Sorcery! Parts 1 and 2

Sorcery! Parts 1 and 2
69
Metacritic
91
Steam
78.142
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$5.19
Release date
2 February 2016
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
91 (479 votes)

An epic adventure in a land of monsters, traps and magic. Journey across the deadly Shamutanti Hills and through Kharé, Cityport of Thieves. Armed with your sword and over fifty spells with weird and wonderful effects, embark on a narrative adventure of a thousand choices where every one is remembered.

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Sorcery! Parts 1 and 2 system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: Windows Vista
  • Processor: 1.4 Ghz
  • Memory: 1 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Requires OpenGL 2.1
  • DirectX: Version 9.0
  • Storage: 500 MB available space
Updated
App type
Steam APP ID
411000
Platforms
Windows PC
Mac
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MegaMike
MegaMike

Perfect execution of CYOA books into a video game. Full stop the Sorcery! series is a pinnacle of genre.

TheBacksideNinja
TheBacksideNinja

Part one is amazing. A TIER.
Part two is horrible except for swindlestones. Swindlestones is the best. I love swindlestones. 7/10

JordankTheThief
JordankTheThief

Sorcery is not a flashy game by any means. It has a lot of reading, and few images. It is not an action game, nor a gigantic experience. (It does have one of the best stories and art direction in any game I've seen, so avoid spoilers if you can).
That being said, however, Sorcery has one of the best magic systems out of all the games I've played. There are spells that allow you to change your character's properties (weight and size), allow you to manipulate others, or give you an edge in battle. This game is great fun as well. For example, there was one night my character was attacked by a werewolf, and I cast a spell that increased my characters size. My intention was to use my superior mass to kill or scare the werewolf, however, I forgot that I was sleeping under a little overhang, under a strong tree, and as a result, got stuck and became a free meal for the beast. This game describes everything in great detail, like a book, it rewards you for paying attention and offers many solutions to many problems through the game. Overall, I highly recommend this game and would suggest buying the bundle of all four parts (to save $ collectively). If you're on the fence, I hear Yogscast and Jerma have played this game before, if you would prefer to watch it first. If you would rather buy one of the three games, to see what the rest of the games will be like, I suggest starting on parts 1 and 2, which are sold together respectively. That'll give you the most bang for your buck, and give you a naturally flowing experience, since your character carries over to each of the four parts.

Automagic
Automagic

Simply put, this game is fantastic. The spellcasting is simple and goofy but tons of fun, and despite the relatively short length, every piece of it is very rich with choice and flavor. If you like interactive fiction, get this. I'll be playing through it again multiple times.

Tibermus
Tibermus

This might genuinely be the most immersive experience I've had with a game, additionally the vast amount of different scenarios and routes you can take add enormous replayability.

Another great feature is the ability to instantly reverse any option and while it may not seem like much, not having it would've made replaying certain parts tedious to impossible and misclicks would ruin the experience. I personally didn't use it all too much though since I wanted the mistakes my character made to be part of his story.

Now that I've talked about my personal feelings for this game, I'll praise the ingame systems some more, ok?

First the setting, while nothing incredibly original for a fantasy world, it doesn't waste time overexplaining these elements and instead just thrusts you into the world for you to explore yourself and to go on your own epic, Lord-of-the-Ring- esque adventure. You decide wich scenarios to engage with and wich ones to avoid and choices within them actually matter, changing the stories path in small and more major ways.

Secondly, I'm a big fan of magic systems and to now have that power at my own exposal as a wandering sorcerer with about 48 spells was a great experience (granted, they are limited to ehich magical items you have with you and which stars are currently in the sky). All of this is accompanied by a pretty decent fighting system.

