An Assassin in Orlandes

[h1]Gameplay: 4/10[/h1] [h1]Graphics & Sound: 4/10[/h1] [h1]Narration: 5/10[/h1] ✔️ Interesting intrigue ✔️ User friendly features - the possibility to "cheat" makes the game far more enjoyable by my standards 💭 Very old-fashionned in all its aspects ❌ The writing isn't awful, but it does tend to be a bit awkward sometimes ❌ The few game mechanics aren't explicit and must be tried out once before you can actually understand how they work ❌ Unsightly visual assets ❌ Boring and repetitive music Overall a rather mediocre experience, but the game comes at less than 3€ on sale, so it could be said it's worth its price. An okay-ish old-school narrative parenthesis between two better games, but far from being a really fulfilling experience.

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It's a very standard gamebook, sometimes a bit silly (judging someone passed recently from a temperature of a cloth scrap?! come on, a cloth scrap has not enough mass to hold temperature, unlike a pot of tea, for example). The plot is nothing to write home about, standard fantasy romp full of overused tropes. The expansive lore in the Extras section, is very detailed, if rather run-of-the-mill, and feels irrelevant for the purpose of the actual gameplay. But the game is functional, and if you like gamebooks who have limited replay value, this one can be recommended - especially if you buy it for one Euro as I did.

An Assassin in Orlandes, developed and published by Tin Man Games, is a narrative-driven gamebook that embraces the traditions of classic interactive fiction while layering in light role-playing mechanics to give player choices more weight. It’s not a game built around direct control or mechanical complexity, but rather one that unfolds through decisions, branching paths, and a steady sense of tension shaped by both strategy and chance. From the outset, it positions itself as an experience where survival depends as much on judgment as it does on luck. The story begins in the city of Orlandes, where fear spreads following a series of mysterious killings. You are drawn into this situation almost immediately, and what starts as a local investigation gradually expands into a wider web of intrigue, deception, and danger. The narrative is paced in short segments, each ending with a choice that determines how events progress. This structure creates a constant sense of momentum, as every decision pushes the story in a new direction, often with consequences that are not immediately apparent. What gives the game its distinct identity is how heavily it relies on branching pathways. Choices …

AiO is an old school gamebook which brings us in the medieval spanish fantasy setting of Orlandes. Our character in an unnamed adventurer who finds himself victim of a conspiracy to steal his identity. Fair difficulty, atmospheric music and great illustrations: I need nothing else.

[h1] The first Gamebook Adventure finally on PC! [/h1] This is the PC version of the app which was released more than 10 years ago! At the time, there was sort of a renaissance for gamebooks and the smartphone was an excellent platform for playing these. These are close and heavily influenced by Fighting Fantasy gamebooks. The stats and combat is different but the process is the same, go up, turn to paragraph 320, go down, turn to paragraph 112, etc. The story itself is quite good and there's plenty to discover, you can get lost easily but the book is not too complicate and after a few try you can easily beat it. You also have a "cheat mode" which helps you go back, heal yourself, select any options (even if they were blocked initially for you) so you can enjoy the story to its end eventually. It's very stable and no bugs, the music is repetitive but matches the mood of the story. I recommend it to any fans of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks or nostalgic people who played those games on their mobiles phones 10 years ago. I actually wish more of these were available.