Melanin Monday – ‘Pale Spectrum’

Hey there Blerdy Tribe, it’s Melanin Monday here on Blerdy Otome and that means I’m spotlighting another Melanin Friendly Game! For those of you just joining the party—every Monday I spotlight games that feature Black and brown characters for anyone looking for titles with just a bit more representation. As a blerd and a gamer, I am always on the lookout for representation in my games. This is largely a personal project for me—there are almost no “diverse game” tags on major game sites—so, it can be pretty difficult find games with characters of color… unless you already know where to look.

I took a bit of a break last week, but I’m back and this time around I’m covering Pale Spectrum, part two of the Book of Gray Magic by Ithaqua Labs. This game serves as the sequel to Brilliant Shadows, continuing the story from the first game with the same expansive cast of characters. Follow along with Necromancers, Paladins, Witches, and Changelings in this story of intrigue, mystery and magic. If you are a fan of high fantasy, the Book of Gray Magic series is just for you!

Like the first game, Pale Spectrum follows a unique cast of inspired by characters from fantasy media, with the added bonus of being equally diverse—featuring characters from various sexual identities, gender, and appearance. Unlike the first game, which largely followed Ash, Pale Spectrum takes a different approach, following several different plot threads and character, making for a much more expansive story. Characters that were little more than side characters in the first game are now given much more attention adding their own voice to the immersive fantasy world Ithaqua Labs created and with 6-13 hours of gameplay, there is plenty to explore and discover.

I have seen a lot of people complaining that there is TOO much going on with all the different storylines, but I welcome it, because it gives the world of the game much more depth and nuance. These characters have come a long way since the first game, and it was fun to really see them come into their own. It can be a bit hard to follow at times, but the fun and dynamic cast more than carry this massive interconnected story—though I admit that I wish the developers had spent more time fleshing out certain plot points (or maybe split Pale Spectrum into two games).

The fantasy premise opens the story up to some interesting storytelling opportunities—Necromancers, Paladins, Witches, Changelings, and more—each group comes with their own lore and history which Pale Spectrum weaves in with the overarching narrative. I was genuinely invested in most or the character arcs and while it’s not perfect, I appreciate the sheer wealth of content the developers managed to fit into the game’s runtime.

Pale Spectrum is best enjoyed by folks who have played the first game, Brilliant Shadows, as it builds on the existing foundation set by the first installment.

Available On: Windows, Mac, Linux | Steam

Thank you for reading and supporting Blerdy Otome! Have you played Pale Spectrum Share your thoughts! Got a Melanin Friendly Game you think I should spotlight? Send it to me! 🙂

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