Conclusion - 9/10, would recommend any day of the week but Tuesday

Moriarty's Gambit
Moriarty's Gambit

Jerma985 lead me to get this game,
It is Genuinely one of the best Story Telling / Narrative RPGs I've ever played.
I've payed through part one and two a couple of times now and I'm really looking forward to playing part three and four.
Thanks Jerma.

gato
gato

This game is very fun. I have always looked at games like this as not something I would enjoy, but the narrative is interesting and makes me want to find out as many secrets as possible. This game is something I encourage anyone who likes adventures and decision making games to play and would also recommend to open-minded people who have not tried one before. 10/10 would slay manticore again

Salarn
Salarn

https://youtu.be/gFOXVOnfkRw

Everyone seems to hate the protagonist which makes it difficult for the player to engage with the world due to far many options leading to combat out of spite over any other reason.

hot pockets in your area
hot pockets in…

As a choose your own adventure, it's a delightful experience to experiment with and to find the weirdest and most fun possibilities. It is worth noting, though, that the game is aggressively trial-and-error and will punish you in equal parts for doing the counter-intuitive option, the safe option, the kind option and the violent option. There are a ton of dead ends and failures that result in often impossible to predict instant death, so trying to work with a self-imposed challenge not to exploit the rewind feature is a losing battle. Still a really fun game though, just best in a casual and experimental setting.

GreenBean
GreenBean

I couldn't recommend the entire Sorcery Series enough - it is truly a unique experience

Worth the price in volumes, as it's the only game that can get me to read a novel worth of pages and still keep me hooked. I discovered this game through Jerma and watched his journey plenty, but still made my journey completely unique in my own. You would not BELIEVE how many different ways you can interact with the environment, and as the series progresses it only gets more in depth.

Sorcery goes down in my top 25 games of all time for being the only one to make me feel like I'm truly reading a story-book where I'm the protagonist

Angel666
Angel666

i like art style and old school adventure style with plenty choices but i die a hell lot seems and spells can be hard reamenber .

small file size for big game makes it nice .

got trapped in cave died over and over trying get out had start game over again from start.
can be bit frustrating but still well made adventure game

TrEbStAn
TrEbStAn

The story is very interesting and your choices actually matter for a change. Te game doesn't cost much stop being cheap and just buy it!

Solantar
Solantar

The start to an awesome series, Sorcery! Parts 1 and 2 is well worth buying. While they can be a little unfair at times, failing is never punished too severely so you can learn the ins and outs of the map and make your own way through the treacherous situations you encounter.
The feel of the world is wonderful, all four parts of Sorcery! have a wonderful atmosphere that invests you in the fantastical world they present. The price listed is too low for such a great experience.

The Book Friend
The Book Friend

It's so much fun! It's like playing D&D by yourself :D very entertaining.

Dan the Man
Dan the Man

My god its so much fun. I've played a ton and feel like I haven't even scratched the surface.

Bender The Wise
Bender The Wise

I bought these in the eighties in high school. I thought about looking for the books to buy every now and then. Then I was shocked to see them in pc game form. And first hour in Im doing the same dumb decisions I did before n books.
10/10 I havent learned a thing in life

Firefinch
Firefinch

This game takes you through a wild adventure in the realm of the 1980's. Throw poop buckets on guards heads, use ladders to climb into houses, collect heads via spikes, use a single strand of hair to climb a cliff, and more. It's a great time and worth every dollar.

Hunty820
Hunty820

Charming design, the music and visuals complement each other well.

For trial and error games however, I would have liked some way to know what i've missed.
I was never able to complete part 2 and short of comparing all my actions to a walkthrough am unlikely to find out!

SupremeTDM
SupremeTDM

Great branching story choices.

kate
kate

Classics that set a gold standard for any sort of video game choose-your-own-adventure. Sorcery! 1 is the odd one out in the series, since as a linear experience it's so drastically overshadowed by 2, and 3 and 4 do their own thing -- but it's all still fun as one continuous experience.

Best played blind the first time through, then with a guide to see all the neat stuff you missed.

jasgroce
jasgroce

I played these books several times as a kid, and I loved them. They raised the choose-your-own-adventure genre to a whole new level. I find Inkle's adaptation an excellent blend of the original books (including the fabulous illustrations) with some innovative elements around things like spellcasting.

