters, too!
Recommended Feb 13, 2021
its ok
Recommended Nov 1, 2018
Wow, great story! This adventure is fun. I didn't grow up with Russian folklore but I really felt like I was in the shoes of the main character, going on adventures, etc. I walked on several paths, went under the Earth, fought necromancers, etc. This is not a spoiler, but more of a teaser. You've really got to get this game. You start out in a Russian village and it's up to you whether or not you want to be human or something else. I was a human and didn't really use the mark, because I did not want to give in to evil.

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