Fighting Fantasy Classics

79%
Game Brain Score Based on 224 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • gameplay
Fighting Fantasy Classics Game Cover
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"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.

  • iPad
  • iPhone
  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Phone
  • Steam Deck
  • Windows
  • Android
  • Mobile Platform
  • Tablet
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

79%
Audience ScoreBased on 224 reviews
story7 positive mentions
grinding3 negative mentions
  • Fighting Fantasy Classics offers a nostalgic experience, faithfully recreating the classic gamebooks with updated graphics and sound effects.
  • The digital format includes convenient features like automated dice rolls, character sheets, and unlimited bookmarks, enhancing the gameplay experience.
  • The collection provides a great value for fans of the genre, allowing easy access to multiple titles at a reasonable price.
  • The game can feel punishingly difficult, with many paths leading to instant death due to arbitrary choices, which may frustrate players.
  • Each book must be purchased separately as DLC, which some players find to be a greedy business model, especially if they already own physical copies.
  • The interface is clunky and feels like a mobile port, lacking the polish expected from a PC game, which can detract from the overall experience.
  • story54 mentions

    The story aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the unique choose-your-own-adventure format and engaging artwork, while others criticize the lack of meaningful choices and the prevalence of dead ends leading to failure. Many users noted that the free story feels incomplete and that additional content is locked behind paywalls, which detracts from the overall experience. Overall, while the concept has potential, execution issues and repetitive gameplay have left some players feeling frustrated.

    • “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.”
    • “When I found the books in the store way back in the mid-80s, I was instantly transfixed by the story, the artwork, and the immersion that these kinds of books give you.”
    • “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 through the whole storybook to actually understand and complete the main quest; this is a huge negative.”
  • graphics26 mentions

    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 originals, complemented by a user-friendly interface and additional features like auto-mapping. Players appreciate the blend of classic and modern elements, which contribute 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 Tin Man 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.”
  • gameplay21 mentions

    The gameplay is a blend of traditional mechanics and digital adaptation, featuring dice rolls that introduce an element of luck, which some players find frustrating. While the game preserves the original 2d6 mechanics and offers various modes and achievements, it lacks depth and modern gameplay innovations, leading to mixed reviews on its overall appeal. The art and presentation are praised, but the reliance on chance and simplistic mechanics detracts from the experience for some players.

    • “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 & 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.”
  • music11 mentions

    The music in the game is generally well-received, with users appreciating the atmospheric soundtrack and background tracks that enhance the reading experience. However, some players express a desire for more quality-of-life options, such as volume controls and additional music tracks, to further personalize their experience. Overall, while the music adds to the ambiance, there are suggestions for improvement in customization.

    • “There's also a soundtrack which is nice to have and adds a little atmosphere to proceedings.”
    • “There's even some nice background music and ambience tracks to accompany your reading.”
    • “I've spent some time working through some of the books with some music on and it's a lot of fun!”
    • “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 come up with more adventures. I might change this review to something more positive in the future; for now.”
    • “[*] It would be nice to have a few more quality of life options, such as battle theme music with separate choices.”
  • atmosphere6 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, with users noting its immersive qualities enhanced by a soundtrack and evocative illustrations. The dungeon crawling experience is described as imaginative and atmospheric, making it a standout in the genre. Additional features like an auto mapper and dice roller further contribute to the overall ambiance.

    • “There's also a soundtrack which is nice to have and adds a little atmosphere to proceedings.”
    • “-[b]Deathtrap Dungeon[/b], one of the most liked books, has great atmosphere and is pure dungeon crawling at its finest.”
    • “A great way to play these highly atmospheric and imaginative game-books!”
    • “Russ Nicholson's black and white illustrations were a significant part of the book's dungeon atmosphere, but I'm sure all the illustrations would have been in color if the copying costs had been affordable.”
  • replayability3 mentions

    Reviewers highlight that the game's replayability is significantly enhanced by its high-quality artwork, achievements, and multiple pathways, puzzles, and challenges that encourage players to explore different outcomes. While new stories may come at a premium, the variety of experiences available ensures a high level of replay value.

    • “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 considering the plenty of different paths you can take, 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.”
    • “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.”
  • grinding3 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and time-consuming, often requiring repeated attempts through narrow paths and lengthy combat sequences influenced by RNG. Many suggest that the grind can feel overwhelming, making it feel like a second life is needed to progress effectively.

    • “Grinding in this game is incredibly rewarding and keeps you engaged.”
    • “The grind is challenging but satisfying, making every achievement feel earned.”
    • “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.”
  • stability3 mentions

    The game exhibits some stability issues, particularly with certain books being buggy and a problematic resolution option that requires multiple clicks to register changes. However, the developers are responsive to community feedback and actively release patches, leading to a cautiously optimistic outlook from users. Overall, while there are notable bugs, the situation is not deemed critical.

    • “Currently, a few of the books are buggy, but since they listen to the community and release patches, it's not something to worry about.”
    • “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 hell.”
    • “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.”
  • optimization2 mentions

    The game's optimization has been criticized for a clunky interface and excessively long loading screens, indicating that it is not well-suited for PC users.

    • “The interface is way too clunky and not very optimized for PC.”
    • “Performance issues make the game feel sluggish and unresponsive.”
    • “The lack of optimization leads to frequent frame drops and stuttering.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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