NocturnalNyx
NocturnalNyx

So new and imaginative, for me at least. From the very first choice, your entire world can change in an instant. No right or wrong way to play and each and every playthrough gives a different sense of adventure. If anything the rewind button can let you play an entirely new game without having to start over if you really wanted to to. So fun and very addictive while still using brains and brawn. Very highly recommend.

Skywalker7791 ツ
Skywalker7791 ツ

Fancy a game of Swindlestones?

Orderly
Orderly

Let me tell you a story.
Back in 2016 then still glorious PC gaming website Rock Paper Shotgun awarded Sorcery! an RPG of the year title. Some didn't understand why. It's an interactive novel after all... It's an adaptation of a choose-your-own-adventure books after all...

No. Sorcery! is what RPGs can be when the authors care about choices instead of spectacle. And it can be magical.

I never read the source material, nor do I care - digital Sorcery! stands up completely fine on its own. Each part has a huge map through which you traverse - and in each new game the traversal is different:
Chapter 1 is a long stretched map which directs you from South to North in a winding but relatively linear fashion.
Chapter 2 is a big yet dense and claustraphobic city that you will circumnavigate.
Chapter 3 suddenly explodes into a complete freedom of an open world - a magical post-apocalyptic wasteland where you are to go dragon-hunting. It is the main reason to play the series, because there what was already great about the game becomes unfathomable.
And Chapter 4 is the last one where you infiltrate the citadel of the enemy and where many of the previous choices come into full effect.

And oh, those choices! Almost every single thing can come back to bite you or reward you later. Spared a man? You might meet him soon. And then again. And again. Wait, hold on, how come we ended up fighting the main antagonist together?

And speaking of fighting - it is resolved very elegantly. You have to read to anticipate your opponent's moves - and then measure the amount of strength you put into your hit. The stronger the hit, the more it will exhaust you and the more damage it will do if it lands - but the enemy attacks too and if their attack is ever so slightly stronger - you will take massive damage. Or they can block - and then your damage will be almost entirely negated. It's a great psychological game - and it really feels like fencing.

But there's more. Because there's magic. Each time you cast a spell you are limited to a few stars in the sky which correspond to certain magical letters - so you have a number of options in each situation. And all of these options are contextual. No matter what you choose, it will be fully described in relation to every particular scenario of which there are hundreds. It's insane. And no spell is more powerful than the other - they are just used for different situations.

This contextuality is what puts Sorcery! apart from any other game. You are just one man\woman in a big, big world that is very reactive to whatever it is you do. And there is no numerical progression, no levelling up your strength or something - instead all the upgrades you acquire are contextualized too. You find magical items that allow you to cast specific spells, you find new swords, armor, rations, treasures that bolst your funds - this RPG feels natual, not numerically obscured. It's all common sense and specific items. It also makes every upgrade feel truly rewarding.

If you are an RPG fan and have at least an ounce of functional imagination, you must play this game. I cannot stress enough how intricate and thick the choice-loom is in this game. But if you're on the fence, play Chapter 3 first, because it's probably the most interesting of them - why not? If you like it, might as well go back to play through these two.

zormzorm
zormzorm

2.5/5 Fantasy, text-driven RPG . I played Steve Jackson paper games in the 1980s and enjoyed the 'recent' computer game version of Wizard of Firetop Mountain as well as Fighting Fantasy, but find the Sorcery! versions just too textual. I am a fast reader and I like fantasy, but for some reason step-by-step book-text adventure games just don't seem fun to me. When I was trapped in junior high, I would wander through the choose-your-adventure books and enjoyed them mostly, but I am not nostalgic enough to make this fully enjoyable.

If you are looking for a reading-based fantasy RPG, with a decent graphical UI, map, along with simple combat and spells to go along with a well thought out adventure, this might be a good fit for you.

