Fighting Fantasy Classics

About

"Fighting Fantasy Classics" is a digital adaptation of the classic gamebook series, allowing players to experience Choose Your Own Adventure-style gameplay. The game includes several titles, such as "The Warlock of Firetop Mountain" and "Deathtrap Dungeon," with digitized illustrations and interactive combat. Players can customize their characters and save their progress, creating a unique and immersive gamebook experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

79%

Audience ScoreBased on 448 reviews

story14 positive mentions

grinding4 negative mentions

Fighting Fantasy Classics offers a nostalgic experience, allowing players to revisit classic gamebooks from their childhood in a digital format.
The game features quality-of-life improvements such as automated dice rolls, an inventory system, and unlimited bookmarks, making it easier to navigate the stories.
The collection includes a variety of beloved titles, and the developers are committed to adding more content, enhancing the overall value for fans of the genre.

Many players find the game overly punishing, with instant deaths and reliance on luck making it frustrating, especially for newcomers.
The interface is criticized for being clunky and not well-optimized for PC, as it feels more like a mobile port than a dedicated desktop application.
The business model requires purchasing each book separately as DLC, which some players feel is misleading and not a good value compared to physical copies.

story
108 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
84%
3%
The game's story aspect has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the immersive choose-your-own-adventure format and engaging artwork, while others criticize the lack of meaningful win scenarios and repetitive gameplay. Many users noted that the narrative can feel constructed and that multiple playthroughs are often necessary to fully understand the plot, which can be frustrating. Additionally, the requirement to purchase additional stories as DLC has been a point of contention, leading to feelings of being limited in their storytelling experience.
- “House of Hell breaks the usual formula and is instead a spooky haunted house story, highly recommended just to change up the routine of the other books.”
- “If you are a fan of choose your own adventure books with more substance, wonderful artwork, and a compelling story, you've found the right series here.”
- “It's that kind of story where you are interpreting whatever creature or race you want, and then the plot evolves according to your choices, your luck, your equipment, etc.”
- “This game I thought would be fun, but there were no win scenarios in the story.”
- “But the story in the free book you get in the main game felt very constructed; I didn't even understand my character's motivation to go on a journey... the fights are boring and don't really vary much, it just feels like clicking through the same thing again and again.”
- “I will be fine if the games just last one walkthrough, but most of the books are designed in a way that you have to play multiple times of the whole storybook to actually understand and complete the main quest; this is a huge negative.”
graphics
52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
82%
6%
The graphics of the game are praised for their nostalgic appeal, featuring original artwork that enhances the immersive experience and evokes memories of classic gamebooks. While some titles include updated colorized artwork, the overall presentation remains faithful to the original style, complemented by a user-friendly interface and smooth gameplay. The combination of high-quality illustrations and the ability to toggle between classic and new art adds to the game's charm and replay value.
- “The updated graphics and sound effects are a welcome addition, and they help to enhance the immersive experience of the game.”
- “These computer games capture the magic of the gamebooks and I love that they kept the original artwork from the books.”
- “The art style is really in keeping with what you remember - complete with a slightly yellowed page effect - with the swirly sketches from the originals.”
- “If you want to play Fighting Fantasy and gamebooks on Steam in general, forget about those souped-up graphical versions made by Tinman or Inkle.”
- “Of course, it's just some text and illustrations, but this is the Unity engine after all, and it manages to overheat your graphics card (seriously).”
- “Aside from a few minor features (some artwork now in color, but not for all books, an auto-mapping system, and easy bookmarking of chapters to go back and change your decision), you should not expect anything more or less than the original books.”
gameplay
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
74%
7%
The gameplay is a blend of traditional mechanics, such as rolling dice for stats, and digital adaptations of classic books, which some players find lacks depth and modern innovation. While the art and overall quality are praised, the reliance on luck and dice rolls for starting advantages has drawn criticism, with some feeling it detracts from the experience. Overall, the gameplay offers a nostalgic feel but may not satisfy those seeking more contemporary mechanics.
- “The art, mechanics, and most importantly, the digital preservation of these books is phenomenal.”
- “The mechanics are excellent and the quality with which the games were made is impressive.”
- “Each title has a great amount of gameplay, plus achievements to complete and artwork to collect, if you like that sort of thing.”
- “How can gameplay depend so much on dice rolls and pure luck alone?”
- “Short version: this is an adaptation that does not add anything of value to the source material, but makes it less appealing through bad mechanics.”
