Steve Jackson's Sorcery! Official Trailer
Sorcery!: The Shamutanti Hills is the first game in Inkle's Sorcery! series. The Analander begins their quest to retrieve the Crown of Kings by travelling across the eponymous Shamutanti Hills.
Plot[]
The game begins in Analand, when the player takes control of the unnamed Analander. They are preparing to go on a quest ordered by the King of Analand to retrieve the Crown of Kings after it was stolen by the Archmage of Mampang when it was due to be passed on the Analand.
They leave Analand after all preparations are made and begin their journey, crossing the perilous Shamutanti Hills. A conclusion is reached when they near the walls of Kharé, one step closer to finding the Crown in Mampang.
Gameplay[]
The Shamutanti Hills was the first game in the Sorcery! series, so it established many of the series' signature gameplay aspects.
- A board-game-like surface is traversed by the Analander, and reaching different locations triggers a branching interactive fiction section.
- A stamina-based combat system is utilised to fight enemies when a battle is triggered.
- Spells can be used in interactive fiction sections to progress through or change the story.
- The player can rewind through previous actions to explore all options or escape death.
Release[]
Sorcery! has received an extensive digital release. It was released for iOS in April 2013, Android in March 2014 and was bundled with Sorcery! 2 on Steam for PC and Mac in February 2016.
Cloud Continuity[]
As well as retaining a full inventory, using a save game backup for the rest of the games in the series can invoke a few special events.
- If Flanker was spared, he will appear in Sorcery! 2 in Kharé's Festival of Thieves.
- If Jann was befriended and kept safe until the moment they leave, they will be found locked in the prison in the Archmage's spiral in Sorcery! 4.
Trivia[]
- The Shamutanti Hills is the game most faithful to its original gamebook counterpart, considering the deviations from the source material in the other volumes.