There is some good content and the mechanics are solid enough, but it's just not fun enough for me to play. I am sad to give this a thumb's down. Steam has my number of hours played on this game wrong, I have tried to get myself to like it many times over the last couple years and I just can't. After another couple hours today, I'm setting it back down and doubt I'll try it again.

Shem
Shem

DnD game where I don't have to DM anymore, and can be an adventurer instead, experiencing the world of another DM. No mimics were harmed in the course of my runs.

Lionsworth
Lionsworth

Wow... just... wow! I am sad that it took me this long to come across this gem. It is what an idea I've always wanted in a game. Part Choose your own Adventure, part RPG. Really it allows you to play as you like. The options are great! Beautifully done. Now I need to get my hands on the rest of the story to see how my character shakes out.

Muffo99
Muffo99

Sorcery 1 was an amazing game...sorcery 2 however was a misery to play. You go around the city of Kharé and have to find 4 spell lines to open the Northern gate to leave. For this, you have to go down 4 paths and complete every encounter correctly and then also learn the order of the lines to get through the gate without repercussions.

I had a lot of information and clues but still couldn't get the one from the noble and don't even get me started on the one in the tomb. Despite whatever I did, having the silver sword did not matter. I died to the deathwraith without any chance to beat him every time. In the end, I had to leave the city but with a curse so that my spirit guide is replaced with a guy who hates my guts and would rather see me dead. In my opinion, a good multi-choice "make your own adventure" game would give a few more options to get a good ending.

Dead
Dead

I don't usually play games with no achivement but this one was very engrossing that I had to play.
It gives you old classic feeling the times that you pretend you are the main character of the story.
I liked the writing and the style that resembles old choose-your-path storybook.
Looking forward to buying 3.

candycorn77
candycorn77

There both very good but like the good ending of book 2 is way too time consuming and is over all too frustrating to get in my opinion unless by some miracle you do it without going back on your first play

awfulmission
awfulmission

after playing this for 30 hours eventually i stopped thinking

doniguana
doniguana

Part 1 and 2 means half of the game. I picked this up on a sale for €5.99 Apparently I was too naive thinking this would actually be a game and it´s sequel. It is obviously not the case which means that you will need to buy part three and four for €9.99 each to finish the game. And this game is not even close to being worth €25.97
Although I like the books of Steve Jackson the story in this game is far from spectacular. The best written parts might be in the fights were you can´t be bothered to read all the text because you just want to kill the manticore, giant or whatever enemy.
The fighting itself uses a mechanism of pick the highest number wins system which starts to get a bit boring after the first fight.

Excusablegold
Excusablegold

Has a ton of replay value. As a series of digitised gamebooks, Sorcery was published back in 1983 and certainly feels like it when it comes to difficulty. While book 1 is relatively calm, the series doesn't hesitate to screw you over HARD in the later books if you aren't careful.
True to it's name, the game boasts a fantastic magic system that will appeal to anyone who loves playing a wizard in RPGs. There are plenty of opportunities to avoid fights and clear obstacles through clever spell use, especially considering that of the dozens of spells in the game only 2 or 3 are purely combat focused.

Also, JIG is the best spell in the game, use it whenever you can. More games should let you create spontaneous dance parties to escape your enemies.

Pyxis
Pyxis

Its a very fun game for being mostly text-based! I haven't finished yet, of course, but so far I've gotten really attached to the characters (especially Yann). The mechanics are all very cool, and very well polished. I love that you can either be very peaceful, or literally rob and murder everyone. Whats not to love!! 10/10, would recommend.

DarkMonk81
DarkMonk81

An absolute brilliant presentation of a classic adventure game!!

Herccrazi
Herccrazi

This game is kinda like reading a book, fucking banger. I have spoken.

eoghan.felton
eoghan.felton

A great adaptation of the historic Sorcery! series of books.

