Sorcery! Part 4

Sorcery! Part 4 is the concluding chapter of inkle's adaptation of Steve Jackson's classic gamebook series, and it lands squarely in the category of games that reward obsessive engagement with every prior installment. This is a narrative-first RPG built almost entirely on text, illustrated maps, and a combat system that reads like a card duel crossed with a bluffing game. You are trying to recover the Crown of Kings, and the final obstacle is the Fortress of Sorcerers, a layered, hostile stronghold packed with enemies, traps, hidden factions, and secrets that respond differently depending on what you did in parts 1 through 3. The headline feature here is the import system. Decisions you made chapters ago, spells learned, items kept or discarded, characters spared or left for dead, feed directly into how Part 4 unfolds. This is not the shallow illusion of consequence you find in lesser choice-driven games, where every path reconverges at the same cutscene. inkle's writing genuinely branches, and if you've invested across the whole series, Part 4 feels like a payoff built specifically for you. For newcomers jumping in cold, the experience is thinner. The game tries to compensate, but the emotional weight of certain confrontations relies almost entirely on accumulated history. Combat uses inkle's familiar "Attack Strength" system, you pick a number, your opponent picks a number, spells modify the outcome, and the whole thing resolves in seconds. It's fast, readable, and tactically interesting without ever becoming a spreadsheet. The sorcery system itself is one of the best things about the whole series: you have access to a chunky list of spells, each triggered by spelling out a three-letter code, and choosing the right one at the right moment is genuinely satisfying. Some spells are situational puzzles; others are combat openers; a few will get you killed if you misread the context. The game rewards experimentation and punishes pure aggression, which suits the tone. Where Part 4 stumbles slightly is pacing. The Fortress is sprawling, and certain sections loop you through familiar corridors more than they should before delivering on their narrative promise. There are also a handful of encounter sequences that feel more like checkboxes than meaningful content, classic gamebook padding that ink and pixels haven't fully solved. The 76 percent positive review score on Steam reflects a game that dedicated fans consider essential and newcomers find harder to recommend; that split is honest and worth knowing going in. For players who have completed the earlier chapters, Part 4 is the reason the whole series exists. The writing has genuine wit, specific details, and an occasional willingness to wrong-foot you in ways that feel earned rather than arbitrary. If you care about narrative coherence, build variety expressed through spell selection, and a world that remembers what kind of person you've been throughout four full games, this is exactly the kind of thing I lose sleep over in the best possible way.

Monika · Scout Team

RPGs

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