Sorcery! 3 is yet another hit from 80 Days developer inkle, a remarkable gamebook (think Choose Your Own Adventure combined with an RPG) adaptation that offers a deeper and more fufilling experience than most RPGs.
But first, some backstory. Yes, this is the third installment in a four-game(book) series that's adapted from Steve Jackson's series of the same name, and so obviously you’re going to want to start at the beginning. Each and every one of these games belongs in your collection, as they each offer their own strengths. The first Sorcery! is fairly short and straightforward as you get used to the system while setting off from your hometown on this quest, while Sorcery! 2 is set entirely inside the sprawling city of Khare, opening the system up much more and really showing you its potential as you seek an escape to continue your adventure.
The third book, originally titled The Seven Serpents, sees your character crossing a wasteland known as the Baklands, while attempting to find and defeat seven magical serpents that are servants of the big guy baddie (the Archmage) you're attempting to defeat. Leave any alive and the next installment will be that much harder, because they will warn him of your approach, so you're going to want to hunt them down and kill them all.
You’ll really have to hunt them down, too. This might be the first open world gamebook, as you have a massive land to explore and any choice at how to tackle it, even backtracking as you so please to make sure you find everything you can. Various people and locations will contain clues to not only where the serpents are but their weaknesses, which are key, because otherwise you’ll be faced with very tough battles if you don’t. There are many people and creatures in this world who can help you, provided you make the right decisions.
Fortunately you're still a sorcerer, and have tons of spells that you can cast that can completely change the story. The SUS spell, which lets you sense impending danger, got a ton of work in this one for me, as it was easy to fear what was coming. The BIG spell, which makes you three times your size and makes everyone fear you, is another. While Sorcery 3! works perfectly well as a standalone title it's really smart to bring a saved game from the previous games to this, as you'll be stocked with more items and equipment that will really help you have more fun on your quest (some spells can only be cast with a magical item in your possession, such as a skullcap, goblin tooth or medallion.)
Around the world, interspersed among the various beasts and traps that try to stop your progress any way they can, are beacons that you can light. When you do so it changes the game completely, blasting out a magical light that can literally transform the land, bringing the past into the present. You’ll sweep the light across the beautiful world map and see villages pop up where ruins now stand, finding all sorts of secret locations and placing bridges across previously untraversable gaps. The beacons also act as a fast travel system, letting you get around the massive map more easily.
That’s one of the biggest changes to the other titles, which were more more linear, and inkle has also implemented a day system, similar to their hit release 80 Days (buy that NOW if you don’t have it already), where the days go by as your adventure progresses.
inkle is one of the most exciting game developers out there right now and even though they came out of the gates swinging with the first Sorcery! over two years ago (yikes!), they’ve really honed their engine and have learned how to take that classic gamebook formula and update it to a format that feels remarkably fresh and thrilling. About the only thing anyone could complain about this game is that it took a year and a half to release, and even then we were gifted with 80 Days and Down Among The Dead Men in the interim, more than a fair tradeoff. We can’t wait to see what Sorcery! 4 (The Crown of Kings, the final installment) has in store for us.
---
Sorcery 3 was reviewed from a iOS code provided by the developer. It's also available on Google Play and Amazon for Kindle. If you haven’t played the previous Sorcery! games before, all four previous inkle games are being bundled as an inkle Adventures! pack on iOS for a measly 12 bucks, so you have no excuse.