Tcg2000
Tcg2000

overall really fun. many many MANY diferent ways to shape the future of your game would recommend.

ninjaamber
ninjaamber

Amazing game, so detailed and beautiful. Always recommend

Aerothorn
Aerothorn

Sorcery! Part 1 is a pleasant adaptation of an old gamebook that will appeal most to those nostalgic for that genre, or looking for a light-RPG easily playable on a tablet – but even others will want to play it just to get prepped for the sequels. Sorcery! Part 2 expands the basic storybook gameplay of Sorcery 1 into a full-blown puzzle adventure, and strikes an excellent balance between retro fantasy and high-quality original content.

derodeniro
derodeniro

Owww ,sweet memories...I can't say this game is something new, but I enjoyed it and had some fun choosing between different options and their impact on the story. If you like RPG games, text-based stories, DnD or a nostalgic fan of gamebooks, then you might like this.
Classics. 10 ZAP out of 10

JangleCat
JangleCat

One of the best RPGs out there - so many choices, such brilliant dialogue, a proper game written by people who LOVE roleplaying and adventure.

Goblin
Goblin

i managed to get into the sewers at least 7 times all on accident

just a heads up. dont go down every well you see

mossbee
mossbee

An interesting experience to be sure. It takes place in a classic fantasy setting and has lots of interesting choices. You can talk to people, fight them or use magic for a more interesting outcome. There's a lot of interesting characters, nice art and general aesthetic and relaxing sounds like people talking, flowing water, birds and such as you go on your quest.

The fighting system is unique and fun, being largely based around predicting what your enemy does and trying to counter it with a slightly stronger attack, or defend. Although you can get stuck sometimes in a place where you have to fight a really strong monster and you have very little HP, so you have to perfect to fight to move on or start from the beginning.

You can choose how to play the game and make the experience unique to you. Do want to kill everyone who slightly inconveniences you? It'll have consequences, but you can do it. Do you want to avoid every bit of conflict with magic? Go ahead. This world is yours and you can try all sorts of things, and if they don't go your way, you can rewind your choice and make another one if you so wish.

Overall a very fun experience and very different from anything else I've played. It mixes a classic medieval fantasy setting with fun combat and interesting and unique choices for every situation.
8/10

Analand Sorceress
Analand Sorceress

Quite simply if you liked Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone FF books then this is a MUST BUY. Inkle has produced far and away the best game saga going. The entire Sorcery! series is an amazing production of Steve Jackson's epic series and these first and second parts are awesome.

Each game becomes progressively bigger and better, so that they are so much more than simply an on-screen copy of the gamebook. (Some fighting fantasy games are available from other developers, but are basically just the original book with the highly limited options that a 400 page book allowed.)
There is a massive amount of new material & also rearranging of original material from the books, however all the new material has an authentic feel, in keeping with the source material.

The combat system is a little strange at first, but way better than random dice rolls once it is mastered.

Part 1 is fairly short, altho still wonderfully atmospheric, and so is now included in a package with part 2.
In part 2 the ability to return to areas already explored is introduced to a limited extent and what you find will be influenced by your previous actions. This adds far more scope than the original books ever could. The plot at the end of part 2 provides an interesting new mechanism for players who have been unable to locate all four spell lines.

The orchestral theme music, prepared by Laurence Chapman, is simply perfect for this epic quest.

These games are so massive that after over 100 playing hours there are still so many more options in the game that it remains interesting. Thank-you Inkle!

King_Reload
King_Reload

Its a great game if you like a story telling game that you control the fate of. Every decision you make has an effect on the future of your character, the items they have, the friends they make. This version of the game is probably my favorite one, even though 3 and 4 are also pretty good.

n8erdogny
n8erdogny

Amazing game with cool puzzles!

Anonymous
Anonymous

What a wonderful combination of artwork, music, and prose to enhance your theater of the mind. Just fantastic.

