Paper Sorcerer

About

Paper Sorcerer is a single player tactical role playing game with fantasy and dark fantasy themes. It was developed by Ultra Runaway Games and was released on January 22, 2014. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

A powerful sorcerer is on the cusp of dominating the land. A group of heroes bands together and seals him away inside a magical tome. Now as the sorcerer you must escape from this ancient prison and find a way to regain your magical powers using your wits and an array of summonable creatures to aid you. There may be more powerful forces at work as you navigate the dungeons and fight the heroes sen…

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79%

Audience ScoreBased on 515 reviews

graphics91 positive mentions

stability50 negative mentions

Unique and stylish black-and-white paper art style creating strong atmosphere.
Engaging turn-based combat with diverse party member choices and strategic depth.
Nostalgic dungeon crawler gameplay with an interesting story and enjoyable music.

Numerous bugs and glitches including game crashes, freezing, and menu issues requiring frequent saving.
Repetitive dungeon designs and combat can become slow and tedious over time.
Lack of quality-of-life features such as adjustable volume, save auto-save, and UI polish.

graphics
208 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
52%
4%
The game's graphics feature a unique, minimalist black-and-white, paper-like art style that effectively supports its narrative of being trapped inside a book, offering a nostalgic and charming visual experience reminiscent of classic RPGs and hand-drawn illustrations. While praised for its originality, striking design, and atmospheric quality, some users find the monochrome palette and limited visual variety can become monotonous or tiring over time. Overall, the graphics are well-received for their distinctive aesthetic that complements the gameplay and story, though they are simple and occasionally marred by minor glitches.
- “Essentially, Paper Sorcerer’s art style does what any good art style should do; it helps the game stand out, is pleasing to the eye, and further conveys the tone and story of the game.”
- “The graphics are striking and actually quite beautiful in their simplicity (I really like the shadow effects and the feeling of looking down over the edge into the blackness with just a few lines of white going down is amazing).”
- “The graphics and music are a charming combination of retro and modern, with a realtime 3D environment rendered in only 2 colors to give an 'inside a book' feel, and some really great chiptune music.”
- “Very clunky and awkward take on an already old school and outdated genre. It feels like it could have come out on Atari back in the 80s, if not for the FPS feel and the graphics, which sadly looked better in pictures than in the actual game.”
- “The art style is excellent, but the black and white aesthetic gets old fast and you'll be wishing for colors after just a few cell blocks.”
- “The visuals and graphics are monotonous and the game doesn't rely upon many assets, so don't expect much variety from it, especially considering the low price point.”
music
179 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
55%
8%
The music across these reviews is widely described as catchy, upbeat, and a distinctive mix of retro chiptunes and electronic beats that often enhances the game's unique atmosphere and style. However, common criticisms include its repetitiveness, occasional mismatch with the game’s medieval or dark setting, and the lack of in-game volume or mute controls, which causes frustration for many players. Overall, while the soundtrack is praised for its originality and mood-setting qualities, the limited variety and forced looping diminish the experience for some.
- “I also enjoyed the game's music, which is pretty upbeat and feels like a mix of classic chiptunes and techno beats.”
- “Wonderful soundtrack as well, especially the boss themes.”
- “The graphics and music are a charming combination of retro and modern, with a realtime 3d environment rendered in only 2 colors to give a 'inside a book' feel, and some really great chiptune music.”
- “Music and sound effects - largely forgettable, with the main battle theme music wearing out its welcome long before the game is properly finished.”
- “Unfortunately the horrible music/sfx combined with the inability to turn them off and the repetitiveness of combats made me abandon ship.”
- “Everyone has different tastes in music but having incredibly loud repetitive music you can't turn off is ridiculous.”
story
130 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
54%
3%
The story in this pixel-art RPG is generally appreciated for its unique premise of playing an evil sorcerer trapped inside a magical book, offering an atmospheric and well-crafted narrative with intriguing lore and occasional twists. However, it is often described as minimalistic, somewhat underdeveloped, and occasionally hard to follow due to sparse text delivery and pacing, with some players finding it forgettable or overshadowed by gameplay. While the story complements the gameplay and art style effectively, those seeking a deep, heavily detailed narrative might find it lacking.
