What is The Forest of Doom?

Well, this game is a faithful reproduction of a printed book in the Fighting Fantasy book series (known in Germany as Abenteuer-Spielbuch) by Ian Livingstone. The Forest of Doom was originally published in 1983,

It is a book where you choose what path to follow, i.e. a kind of role playing game. There is an aspect of randomness by dice having to be rolled for battles and luck situations. Some battles can be avoided even by making clever choices. It is hardly comparable to other RPGs since it is a completely different genre, but what can be said is that the game is by nature very short - you can reach the end in an hour even if you play the first time. There are some different paths to explore, making it rewarding to try everything, but in the end it is something you can play only few times.

The video game version adds comfort functions such as an unlockable art gallery and oter extras, but also automatic tracking of your items, dice rolls etc, just like other video games do.
All in all I would recommend this for fans of the Fighting Fantasy books or those who look for a nice small RPG to read. The storyline is not deep, but when it first came out it probably was the equivalent of video games in book form. So now we have a video game about a book that emulated video games. Or that emulated casual D&D.

Recommended: For everyone, but at maximum 2 EUR / 2.50 USD

EDIT, 10/17/2015: I feel like I did not describe correctly what the gameplay is about, and also not enough of the nostalgic, the aspect of the classic. The book aspect is that it focuses on the story and gives you a set of choices after each step. It is more akin to a text adventure RPG but with graphical interface and multiple choice. So it is rather simple, and at its time as a book was indeed an equivalent of a full computer game, but nowadays video games have evolved. The book is a timeless classic, one that can be picked up and played - it is, as I said, for everyone. But it also is not long on the PC, you quickly go through everything and everything is automatically taken care of, no writing down stats etc manually. It is probably the best you can ask for to bring this to the PC, but it feels different. Maybe because I'm older, maybe because sitting with a book and paper, trying to draw an own map while going through the book, feels different. All in all you get what you pay for: A text adventure RPG from the master of its craft, 30 years late.

I hope that in 150 years, just like Moby ♥♥♥♥,* just like Pride and Prejudice, this is a classic that very few ever read but everyone knows about. In fact, it already is today to the lovers of such books. In a tight genre like this, almost everything is a classic. But on the PC it is too casual, something that does not hold the same impact anymore as it did when it came out first. For PC games, this one will never be, it is two or three decades too late. If text adventures - not just interactive fiction but real text adventures - would become resurrected, this would be how they could be made easier but still accessible. But they would need to be much longer, that is why I can only recommend the small price. They would need to be epics, things that tell long stories. This one, as much as it hurts, is a typical fantasy setting, something so cliché that it will be forgotten and only the gameplay is what stays in the head.

* = That book with the Whale by Herman Melville, not some guy named Moby's genital. Just so you know what word was censored. :-)

What is The Forest of Doom? Well, this game is a faithful reproduction of a printed book in the Fighting Fantasy book series (known in Germany as Abenteuer-Spielbuch) by Ian Livingstone. The Forest of Doom was originally published in 1983, It is a book where you choose what path to follow, i.e. a kind of role playing game. There is an aspect of randomness by dice having to be rolled for battles and luck situations. Some battles can be avoided even by making clever choices. It is hardly comparable to other RPGs since it is a completely different genre, but what can be said is that the game is by nature very short - you can reach the end in an hour even if you play the first time. There are some different paths to explore, making it rewarding to try everything, but in the end it is something you can play only few times. The video game version adds comfort functions such as an unlockable art gallery and oter extras, but also automatic tracking of your items, dice rolls etc, just like other video games do. All in all I would recommend this for fans of the Fighting Fantasy books or those who look for a nice small RPG to read. The storyline is not deep, but when it first came out it probably was the equivalent of video games in book form. So now we have a video game about a book that emulated video games. Or that emulated casual D&D. Recommended: For everyone, but at maximum 2 EUR / 2.50 USD EDIT, 10/17/2015: I feel like I did not describe correctly what the gameplay is about, and also not enough of the nostalgic, the aspect of the classic. The book aspect is that it focuses on the story and gives you a set of choices after each step. It is more akin to a text adventure RPG but with graphical interface and multiple choice. So it is rather simple, and at its time as a book was indeed an equivalent of a full computer game, but nowadays video games have evolved. The book is a timeless classic, one that can be picked up and played - it is, as I said, for everyone. But it also is not long on the PC, you quickly go through everything and everything is automatically taken care of, no writing down stats etc manually. It is probably the best you can ask for to bring this to the PC, but it feels different. Maybe because I'm older, maybe because sitting with a book and paper, trying to draw an own map while going through the book, feels different. All in all you get what you pay for: A text adventure RPG from the master of its craft, 30 years late. I hope that in 150 years, just like Moby Dick,* just like Pride and Prejudice, this is a classic that very few ever read but everyone knows about. In fact, it already is today to the lovers of such books. In a tight genre like this, almost everything is a classic. But on the PC it is too casual, something that does not hold the same impact anymore as it did when it came out first. For PC games, this one will never be, it is two or three decades too late. If text adventures - not just interactive fiction but real text adventures - would become resurrected, this would be how they could be made easier but still accessible. But they would need to be much longer, that is why I can only recommend the small price. They would need to be epics, things that tell long stories. This one, as much as it hurts, is a typical fantasy setting, something so cliché that it will be forgotten and only the gameplay is what stays in the head. * = That book with the Whale by Herman Melville, not some guy named Moby's genital. Just so you know what word was censored. :-)