Gamebook Edgar A. Poe: The Oval Portrait

The concept is okay, but not for me - I would prefer the audiobook with some fine art. But I can see why someone could prefer this way.

Unfortunately, even though it was an interesting (and rather one in a time) experience, I cannot recommend this game. It fails at the very thing it is based on - sound. If you choose the exploration mode there is no distinction between up and down, and the accumulation of sounds in some chapters makes it even more difficult to guide your character. In addition, I came upon a bug in chapter 5 where there was no way to move but left and right and I just got stuck. You could of course pick the Story mode, but there is little to no gameplay there as you just click the spacebar, which makes this game an audiobook and not a gamebook. But even though the actor that plays the Sir in the English version is ok, and his accent gives the story some character, you can't say the same about Pedro, whose voice is just boring. And that's after omitting the wrong pronunciation of many words. When I discovered the Polish version though, I found out that the actors are also not very interesting, but I could work with that - there were also a couple of spelling mistakes in the text. Shame that this is so unpolished, as it could've been great. Keeping my fingers crossed for more productions with a good idea, but hoping they will be just prepared better.

The Oval Portrait is a work of Edgar Allen Poe's that is very similar in tone to many gothic Victorian stories, notably, Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. It's a beautiful short story that can be a bit hard to follow. This audio active gamebook does nothing to really help enhance or clarify the story. If anything, the gamebook leads to further confusion due to switched wording, needless tapping on the screen in order to progress the story, and overall lackluster art and voice narration. While I recommend The Oval Portrait as a read and/or audiobook that gleans light on the theme of focusing on reality vs. fantasy, art, and creation, I do not recommend using this gamebook to engage with Poe's writing. 2.5/10

Bardzo ciekawy pomysł na "czytanie" książki :)

I just couldn't continue. I love E.A. Poe but this did not lend anything to, and in fact took away from, my enjoyment of the story. Hearing only what is spoken or thought with no world-building beyond the clopping of hooves, sounds of scuffle, etc removed details my mind could have worked off of, not to mention the confusion of when to tap the space bar (and having to at all), the random notes of 'cut scene', and all the mispronunciations. I was excited to find this and highly disappointed.

It's free and has some achievements. A normal audiobook is probably a better way to experience Poe's work, but this is acceptable.