Exceptional, although the weakest of the four – Sorcery! Review

The whole series of four apps is exceptional. Inkle has transformed now classic gamebook material (Sorcery! by Steve Jackson) into great games. It’s not the book simply ported to an app, it is a game inspired by and centered on the original texts, but Inkle has added so much that it is a very different product, in fact, a much better one, having considerably enriched the original adventure with many details. It is still mostly based on text, which might be unusual for a game, but you quickly realize the power of it is it leaves space to imagination. The four books use interactive tolkienesque maps and some beautiful illustrations that are based on the originals of the 1980’s books. Inkle managed to make the text quite easy to read by breaking it down elegantly with a well chosen font and the result is not overwhelming although it could have been too talkative. Sadly, the first book was the weakest in the series, and it is the same here for the apps, the first one is a little too easy and too linear (although they really worked hard on making it less linear and interactive than the books). However it still offers many hours of playing and it is full of good ideas. The writing is pleasant and the magic spells are fun to use. The combat system is a little simplistic but it works and it is not central to the adventure. If you’re hesitant because the four volumes seem expensive, be aware that the adventure will last very long, making it worth your money.
Review by thelolofromla on Sorcery!.