Warlock of Firetop Mountain - Review @ PCWorld

PCWorld reviewed The Warlock of Firetop Mountain - a PC conversion of an old gamebook:

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain review: Another 1980s sword-and-board adapted for the modern era

There's a rush on Steve Jackson's old adventure gamebooks, and I'm okay with that.

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain has neither the depth nor the complexity of Inkle's Sorcery games, but tabletop-esque art and a plethora of unique adventurers make this a strong adaptation.

Steve Jackson’s in the midst of a renaissance, it seems. Earlier this year we took a look at Inkle’s Sorcery!, which adapts the 1980s adventure gamebooks of the same name into a modern hybrid of choose-your-own-adventure and RPG—with the help of Inkle’s fantastic writing.

And so imagine my feelings of deja vu as The Warlock of Firetop Mountain crossed my desk—another adaptation of a Steve Jackson adventure gamebook, this one from 1982 and co-authored with Ian Livingstone.

As I said: A renaissance.

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Bottom line

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain is an excellent adaptation. Like Sorcery, it never really transcends the cheesy sword-and-board adventure-fantasy of the original adventure gamebook it sources from, but that’s not really the point is it? Hell, the archetypal characters and straightforward questing are part of the charm. Tin Man’s lovingly reshaped Steve Jackson’s work into a relaxing and lightweight RPG, perfect to run once or twice in a night and hope this time you avoid all Zagor’s traps and make it to the end.

I don’t know what prompted this rush on Steve Jackson’s work, but I’d take a couple more adaptations—whether by Inkle, by Tin Man, or by someone else. It’s fast becoming one of my favorite niche genres.

Score: 4/5