Forbidden Magic

About

As a paranormal agent, your job is to keep magic under wraps. Can you catch a magical arsonist before you lose your heart? Forbidden Magic is a 145,000-word interactive paranormal romance game by Frances Pauli, author of Brimstone Manor. It's entirely text-based, without graphics or sound effects, and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination. You’re a mage on parole for a crime …

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

89%

Audience ScoreBased on 18 reviews

story12 positive mentions

The story is engaging and has unique characters that add interest to the narrative.
The game offers good replayability with multiple choices and outcomes, making it enjoyable to explore different paths.
It provides a pleasant reading experience with a fulfilling ending, and the romance elements are sweet.

The character development feels lacking, making it hard to form attachments compared to other works by the same author.
The story progresses too quickly, leaving players wanting more immersion before reaching the conclusion.
Some gameplay mechanics, particularly the reliance on stats for choices, can lead to frustration when players feel punished for their character builds.

story
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
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The story is described as a decent urban fantasy with engaging characters and a plot that, while enjoyable, feels somewhat short and develops too quickly. It offers an interactive experience with choices that allow players to shape their character's journey, making it appealing for those who enjoy investigative narratives with supernatural elements. Overall, it provides a relaxing read, though multiple playthroughs are needed to fully explore its twists and turns.
- “I enjoyed the fact the story was still in the same kind of world setting as the first book I read by this author.”
- “A single play-through is not particularly long, it took me three hours, but it will take several play-throughs and choices to reveal all the twists and turns in the story.”
- “All you had to know from this was... if you like investigative stories and making choices + throw in love interests + supernatural creatures + need a story to read = correct place!!!”
- “The plot is also not as involved, complicated, or angst-ridden as many other interactive fiction novels in the Choice of Games, Heart's Choice, and Hosted Games catalogues, making it ideal for when you need to relax, and it's priced accordingly.”
- “It is like the author is saying, yeah, I know you're a quiet, methodical, by-the-book kind of guy, but if you can't hit people, dodge whatever they throw at you, and cast magic at everything you can see, you are not going to make it in this story.”
- “But a story that allows a reader to build a certain kind of character should provide choices that allow that kind of character to succeed as well.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
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Reviewers highlight the game's strong replayability, noting that even exploring just a few of the available paths offers a rewarding experience, making it a great value for players.
- “It's even more of a bargain when you consider the replayability, even if you only follow a couple of the paths through the game.”
- “The game offers incredible replayability, with multiple story paths and choices that make each playthrough feel unique.”
- “With so many different endings and character interactions, I find myself coming back to this game time and time again.”
- “The replayability is quite limited; once you've explored a few paths, there's not much incentive to go back.”
- “After completing the game once, I found little reason to replay it, as the choices didn't significantly change the outcome.”
- “While the game offers multiple paths, the lack of meaningful differences in replaying them makes it feel repetitive.”