[i] Scooba Nate
[i] Scooba Nate

This game is the closest thing I've ever played to table top dungeons and dragons. You are constantly making interesting choices, those choices matter, and the world is just fascinating

oblivion2k
oblivion2k

This game is not for everyone, but I sure had fun with it. If you want a "choose your own adventure" game and can use your imagination to fill in the gaps in the simplistic art style, this might be for you.

NEO
NEO

I really need to start playing this game again

NeuralSimulation
NeuralSimulation

I'm biased because I loved the book series as a kid. This is basically the books come to life, with extra mechanics to keep it interesting. I could see it being a bit too short for some folks. It's kinda high priced for what it is, maybe wait for a sale if $26 is an issue. Otherwise I'd say buy the series bundle and enjoy! If you loved the books, this series is a must have.

Anonymous
Anonymous

I beat this game on my phone years ago. I decided to buy it on PC. Inkle knows how to provide amazing stories. Sorcery! is full of truly dynamic choices, surreal concepts and excellent writing. If you like high-fantasy fiction, shit, then this is for you.

Jackski
Jackski

really fun choose you own adventure style game

PUBITO
PUBITO

This is one of the original of "visual novel". "interactive game". "personal story generation"... One of the best classic game.

Also a table top game and adaptation tabletop game would greatly improve your fictional writing skill. Try it!

Not recommend for mindless people who just craving of action, visual and bore of text.

Mr.Green
Mr.Green

WARNING! You need to know how to read to play this game.

KokoLoko
KokoLoko

I can only read so many made-up nonsense names at once before they all become a blur and I lose all focus or understanding of what I'm reading. The writing in this is like a parody of what fantasy writing is. A gamebook really should focus on having good (or just better) writing.

Oatmeal God
Oatmeal God

Fancy a game of Swindlestones?

DanVegas27
DanVegas27

I originally watched Jerma985 play this live. I watched him play all 4 parts but I only really remember the first two parts well enough to make smart choices. Still despite this I treaded my own path separate from his and still found completely new thing I had never saw him come close to doing. Who plots he never uncovered.
But I must say I've never enjoy reading a story like that since I read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
This is a truly a Classic choose your own adventure story
Every choice I made felt meaningful and had consequences. This is despite me still not having finished part 2
But so far I've can tell it will be great even if I was partly spoiled for the whole series, I still find new thing in this game Jerma never found.

Edit: Just beat Part 2, even better then the last part and so far my favorite.

Anonymous
Anonymous

One of my all time favourite game series. It's true to it's original format - a book with paths and decisions, characters and drama. Your story is tied to how you play similar to Detroid Become Human, just a lot more reading oriented. It doesn't need the graphics of DBH, because it's story unfolds in your head. The artwork is so lovely too, it's imaginative and fantastical yet dark. I've played it twice already and am starting my third playthrough because no matter how often you play, it's always different.
Ahead of it's time for sure and I haven't played a better game in its style since!

Noven
Noven

Part 1 is a reasonably straight-forward adventure with quite good writing, nice classic fantasy illustrations and a handful of cool secrets/fun things to discover. If a solo, classical fantasy adventure with good writing sounds interesting, it's worth a shot.

I've only just finished Part 2 (haven't started 3) and it really picks things up. The writing and "cool secrets/fun things to discover" soar to a high bar. It's easily some of the best fantasy writing I've ever seen. It'd be very interesting to try to collect all the magical artifacts you can, because they're pretty hard-earned.

The biggest detriment to the series is that by nature of how the exploration works sometimes you kind of just get screwed. This is the sort of adventure where you may be either rewarded or punished for, say, choosing to talk to a dangerous looking person. Sometimes you'll uncover info hinting about what you should do, sometimes you won't.

Consequently it's absolutely impossible to never mess up, and the game has a very straightforward and powerful feature to turn time back (akin to just flipping back to your previous page in the choose your own adventure book that it was apparently based on). Once you accept the cheap losses and turning back the page feature as a key part of the experience and cease feeling bad about it, the game is a joy to explore to read. The satisfaction of the game is in getting better at avoiding traps, and being rewarded after making a calculated risk. Or picking yourself up out of the gutter when landing face first in it is your reward. Easy come easy go.

