Back in the early 80’s, Penguin Books published a series of books by Steve Jackson called Fighting Fantasy. They were basically Choose Your Own Adventure books but with roleplaying and combat. While players would choose from a list of actions to flip to different parts of the book, they would also engage in combat via statistics. Sorcery! was a four part series in the Fighting Fantasy line, using magic spells as part of the combat.
In 2014, a mobile adaptation of the books was released, and now, PC gamers will be able to enjoy the games as well, starting with the first two parts getting bundled together on February 2nd.
The games themselves are low-key, charming reads, having more in common with adventure games than roleplaying games, but death can come swift and brutal to the player. Each chapter of the game contain thousands of choices, with the plot adjusting itself to those choices. Players plot their journey on a world map, surviving monster attacks and other hazards. Monsters can be outwitted by taking the time to learn their weaknesses and their “tells”.
Part 3 of the Peter Jackson’s Sorcery! series is expected later in the Spring, while Part 4 will see its launch sometime later in 2016.
