Paolo Garelli
Today our search for tomes to read and worlds to explore leads us to face a new adventure with the review of Grafomante Con Delitto. Inside a luxurious hotel, we will have to shed light on an intricate mystery. Unlike a classic gamebook, here we will advance with a fun mechanic that we learned to love with Boarding Graphomancer. I thank Dracomaca, Roberto Bucciarelli and Lorenzo Gherardi for giving us a copy of their new work.
You can find the Grafomante Con Delitto gamebook on the Dracomaca website for €12.
Solve the mystery of the old owner and find out who committed the crime.
Depending on what (and how) you draw, the culprit will change
What and how you draw is the crux of the game. I’d say don’t waste any more time and start talking about our protagonist and the game mechanics!
A First Look at Grafomante Con Delitto
Grafomante Con Delitto is a gamebook made up of 163 paragraphs that will transport us on a thrilling investigative adventure. By opening the gamebook, we will be greeted by the Narrator, our Virgil, who will guide us through the simple mechanics.
The protagonist of this adventure is a young Scotland Yard agent teased for his habit of scribbling. Being his first case, whether or not he succeeds in this investigation could mark the beginning or end of his career, so the pressure is felt right from the start. However, Inspector Parker saw something in us and we will have to do everything not to disappoint his expectations.
The mystery concerns the death of Denise Depardieu, owner of the hotel where she was found dead. Everyone knew that the old woman had no heirs and her four collaborators did everything they could to get into her good graces and get their hands on the inheritance. A simple plot, but don’t think it’s trivial. The forensic team was knocked out by a hacker attack, so only our acumen will be able to solve the case.
Review of the Mechanics of Grafomante Con Delitto
Fortunately, The two authors have decided to continue the mechanics we learned to love in the previous chapter. Armed with a pencil, we will have to identify details and discover clues in search of our culprit. At certain times the gamebook will ask us to draw objects to continue the adventure. Here is a small example:
As you can see, my drawing skills haven’t improved over time, but that doesn’t matter. Now all we have to do is move forward and find out which details of our drawing are important. Based on which elements we have unconsciously inserted into the drawing, we will unlock paragraphs and get closer to solving the case.
The important thing is to understand that you don’t need to be good at drawing to play this gamebook; indeed, this is a great way to involve friends and relatives in a challenge to the best Graphomancer. This time I challenged my girlfriend and the results speak for themselves…
Considerazioni Finali
Grafomante Con Delitto is one of the gamebooks that a reader should try at least once. The two authors abandoned pirate adventures to become attentive investigators and the result is truly satisfying. The simple style and innovative mechanics allow for very high replayability that will allow you to unlock up to 10 different endings.
Inside we then find several illustrations by Stefano Dell’Aria which are perfectly themed with the style of this gamebook, also offering different ideas for our drawings.
In conclusion, Grafomante Con Delitto confirms itself as a very fun title that drags the game into a compelling investigation. At the beginning, I told you that this gamebook has 163 paragraphs, but I must confess that there is a hidden paragraph inside and it will take all your detective skills to find it. A challenge within a challenge that will make you spend several hours cursing the publisher Dario Dordoni!