- “Lacks depth and more modern mechanics.”
music
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
41%
14%
The music in the game is generally well-received, with users appreciating the atmospheric soundtrack and background music that enhances the reading experience. However, there are criticisms regarding the lack of volume control for sound effects and music, as well as a desire for more quality-of-life options, such as separate battle theme music choices. Overall, while the music adds to the enjoyment, improvements in customization could elevate the experience further.
- “There's also a soundtrack which is nice to have and adds a little atmosphere to proceedings.”
- “They have mood music that can go along with reading the book on how everything plays out.”
- “There's even some nice background music and ambience tracks to accompany your reading.”
- “But the fact that there is only one adventure for free, this is not really a free-to-play game; it's more of a demo and personally a waste of download space. Also, there's no real volume controls for the sound effects and music; it's either on or off.”
- “Give you the ability to set how loud you want music and sound effects, and if they came up with more adventures, I might change this review to something more positive in the future. For now, it's lacking.”
- “It would be nice to have a few more quality of life options, such as battle theme music with separate choices.”
atmosphere
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
83%
9%
8%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, with users highlighting its immersive dungeon crawling experience enhanced by Russ Nicholson's illustrations and a complementary soundtrack. The inclusion of features like an auto mapper and dice roller further enriches the gameplay, making it a standout in the genre. Overall, the game successfully creates a captivating and imaginative environment for players.
- “There's also a soundtrack which is nice to have and adds a little atmosphere to proceedings.”
- “A great way to play these highly atmospheric and imaginative game-books!”
- “Russ Nicholson's black and white illustrations were a big part of the book's dungeon atmosphere, but I'm sure all the book's illustrations would've been in color had the copying costs been affordable.”
- “Russ Nicholson's black and white illustrations were a big part of the book's dungeon atmosphere, but I'm sure all the book's illustrations would have been in color had the copying costs been affordable.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game offers high replayability due to its diverse paths, challenging puzzles, and the potential for character death, encouraging players to explore different strategies. The inclusion of high-quality artwork and achievements further enhances the experience, although new storylines may come at a premium. Overall, players can expect a rich and varied gameplay experience that invites multiple playthroughs.
- “The discovery of high-quality artwork and the addition of achievements increases the replay value to new levels.”
- “It's pretty obvious that the replayability of these books is high, especially if we consider the fact that there are plenty of different paths you can take, puzzles, difficult fights, and, of course, the possibility of dying along the way.”
- “New stories are a bit expensive, but there is a lot of replayability.”
- “The discovery of high quality artwork and the addition of achievements increases the replay value to new levels.”
- “Do that either with dice or with your own wit and finally move on to the next entry you're redirected to; it's pretty obvious that the replayability of these books is high, especially if we consider the fact that there's plenty of different paths you can take, there are puzzles and difficult fights, and, of course, you can die along the way.”
- “New stories are a bit expensive but there is a lot of replayability.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and time-consuming, often requiring multiple attempts to navigate narrow paths and engage in lengthy, RNG-based combat. This repetitive nature can detract from the overall experience, leading some to feel that a second life may be necessary to endure the grind.
- “It does get fairly tedious to poke down every choice possible.”
- “The path is very narrow, and trying again means having to go through tedious combat with rolls that are not only RNG but take up a substantial amount of time.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game exhibits several bugs, particularly with certain books and features like resolution changes and mouse hover effects, leading to a frustrating experience for some players. However, the developers are responsive to community feedback and actively release patches, which offers some reassurance. Overall, while stability issues are present, they are not deemed critical by all users.
- “I'm giving it a conditional thumbs up because I'm a fan of these nostalgic things and I hope that the problem is only with certain books or that different playthroughs will succeed, but it is buggy as f*ck.”
- “My gripes are the lack of a 'mouse hover' effect, no dedicated quit button, and the resolution option changing is buggy as it takes a few clicks for the changes to register.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's optimization has received criticism for its clunky interface and prolonged loading screens, particularly on PC. Overall, players feel that the game is not well-optimized, leading to a less than satisfactory user experience.
- “The interface is way too clunky and not very optimized for PC.”

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