Item - Into the Dungeon

Thin on length, content, and execution, this gamebook makes for a rather short adventure. Combat and stat checks are almost automatic, as only your initial character creation rolls make the difference. Like in some video games, there are achievements to strive for, but I would rather have had more given to the overall experience instead. It was still fun, but try to buy it used or on sale, as there are other, better gamebooks for the same price or less.

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Let's take a peek at Into The Dungeon!

Favorite feature: I love how accessible this gamebook is. It's just fun to play. It feels like an experience that has been crafted with great care.

Other strengths: Each section contains good artwork on A5 pages. Several artists contributed to the project, but at no point do the offerings feel mishmashed. There's a surprising amount of replayability due to multiple characters, each with a unique victory condition, achievements to unlock, and a scoring system. The diceless gameplay system works well given the breezy, pick up and play nature of the outing. I also love the whimsical tone of this gamebook, which is rarer than it should be in the medium.

Drawbacks: The gamebook is short, sub 100 sections to be precise, and the story is insubstantial, but for this kind of pure dungeon crawl, that works to its advantage.

Story: 3
Art: 4
Gameplay: 4
Sense of adventure: 4
Overall: ✏️✏️✏️✏️

Highly recommended

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