While the virtues of reading a book should never be ignored, interactive gamebooks have their conveniences too. Based on the 2013 choice-based novel of the same name, Down Among the Dead Men is fully narrated and keeps track of your current inventory and life points. That, and anything else you’ve acquired during your quest to overthrow the fearless pirate captain Skarvench, who’s out to claim the Queen’s throne. Indeed, this is quite the eventful tale.
It’s presented in a similar manner to a typical book, with text on one page and an illustration on the other, helping form a mental image of your current whereabouts and situation. One other boon to this ‘choose your own adventure’ gamebook is that said illustrations are often animated, with an image of your ship sailing the seas commonly present. While everything here is narrated, a text-to-speech program is clearly in use. It manages to avoid sounding robot-like, but at the same time lacks that personal touch, unable to convey the intensity of some situations. In light of the £4.49 price tag, this can be easily looked past. Writing is cheery and descriptive, peppered with plenty of pirate slang and wry observations.
It’s the story that matters the most, and this is where much of Down Among the Dead Men’s appeal lies. After choosing a character, each of which has different skills and traits – including fantastical themes, such as magic – you’re then thrown straight into the action, with Skarvench making themselves and their plans known from the outset. From here, it’s then a case of heading to different islands, each of which have their own choice-based dilemmas to overcome while your crew grows in size and wisdom. You’re able to purchase, steal and find items too, and must keep a stock of provisions – or face losing valuable life points when famished.
Upon arriving in a new location progress is bookmarked, making it possible to start from this point should your quest end. There are 11 ‘story moments’ to reach in total, with a tally kept on the main menu. You cannot freely choose from past bookmarks however should you make several poor decisions. This resulted in me reaching a late point and unable to progress, with every action taken resulting in a watery grave. Failure is a major part of the experience though; being able to reach a positive outcome on the first try is highly unlikely. You’re going to make a lot of mistakes before eventually earning the Queen’s favour.
It’s through starting anew and making different choices that Down Among the Dead Men’s restrictive nature starts to surface. You’ll learn that some items are far more important than others, or even essential, and that a couple of islands aren’t worth setting foot upon. There’s no getting around the fact that at some point you’ll need to acquire a ship either. I even started to feel that some of the character selections weren’t worth bothering with, diminishing the sense of experimentation. Obviously, I wasn’t expecting randomised elements, but I did expect a few more paths to take and more certainty after making key choices.
If you’re hankering for a swashbuckling pirate adventure, Down Among the Dead Men is still worth a look, aided in part by its low price. It has a curiously humorous tone and plenty of action, along with moments that call for smart decision making, and a main goal that provides something to focus on from the first page. I can’t see it being anyone’s next obsession, lacking the edge of a modern ‘one more go’ roguelike, but by being lean and focused, it has unique merits worth plundering too. Are long books better than short books simply because they have more pages? Of course not, and the same applies here.
Infinite Zone’s Down Among the Dead Men is out now on PS4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, and Switch.