Today our search for tomes to read and worlds to explore will make us live a different experience with the review of the gamebook Oltre la Morte. Who we are, where we are and what we are. Questions without an answer; only silence and cold grip us deeply. An experience that takes shape page after page through the fragments of what was our past. We thank Emanuele Zammarchi and Tora edizioni for providing us with a copy of their new work.
If you can’t wait to crawl through shadows, know that you can buy this gamebook on the Tora Edizioni store at a cost of around €19.90.
Darkness.
It’s what floods your world.
And it’s cold.
Icy cold, like you’ve never felt before.
A First Look at Oltre la Morte
Oltre la Morte is a gamebook made of 379 paragraphs through which the author transports us to a world that we will not initially be able to understand. The incipit of the gamebook is full of questions. Our awakening in the depths of a cave is the first piece of a story that fragment after fragment will show us the person we were in life. I will not tell you more to avoid annoying spoilers, but the search for these lost memories has glued me to the pages. We are a shadow, the ghost of what we once were. The sky painted with the color of blood foretells a slaughter without equal and we find ourselves right in the middle.
The mystery and the detailed descriptions of the sensations experienced by this tormented soul are perfectly complemented by the evocative black and white illustrations by Cristina Calvagno, which allow us to immerse ourselves even more in the events of the gamebook.
Mechanics Analysis
The tests management system is based on whether or not you possess certain spectral powers that you will unlock as the story progresses.
As for the characteristics, we will have mainly two: Awareness and Horror. The first represents what we will be able to discover about ourselves and our past. Every five points of Awareness we will increase our Horror value by one point. The second characteristic instead represents our shadow essence. We are fear incarnate. We cannot physically hurt our opponents, but we can scare them to death. In fact, our Horror value comes into play precisely at this point.
Oltre la Morte Combat Review
The fights proposed by this gamebook are very simple and fast. Each opponent will have a Courage value and our goal is to reduce it to zero. To do so we will only have three turns of time, or they will chase us away with all the consequences of the case. The way to reduce their Courage is quickly said. Based on the weapon we choose at the beginning of the game, we will roll a die and add our value of Horror to the result.
The result will be subtracted from the total Courage of our opponent and, in a few turns, we will know if we have managed to win or not. A quick system that I appreciated a lot, since it allowed me to return to focusing on the story as soon as possible. Our opponents will become more and more difficult, but fortunately the increase in our Horror value and spectral powers will make everything more manageable.
Final Thoughts on the Oltre la Morte Review
Oltre la Morte is a really interesting gamebook, which kept me glued to its pages. As the plot progressed I found myself longing for the truth and wanting answers as much as the protagonist. The story is intriguing, and only in some points you can clearly perceive the path on which the author is making us move. A small flaw that however does not take anything away from an interesting story full of twists.
Our choices will shape our soul, giving us alternative and original endings. A little gem for the most attentive is the presence of a reference to another gamebook written by the same author. Who knows how many of you will be able to access this particular memory…
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