Necklace of Skulls Review

The latest in a run of gamebook apps from Cubus Games, Necklace of Skulls is a game based on the book by Dave Morris. It’s not a title I was previously familiar with but it’s certainly piqued my interest. Set within ancient Mayan history, there are spooky goings on aplenty, gods and ghosts to confront, plus some very supernatural occurrences.

Unlike other gamebooks, Necklace of Skulls isn’t quite so reliant on luck. It doesn’t use dice rolls to dictate how things work out. Instead, it’s more down to the choices you make. There are combat sequences but these involve choosing from a few options of whether to attack, defend, or rest, with that ensuring you feel a bit more in control than usual.

Elsewhere, choices are made as to where to go next, what items to take with you via your limited backpack, and what kind of character you want to be. Necklace of Skulls offers up choices at a steady pace so you always feel like a part of the branching storyline. It’s consistently quite attractive to look at too, with visuals keeping with the theme throughout.

Divided into different chapters, it feels easy to dip in and out of, too. There are moments where you can die quite suddenly, but a checkpointing system means you won’t lose much progress. This doesn’t make Necklace of Skulls feel too easy, though. It simply cuts back on the frustration factor.

Necklace of Skulls perhaps lacks the refinement of rival developer Tin Man Games’ titles, but it’s still a fine entry and one that’s sure to grip fans of the genre. It’ll last a different length of time, and being based on a lesser known book should be all the more appealing.