- “A beautifully crafted, pixel-art RPG with engaging storytelling, deep gameplay, and charming characters that create a memorable, atmospheric experience.”
- “The story, while very simple, still manages to be pretty interesting and throws a couple twists in there that you may or may not see coming depending on how close you're paying attention to the books/journals you find and the character dialogue.”
- “I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Paper Sorcerer; on normal it is a good 13-15 hour experience, perhaps more on higher difficulties. Despite some bugs on higher levels, the gameplay is fantastic and the story is well crafted, possessing interesting plot points.”
- “The story is wholly not interesting.”
- “It's one of those let's set up the basics at the very start, mention nothing else about the story until the very last 10 minutes of the game, and then dump everything at the end.”
- “The story seems rather boring and underdeveloped.”
gameplay
104 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
55%
7%
The gameplay offers a nostalgic, turn-based RPG experience with solid core mechanics, strategic party management, and exploration reminiscent of classic dungeon crawlers. While praised for its engaging combat system and unique art style, some find it repetitive, slow-paced, or lacking in depth and polish, with occasional bugs and a clunky interface detracting from the experience. Overall, it provides enjoyable tactical gameplay suitable for fans of old-school RPGs but may be less appealing to those seeking more refined or dynamic mechanics.
- “A beautifully crafted, pixel-art RPG with engaging storytelling, deep gameplay, and charming characters that create a memorable, atmospheric experience.”
- “The game's mechanics are reminiscent of classic Wizardry, with phase-based combat where you first select the actions of all your characters, and then watch the turn play out as all characters act in sequence based on their initiative.”
- “This has some of the best core combat mechanics I've seen in this genre, especially in recent times.”
- “It's got a good mystery/narrative, and rewarding exploration, but these factors were not enough to make up for the tedious gameplay.”
- “Ridiculously stylish, but completely unfulfilling, with tiny levels and monotonous gameplay. The author's idea of 'environmental puzzles' is pushing a hidden switch on the wall to reveal a secret passage 3 steps away (and the game tells you where the switch is anyway, just in case).”
- “The trailer, screenshots, and overall aesthetic are impressive to be sure, but they belie a cumbersome user interface (for a genre that is 90% menus, why are the menus so annoying to use?), a sluggish battle system, and overall very dull mechanics that offer little in the way of exciting character molding or customization.”
stability
51 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
2%
98%
The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches, including freezes, broken saves, and inaccessible content, which significantly impact stability and player progress. Despite engaging gameplay and art, many issues remain unaddressed due to apparent lack of developer support, making frequent saving essential and detracting from the overall experience.
- “Only real negative is that the game is rather buggy and given that it's been about a decade since the game dropped and Ultra Runway has gone dark, it's fairly safe to say it's abandoned.”
- “While I've only experienced a small occurrence of this, it's a representation of a bigger problem - I've had Paper Sorcerer in my wishlist for years and when I finally bought it, I learned too late that the game is riddled with bugs and glitches that have gone unaddressed by the developer, who has also in that time frame developed and sold another game despite opening a thread in the Steam forum to address the bugs.”
- “The game freezes and I've had to replay levels due to the game locking - this is the primary reason I can't recommend it.”
grinding
45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
2%
91%
Grinding in this game is a divisive aspect; while some players find it minimal and balanced with strategic combat and rewarding exploration, others criticize excessive and tedious grinding—especially at higher difficulties or mid-to-late game spikes—combined with random loot and repetitive encounters. The turn-based battles emphasize strategy over pure grinding, but the lack of quality-of-life features like speed-up or restart can make prolonged fights feel dull. Ultimately, grinding intensity depends on difficulty choice, with options available to reduce forced grinding for less patient players.
- “No grinding needed on normal mode.”
- “It's not very grindy; I had to grind a bit on hard level.”
- “Not too grindy, and you get enough 'summons' (party members) to vary your party and not make the game stale.”
