Fabled Lands

I have the Steam version of this, but I will likely get it here as well so I have a DRM Free copy to keep forever. This game is a faithful digital version of the classic gamebooks, the Devs have worked very hard to keep to the spirit of the old paper gamebooks but at the same time updating them and fixing flaws from those same books. Fabled lands is in my opinion the best modern and faithful adaptation of classic gamebooks for the PC to date, hands down. I am super excited for the DLC expansions. I could not be more pleased with the the direction the Devs are taking with this series! They are breathing life into a classic before the final embers died out.

I’ve never played the game books, so I went into this without preconceived notions or expectations, here’s what I found. In one sense, this is an open-world RPG adventure game with some very sharp mechanics that make the game very easy to get into it. That said, it doesn’t mean that those sharp mechanics are adequate for what the game is trying to accomplish. You start by selecting a character with pre-defined stats, and based on your difficulty setting, some equipment and cash…and off you go. To where you ask? well, that depends on your character class. After that the game, much like your character, is all over the place. At times it’s engaging, at others frustrating. You will feel that the game is well thought out…only to question the developers grasp of reality a short time later. Combat is cute but simplistic, and played out on a field of maybe two dozen hexes, it works well. But combat isn’t the only way to die in this game. In fact, I would say that combat is far more manageable than the random dice rolls during other parts of the game as those can kill you; and you have far less control in influencing the outcome. This in turn (massively) encourages save-scumming, and that to me is a flaw in any game as it kills immersion and the flow of the session. The art is…strange. The world map, (which is huge), is done pretty well, the character portraits on the other hand belong in a JRPG from twenty years ago. The writing is excellent without being verbose, (which is a good thing because you will be reading a lot). That means that if you aren’t into a lot of text in your game, this title won’t work for you. It’s an old school game with little guidance for the player and it can be both fun, or induce rage-quit. In the end, it’s probably the type of game that you will either love or hate with few gamers falling in-between. My advice is to only grab it on sale if you aren’t already familiar with, (and like), game books.

I am loving every minute of this game. This is the game "Low Magic Age" wants to be. (And "Low Magic Age" is not a bad game, but it is not this!) But more than that, I am a BIG fan of the old-school Choose Your Adventure books, the Lone Wolf Books, the AD&D game novels (One of them was a prequel of the twins Raistlin and Cameron Majere.). Now while I never read/played these books, they seem to be a treat based on this game alone. It only makes sense that these books become an all-inclusive RPG since these books (and all I named above) are just predecessors to modern CRPGs in general. And I really do like the presentation, the soundtrack and the atmosphere of this game. I am playing a Mage right now and I am loving how the different mini-quests feed into each other. It really rewards you for exploration and experimentation. The RNG is not savage (at least not on "Adventurer" mode) and it is just a good game to chill with. Very impressed and I hope that the developers expand on it -- I would gladly pay for some expansion DLC so long the price is right. As stated earlier in another review, it is just a wonderful love letter to old school game books!

I've played a few gamesbooks in my day, including some digital adaptations. Compared to the admittingly excellent Sorcery! and Heavy Metal Thunder, this is on another level. Very engaging exploration. Fine mechanics. Possibility for fun character builds. Trading that reminds me of Sid Meier's Pirates! There's a lot to love. Overall presentation and OST is fantastic. I've been looking to buy the OST, a first for me. The only disclamer is that there's a lot of text and dialog options have very real consequences. In fact, they're arguably more deadly then the combat encounters. If you can't be bothered to read then this is not the game for you.