The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales

The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales is a complicated read. It's got a fascinating story set in a series of engaging worlds, but actually interacting with it all is a little simpler than imagined. Its story focus is regularly undermined by unnecessary combat sequences that are functionally fine but a drag on the game's pace. But on the other hand, the story's surprising emotional resonance and relationship-driven experience are worth seeing through to the end. Like some of your favorite books from your youth, The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales has some nagging parts that hold it back from wholehearted recommendation, but the effect it had on me is strong enough that I'll fight for it anyway. DO MY BEST did their best — and came out the other end with a special kind of narrative experience that I think most people will find a lot to love in.

The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales is a refreshing combination of different genres and viewpoints with an epic story to drive everything forward. Everything from the strange but rich narrative to the characters comes together to give us something close to a masterpiece. The only downside is the minor issue that appears when trying to interact with certain objects. However, even with that tiny flaw, The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales is a must-play because of its unique take on the genres it embodies.

The choices lose a bit of their variety as the story goes on and the combat can be a tad simplistic, but The Bookwalker is a beautiful exercise in exploring the humanity of fiction and why we, the audience, should feel for the characters on the page.

Prepare to be tossed into the narrative deep end

The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales features absolutely enchanting worlds brimming with stories, characters, and all sorts of details. I definitely enjoyed exploring everything right through to the end. Of course, I could have used a few more books, so I’m hoping the developers will release some DLC. If you love books with stories that pull you in, this game is made just for you.

As a whole, the game looks very nice and solid. The exciting concept provides a lovely immersion into the book and allows one to experience what it is like to live its story. Switching between the two worlds is exciting and reasonably necessary for solving the puzzles, even if sometimes you won't understand what's happening. The solid and emotional story, which you do not so much influence, is unfortunately slightly disturbed by the audio, which is weak here. Still, it manages to stand on its own with its feet firmly on the ground, ensuring that you will question your morals.

The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales feels like a nice little adventure that can hold your attention for a couple of great hours, and yet the astonishingly bad console versions make little to no reason to even touch this game.

The Bookwalker especially has some lofty intentions. As a narrative explicitly about the creation and exploitation of stories, it naturally has a lot of pressure on it to say something. But it doesn’t, beyond a milquetoast message of “be nice to people.” I could look past that if it wasn’t for the creative setting or if the gameplay was better. But as it is, it all seems hollow. Despite all this, I still really like The Bookwalker. It may not live up to its potential, but it’s a fascinating concept executed competently. The puzzles are good, even if the RPG and crafting systems seem like little more than an afterthought. The story is sufficient to pull you through, even if it doesn’t have much to say.

Despite an interesting premise and an intriguing art direction, The Bookwalker fails to fully deliver its best.

The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales starts with a not so neat presentation, that evolves in a different game once we start delving into the narrative. Without a doubt the game tries to mix adequately and even if it doesn't do it well as often as I might like, the narrative as a whole helped to make the experience a lot better.