Beyond strong writing, the series does a fantastic job presenting many solutions to its problems, and incentivizing you to be creative and thoughtful. Using your mind and your sorcery (it's in the name) are most rewarding, though combat is effective when you feel more like smacking someone than engaging in intrigue.

Combat and part 2's gambling minigame Swindlestones are actually elegant little systems, too.

Lavenilk
Lavenilk

I have no idea what I'm doing at any given point in time, but this game (and parts 3 &4) make me feel smart after figuring out the fighting patterns of an enemy or solving a puzzle on my own. Very cool, 10/10 :)

Jqual
Jqual

First part of the game is very fun with a lot of branching paths. But the second game is fun for the first half of it until you realize that you have to Replay the whole game to find every single clue. Its very tedious and annoying if you are slow in the brain like myself. The game gives you an option to skip that part, but there are huge consequences if you choose to do so. I would still recommend this game, but if you are not a big brain genius I would try using a guide for the second part of the game.

Yanno
Yanno

This is a multi part choose your own adventure story game, where decisions matter from the previous game. Love this stuff as a kid, and still to this day.

[CL] Ethan
[CL] Ethan

I should be honest and say that I haven't finished this game. But I spent hours and hours and hours with the original book, as a kid, played through it cover to cover many times, and I absolutely adore it. This is a very faithful adaption. Everything is here. The original fighting fantasy world presented in really amazing-ly realized graphics. The world map is gorgeous. The frames of art from the books even more so. (there are lots of fantasy artists that are technically "better," but John Blanche's art is among those that simply can't be touched.) The new combat is a more fun that the standard die rolls from the books. Feels more involved, as a video game should.

I've actually put more time into the IOS version, because it's just so convenient to have it in my pocket to play when I just feel like reading. It's the same as the old book!

Saevoar
Saevoar

Had a bit of a struggle over how to rate this game, but in the end I decided it's worth giving it a play- just get it on sale!

Part 1 was excellent, it's the 2nd part where I really had my frustrations with this game.

I love the ideas here and there are some mechanics and features that are brilliant (I love the changing spirit/gods of guidance and the rewind features). That being said, I encountered numerous frustrations including a good ten minutes about how to save (was it explained and I missed it? Turns out it's autosaved- you only get one file. Tough in a choice-based game). And navigating can be a wreck- can I really not zoom in? I often couldn't even see the names of the places I had to navigate too- the map was clunky and hard to use.

Also the artwork in the little pictures is the stuff of nightmare- whenever one popped up I scrolled as fast as I could to not have the "art" burned into my mind. Really did not enjoy those pictures- yikes. The map art, however,is fine.

Again, it's a fun little game in the DnD style where your choices really do have weight. Collecting clues in part 2 is extremely tedious, and you do need to buy each part of the adventure to get the whole story. I won't be continuing after (finally) beating part 2 though.

Good luck!

lethebodies
lethebodies

Played through the first part and it's really amazing so far. The story is very compelling and the decisions you make as you go along are very meaningful, can't wait to finish the game!

Raj
Raj

Overall this is a fun game that has a very fun narration, all the while allowing at the very least an illusion of meaningful choice.

More than that, if you play the sequel 3 & 4 you can carry your save file over, and depending on how you played the game diverges more meaningfully over time.

Overall this is a relatively chap game that was a fair bit of fun.

I recommend it, although with how old this game is, it isn't a bad idea to grab it when it's on sale as a bundle with it's two sequels.

