Item - Traquelero: A Quest for Happiness

This gamebook puts the reader in the shoes of a 15 year old boy who gets lost in an Australian national park during his school field trip. The book requires no dice and the reader needs to explore the vast open world and track equipment and code words to progress. An item gained in one area of the park allows you to access another area for example. The book has a major erroneous omission of a section option near the end making it impossible to reach a specific key destination which requires a certificate, but I was able to figure out the correct section number for said destination. Some of the items are mistakenly called two different names (papier-mache cone also referred as ice cream cone). Despite these errors, the book was a joy to read and a very long one to finish. Lots of item collection and code words mean heavy note taking, but instead of exploring random mazes and battling enemies, the focus is on interaction with various NPCs and having philosophical discussions and making conscious choices.

Getting to the true ending provided a sense of accomplishment and felt like an epic adventure had come to an end. This book is like Fabled Lands but without battles or dice rolling and with one epic quest. The Australian setting was refreshing. All in all, a this is a great gamebook and I wish the author publishes more of his work in interactive format.

More reviews by Joonseok