Full disclosure a copy was provided to GWW for review
Sorcery Part 3 is of course the third installed within the adventure series Sorcery! I have reviewed the previous editions so sure to check out the review for discussion of core mechanics as this review will focus on what is new in part 3.
Part 3: The Seven Serpents sets the stage for players that their adventure will be bleak and fraught with peril. The opening of Part 3 has players leaving Khare to trek across a bleak and deserted wasteland. To make matters worse that player is being hunted by the Seven Serpents, a personal assassination force of the false King you are attempting to overthrow. The tone of part 3 is darker and more hopeless feeling than the previous installments. The narrative thrust is to hunt down and kill the Seven Serpents. Similar to my feelings on part 2 in which the player had to track down city council members, I didn’t enjoy the “find X amount” format of part 3. I much prefer the simpler start to finish questing of first game.
One new mechanic in this installment is the ability to transport into a magical realm within the wastelands. Beacons dot the landscape which will allow players to open magical rifts that transform the landscape. The map overall is barren and dry, but when opening rifts the landscape becomes lush and green. Using this ability is important to survival as a way to gather provisions or solve puzzles. In one instance, I projected a beam across a broken bridge. The rift restored the bridge for me and I was able to cross. When within rift areas players are also safe from running into The Serpents. It’s a neat mechanic and made me feel more at ease as I traveled.
Part 3 is also the most open of all the adventures with much more dialogue options or so it seemed to me. Normally I would welcome this, but paired with the need to track down my assassins, plus the addition of changing the map via rifts, I found all the choice to be a bit overwhelming. I found myself just plowing through in my travels instead of taking my time to explore like in previous games. I was fatigued by the overall format of the game this time around as well, perhaps it was the games setting, but I wasn’t as relaxed playing part 3 as I was in the past two.
It should be noted that Part 3 is being offered as a standalone product so players that bought Part 1 and 2 will need to purchase Part 3 separately. However, a 25% is being offered the first week it launches. Sorcery! Part 3 is available now for $9.99
Sorcery! Part 3 is an enjoyable game, but is starting to stale despite addition of new mechanics.