RHO558
RHO558

man im recommending the entire series my dude/dudettes a great choose your own adventure kind of game

REVICER-
REVICER-

One of the best games I have ever played. Relaxing and the world is really interesting.

stigthigpen
stigthigpen

The books these games are adapted from were my introduction to gaming and fantasy. many years ago. They're worth full price for the nostalgia value alone, and the developers have added features to make them enjoyable and interesting to play. A simple yet rewarding alternative to today's complex RPGs and open-world adventures. I am very grateful to the developer/publisher for giving me this opportunity to revisit the time when my eyes were opened to a genre and hobby that would give me a lifetime of joy.

Soar_sune
Soar_sune

(Review for Sorcery! 1)

While I believe this to be the worst in the series, it isn't bad. My main concern is that it's too short for its original price in iOS as an independent app not bundled with the 2nd game, as well as having a more straightforward path, meaning the game basically punishes you for straying away from the best path, rarely rewarding players from going away from towns or camps, where all the good loot is. Hell, if you're not careful enough you can lose all your starting stuff right at the beginning. I still do encourage people to play it, as it introduces you to the game's mechanics and can leave you in a headstart for the 2nd game.

(Review for Sorcery! 2)

Find this one the best of the series, a big contrast to the first. It brings out a more open world, but you can't ever really go in loops either. Plus, it introduces more of a story, as well as subplots that didn't exist in the original gamebooks that the games were based off of, as well as a fun minigame that the people in inkle devised to make the game more funto play, which definitely worked. All in all, I highly suggest buying this game, and the sequels if you are interested in finishing the journey. You can probably also refund the game easily, as it takes less than an hour or so to finish the 1st game and see how you feel about the game.

Lydia
Lydia

Really good Choose Your Own Adventure style game. Fantastic artwork and great writing makes for a fun adventure.

Hypophonic
Hypophonic

Part 2 drags the whole thing down. The story is awful, the characters are annoying, and the gimmick of having to find secrets in order to leave the region is terrible. As much as I enjoyed part 1, part 2 is bad enough that I can't recommend this game.

deshelbr
deshelbr

It took me a little time to figure out what this game was as I wasn't aware it's mechanics are based off a series of solitaire old-school fantasy rpg books. The mechanics around rewinding to explore different potential paths and optimize or unlock branches in different playthroughs is brilliant. A lot of fun, like figuring out how a magic trick works.

Paladin Ecko
Paladin Ecko

Sorcery! is entertaining and challenging! I really enjoy that your decisions really do shape the story. The combat is unique and will have you on the edge of your seat. Death lurks, will you succumb?

NarcolepticToad
NarcolepticToad

Great story with many ways to tackle problems, Even though it requires a lot of reading it is a good read. Also Some of the choices you can make might give you a good chuckle.

AdrianCypher
AdrianCypher

If you liked Steve Jackson's gamebooks back in the '80s, this game is for you; if you have no idea what I'm talking about but are into RPGs, this game might be for you anyway.

The basic plot of the books is unaltered but there are a few minor additions that give the reader some more freedom of action (without turning into a sandbox); for instance, rather than chosing among five different name when casting a spell, the player has to pick the letter one after the other, which makes all somewhat easier.

Isn't it enough? Ok, the art is awesome and the soundtrack is ok.
Great game!

Lorkhan
Lorkhan

Glorious, love the different ways to make your way back through areas you thought you had passed.

Elizie Marque
Elizie Marque

This is one of my favorite games but I have yet to find anyone I know who thinks the same :'(

engineer56
engineer56

Fun, good way of taking up time and an interesting story to boot. Well worth the price!

Babbles
Babbles

Identical to the books, an absolute recreation. Also really fun to map the encounters, for those of us still mapping :)

BadpunK
BadpunK

Steve Jackson's Sorcery! Is an interesting digital implementation of a pencil and paper gamebook. Though likely too simplistic for hardcore gamers, players looking for a quiet, absorbing role-playing experience will find much to enjoy.

This game series Sorcery! loves to surprise players and to thwart their expectations about fantasy worlds, creating tension by making sure that the player is always looking for that out-of-place detail or conversation line that will help him decide how to best solve a situation.