The Warlock of Firetop Mountain is an RPG that takes you on a build-your-own-adventure-type journey through a fully realised world based on the book of the same name. During your time with this game, you will encounter enemies galore, numerous locations and, of course, dice rolls! Does this game roll a natural 20 or does it fizzle out like a failed spell?

A Tale of Heroism and Horror

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain begins with a character selection screen. You are presented with a roster of potential adventurers to choose from, each with their own attributes and pros and cons.

After this, the story begins and sees you direct your chosen hero through a mountain. Gameplay typically follows the same pattern, where you navigate to an area of your choosing, and are then presented with a scenario. From there, you make a choice from those available and proceed accordingly. Each choice can lead you to any number of unknown outcomes, whether it’s discovering a new area, finding some interesting items, or even facing foes unexpectedly.

Combat follows the same format as that found in the original book, which is turn-based and using dice (2d6, specifically) where required. Battles take place within a grid system, and it is up to you to choose the path that you take to navigate the grid in order to defeat your foe(s). There is an element of strategy as you will constantly have to guess what your opponents will do and where they will move to. (As such, there will be a lot of empty-square attacks on both parts!)

A Test of Skill and Strategy

Combat is at the heart of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, featuring a turn-based system, with players rolling dice to determine both the success and the outcome of their attacks. Dice rolls are at the heart of most RPGs, and while this may seem simplistic at first, it quickly becomes a complex and strategic affair, as players must carefully consider their actions and manage their resources.

When facing an enemy, you are placed onto a grid system (the size of which depends on the size and number of enemies you are facing). You then select a square and the subsequent movement of your choice, such as “attack” or “move”. There are special abilities too, all of which have cooldowns attached to them, so you must use them wisely. Once you have chosen a move, the turn plays out and you see whether your action was successful. Perhaps the enemy happened to avoid the square you chose to attack, causing you to attack thin air. Or perhaps they waded right into the path of danger, subsequently suffering immense damage in the process!

Decision-making is also key in determining the (literal) path that your adventurer will take. At most points in the game, you are presented with choices that you must select to proceed. Do you head north, head east, walk up the staircase or try opening the ordinary-looking door in the nearby wall? Each choice will lead you to a new branch of the story, typically interspersed with descriptive, direct-from-the-book, written narratives which provide context. Consider it a silent narrator, if you will.

You gather resources as you explore the various dungeons and rooms that you happen upon, such as food and/or weapons. As such, the longer you survive, the more you are able to build out your character’s inventory and statistics to help progress them through the story further.

The Magic of Firetop Mountain

Visually, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain looks great, managing to capture the feel of a TTRPG through the use of (character) miniatures. Your character is standing on top of a base, which is lifted and deposited by an invisible hand with each movement that your character makes. This further reinforces the overall feeling that you are playing a TTRPG and not a CRPG (Computer Role Playing Game).

The soundtrack and character/environment sounds are strong throughout, to the point where they play as much a role in creating the immersion as the visuals do.

A Timeless Adventure

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain offers a high level of replayability, with multiple endings and hidden secrets to discover. The difficulty can be adjusted to suit players of all skill levels, ensuring that there is always a new challenge to overcome. Not only that, but as this is a choice-based game, this means that for every choice you make, there is at least one other choice that you didn’t take. As such, this means that the variety of different journeys increases drastically for each new decision that you make, because you are only viewing a small portion of the total available storylines out there. Therefore, it’s definitely worth revisiting The Warlock of Firetop Mountain as you will likely have a totally new adventure each and every time!

Conclusion

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain is a faithful book-to-computer adaptation, capturing the essence of a build-your-own-adventure RPG beautifully. Whilst not ground-breaking in terms of overall gameplay, it doesn’t have to be. It’s a TTRPG, that is based on a book and converted into a CRPG. As such, you get precisely what you would expect, which is an interesting game through a fascinating fantasy world. Some of the battles might become tedious as there is little variety between them, but overall The Warlock of Firetop Mountain is an entertaining journey and a welcome addition to the CRPG world.

Grade: 6.5/10