Sorcery! 2 (iOS) Review

By Lex Firth 23.09.2016

Review for Sorcery! 2 on iOS

A brave adventurer from the kingdom of Analand has successfully navigated a treacherous landscape, and has arrived upon the port city of Kharé (famed for its hostile non-human inhabitants and its countless traps all over), in search of the stolen Crown of Kings. Werewolves, goblins and mad kings lie in wait for those who will try it out. Will they succeed in their quest? After Sorcery!, here's the second part of Steve Jackson's legendary series.

Very little has changed in the jump between Sorcery! and Sorcery! 2 - the engine, HUD, and style is exactly the same, and it's much better for it. The entire text-based adventure takes place on a tidy, inviting interface, that makes it easy for newcomers and veterans alike. Of course, those new to the series will want to start from the first game, since tutorials are few and far between, thanks in part to the ability to retrieve Sorcery! save data from the cloud, retaining the stats (be they good or bad) that one has finished with on the last installment.

However, one major differences is the scale of the game. Where Sorcery! took the player across a vast and varied landscape, its sequel takes place entirely in the city of Kharé. It's an opportunity for the writer to really focus on making the area detailed and interesting, but some may miss the epic atmosphere that was seen originally. That's not, of course, to say that Kharé is dull, and there's plenty to explore with a number of subplots to delve into.

Screenshot for Sorcery! 2 on iOS

There's also a new mini-game in the form of Swindlestones, introduced at an early point. It's a variation on the card game "Cheat:" two players roll a number of dice, and take turns betting on how many instances of a certain number there are on the table. If a player suspects that their opponent is wrong in their bet, they may reveal their dice and the person in the wrong loses a die. The first person to lose all of their dice is the loser. Though essentially a guessing game, it's surprisingly addictive and it's a shame that it only crops up on a handful of occasions throughout the adventure; the ability to play it separately would have been much appreciated, as would a multiplayer version.

As for the writing itself, it's just as wonderful as its predecessor (the odd typo here and there is to be expected in a title with such a massive amount of text), and the fantastic illustrations and ambient music really make this a much more complete experience than the original book. This is definitely a video game to be played with headphones on.

Screenshot for Sorcery! 2 on iOS

Cubed3 Rating

7/10
Rated 7 out of 10

Very Good - Bronze Award

Rated 7 out of 10

Sorcery! 2 does suffer slightly from being the second installment of a four-part series and, thus, not advancing the plot in any noticeable or meaningful way. The addition of Swindlestones as a mechanic is very welcome, however, and this remains an infectious and exciting read as a whole, if perhaps one that's over a little too quickly.

Developer

inkle

Publisher

inkle

Genre

Turn Based RPG

Players

1

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  7/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  0 (0 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date None   Australian release date Out now   

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