The Darkness Over Arkham: An Arkham Horror Investigators Gamebook

I was sceptical about how this book would work but it’s fantastically done. Much closer to a text-based adventure than any RPG you might have done with friends and all the better for it. Rather than trying to “win” the game, the book rewards you with achievements that can be collected through many playthroughs which actively encourages replay. It’s very cleverly written to weave together multiple full stories and narratives as well, it’s not just “fail and don’t progress”. The tests are hard but an enjoyable experience and the game elements are well integrated. Would highly recommend if you enjoy the Arkham Horror universe or want to try something unique and interesting. I’ve been at it for at least 5hrs now and I imagine quite a few more will be spent in search of the remaining secrets as well!

This is harder than you might think! Good fun.

As a dedicated fan of Lovecraft and an owner of several Arkham Horror board and card games, purchasing this was an easy decision. Overall, the book is satisfactory, but I noticed several typos within the first 10 minutes of reading. Additionally, the quality of the few images included was quite poor. A suggestion to the publisher: consider employing a competent proofreader before releasing the second edition.

Enjoyable but not much reread value.

I read an eARC of this book so thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley. This felt like more complex version of the choose your own adventure books. You have that ability to forge a path through the book by choosing options to take you to different pages, but you also have RPG elements such as dice rolling and character traits and stats and abilities. Where the book gives instructions at the start, it’s best to follow these closely to get the most out of the game, and definitely give yourself a way to track what you collect throughout. This was a fun and entertaining venture into Arkham Horror. I played through as the Waitress. It was quite challenging and I failed several times, progressing a little bit more each time before I managed to solve the game by making the best choices (there are lots of different outcomes and endings). Sometimes the early ‘the ends’ came as quite a surprise and were unexpected which was a nice touch as it meant the game didn’t feel too easy. The theme and story were good, there were lots of recognisable elements from Arkham Horror. Story wise it was quite familiar and wasn’t introducing anything groundbreaking, but it was more being able to take control of the narrative yourself and choose what to investigate that was really interesting. You are trying to uncover a mystery and there’s lots of different routes you can take so you can play through this a few times, experiencing a different story each time. An enjoyable addition to the Arkham Horror universe. Fun to play through and a cool investigation in a book.

Do you want to play an Arkham game, but are stuck alone with nobody else willing to brave the weirdness with you? Fear not! Jonathan Green has you covered. This book is so much fun. Written in a 'Choose your Own Adventure'-style, the reader picks a character (three are given in the book, with more online) and follows their path, turning to the relevant page based on their skills and decisions. No two readings will be the same, and it's the best sort of way to play an Arkham game if you can't get out to a physical board with friends. As always, Jonathan Green's writing is excellent, as mood ramps up and decisions become increasingly critical. These aren't just characters on a page, after all - this is us making the choices for them! They could very well die at the next turn... or suffer a fate even worse. This is Lovecraftian adventure, after all. My only quibble was that the Kindle formatting of this title made it rather hard to see the details of images (particularly character information). I'm hoping that a physical book will rectify this; that would certainly be preferable in terms of flipping pages as well. I remember the old Fighting Fantasy books fondly, and ebooks will never overtake that for me! A great setting for an interactive adventure, with writing that draws the reader in. Excellent fun. I was kindly sent an early copy of this book by the publisher, but the above opinions are entirely my own.