What Are the Collectibles For in The Tale of Bistun?

Scattered throughout the Persian-mythology-inspired world are stone tablets. Although there were only a handful of them during the short demo, there are numerous tablets (often as many as there are encounters) throughout the level. These tablets are hidden in vases that Farhad can destroy, and contain some information, as they are the journal entries from a previous inhabitant of Mount Bistun.

The collectibles aren't technically significant; they neither advance a secret mission nor do they offer an upgrade for Farhad. Instead, they work as a means to explain a bit of the world's lore and serve as story-building for the player to understand the mythological realm a bit more.

Although they aren't necessary to complete the game, I do heavily recommend finding the stone tablets scattered throughout the levels; not only do they provide just a bit of information, but the world-building that they provide is vital to immersion. You learn a bit of the life of a person that resided on Mount Bistun before you did and they help create a sense of eerie danger, make a bit of a sub-plot filled with wonder (what happened to thath person?), and help the player understand who and what they're facing. After all, how else would I have known that those goblin-like creatures were called ghoulches?!

Jokes aside, the stone tables contain only a handful of text that is easy to read, process, and move on from. It's just the right size so that you don't have to spend a lot of your playtime reading stories, but it gives enough information to keep you intrigued; this is collectibles (and readable lore entries) done right.