- “As I approached the middle portion of the game, the scaling led gold to be dropped at unreasonably high rates, making it more about grinding random battles than exploration, careful planning, or spending.”
- “The battle system is quickly understood, and whatever quirkiness and customization the party-summon mechanic brings is quickly locked away behind a gruesome wall of grinding.”
- “3) Grinding for levels/currency is tedious as mobs do not respawn on the main tower levels, so you have to go to the catacombs where you have to wait for like a minute in between each fight.”
replayability
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
50%
14%
The game offers a solid degree of replayability primarily through its diverse character roster, party compositions, and varying difficulty levels, allowing players to experience different strategies and synergies. While it lacks procedural level generation and extensive enemy randomization, the engaging combat system and multiple character branches provide enough variety to encourage multiple playthroughs. Overall, it delivers good replay value, especially considering its price and nostalgic turn-based gameplay.
- “Replayability is through the roof here.”
- “The different synergies of characters allows for a ton of replayability.”
- “Otherwise, you have a highly replayable dungeon crawler with plenty of party options, random equipment, and great art and tunes.”
- “Game is not that replayable but it does lend itself to at least one replay just so you can try out different characters.”
- “Unfortunately, there is no procedural generation of levels, and very limited randomization of enemies, so replayability suffers.”
- “This gives limited replay value but still for $5 it was worth every penny.”
atmosphere
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
35%
15%
The game excels in creating a memorable, atmospheric experience through its unique black-and-white, paper-inspired art style and old-school dungeon-crawl aesthetics. While the music generally complements the atmosphere, some find its looping repetitive, slightly detracting from immersion. Overall, the grim fantasy ambiance, combined with engaging storytelling and visuals, makes it a standout atmospheric indie RPG.
- “A beautifully crafted, pixel-art RPG with engaging storytelling, deep gameplay, and charming characters that create a memorable, atmospheric experience.”
- “Soaked with atmosphere, a modern melancholic black-and-white trip with old-school dungeon-crawl mechanics.”
- “Everything about this game works toward a grim fantasy atmosphere that exudes character.”
- “I was interested in this game for a while, though I didn't pick it up right away because, though the artwork was beautiful, I'm also a sucker for colorful games, and I wasn't sure I'd get along well with Paper Sorcerer's mostly black and white atmosphere.”
- “Graphically the game isn't a powerhouse but the creator supposedly based a lot of the visuals off of sketches he'd done with a ballpoint pen, and translating that into the game gives it a very stark atmosphere that lends itself well to the rest of the game.”
- “Music is non-intrusive, and lends itself well to the atmosphere, especially during battle.”
humor
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a light, often goofy humor that complements the gameplay without overwhelming the atmosphere, with funny dialogue, item descriptions, and writing praised by many players. While the humor occasionally struggles to balance with more serious tones, it adds charm through subtle flavor text and quirky moments. Overall, the humor is well-received and enhances the nostalgic, dungeon-crawling experience.
- “Good difficulty curve, and it's got a decent sense of humor without being intrusive to the atmosphere.”
- “+Funny, goofy dialogue from a lot of NPCs, and some item descriptions.”
- “You'll find nice tidbits of humor laced throughout the game as well.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game delivers a unique blend of emotions, creating an emotionally believable experience. It challenges players consistently while revealing a touching story toward the middle and end.
- “Paper Sorcerer creates a unique blend of moods that results in an emotionally believable experience.”
- “It challenges you at every turn and has a touching story buried in its middle and end.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users feel that the game lacks sufficient optimization and would benefit from improvements to enhance performance.
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development in Paper Sorcerer is praised for its solid design and engaging dialogue, supported by a unique story and intriguing lore that enhance the roleplaying experience without relying on grind-heavy leveling.
- “Paper Sorcerer is filled with solid character design and dialogue, a unique story with intriguing lore, a roleplaying game leveling system that avoids grind to focus on the core experience, and a wonderful graphical quality that is both modest and immersive.”