Fantastic Series of Games – Sorcery! Review

The Sorcery series is nothing short of epic. Inkle have taken a classic of gamebook literature and improved upon it. While the first book stays more or less faithful to the source material (no bad thing!) the second book introduces an exciting subplot for the player to discover and plays around with the format of the main story whilst remaining true to the spirit of the original. The third chapter - whilst having the same overall goal as the book on which It is based - really changes things up. The mechanics and execution here are excellent, as is the execution, and the bittersweet twist at the end is a lot of fun. The fourth story is a grand finale and the final show down feels suitably epic and rewarding. The fact that there are multiple ends feels very satisfying. Each of these games is great in their own right, but the ability to affect future games with actions in previous ones really knits it all together well. The quality of the writing helps here - the game acknowledges what other actions you’ve taken and thus it feels like you’re in a living, breathing world. The fact that you get different dialogue choices and responses if you’ve been acting like an honourable hero vs being a despicable rogue is evidence of this. Speaking of writing, for what is essentially a piece of interactive fiction, Inkle have done a great job of making there games visually appealing. The maps look great, and the various characters you meet are well drawn. The fact that the original John Blanche art is utilised to great effect is the cherry on the cake. Sorcery’s sound effects do a good job of setting atmosphere - the birdsong during the day changes to crickets at night, and the contrast between the hustle and bustle of the city is marked when compared to the windswept emptiness of the Baklands. However, special credit needs to be given to the main score. Sweeping and inspiring, by the time you get to the fourth chapter hearing it gets you pumped for the show down ahead! Finally, praise must be given to the interface. Everything is simple to navigate and intuitive to use. Combat is a lot of fun - trying to second guess your opponent based on the descriptions of what is happening was a high point for me. Likewise the rewind mechanic - and the REASON for it - was well executed and useful. In short, regardless if you have read the original material or not, if you like a great, epic story you will love this.
Review by Iain1976 on Sorcery!.