Fit check
Is The Handbook worth it for you?
We tell you who should skip it, too.
Play it if you…
Good fit- Fantasy RPG players who want spell learning tied to exploration
- Players who prefer story-led adventures with town residents and side quests
- Action-RPG fans who enjoy positioning against groups of enemies
Skip it if you…
Saves you a refund- Players seeking a tightly linear adventure may find the exploration and hidden-area searching too open-ended
- Players who prefer single-target combat may not enjoy encounters built around handling groups of enemies
- Players looking for a non-fantasy setting will not find a contemporary or realistic world here
Our take on The Handbook
The focus on exploring a handcrafted fantasy world and building a spell repertoire leaves less room for a narrowly directed quest structure. Progress depends on searching the town and surrounding areas, meeting characters, and finding teachers or secrets rather than following only the central rescue objective.
What is The Handbook?
Play as Tim, a wizard apprentice on a quest through a fantasy world threatened by an awakened evil force.
Protect an isolated town and its inhabitants, meet characters with personal stories and quests, and investigate the landslide that cut the town off from the wider world. Tim gradually relearns magic through five elements: water, vision, fire, ice, and earth. Advanced spell versions can be learned from teachers encountered during the journey. Combat includes wolves, bandits, dwarves, and otherworldly creatures, with movement and positioning used against groups of enemies. Exploration covers the town and nearby lands, where hidden mysteries, treasures, and story details can be found while searching for the owner of The Handbook.
How The Handbook plays
- 01Elemental Spell Learning
- Tim gains magic connected to water, vision, fire, ice, and earth, with stronger variants available from certain teachers.
- 02Town Protection Quest
- The central journey involves defending an isolated settlement while investigating the force behind its isolation.
- 03Character Side Stories
- Residents have individual histories, problems, and tasks that Tim can encounter during the adventure.
- 04Group-Focused Combat
- Battles include wolves, bandits, dwarves, and otherworldly creatures, requiring movement around multiple opponents.
- 05Hidden World Secrets
- The town and surrounding areas contain concealed mysteries, treasures, and environmental details to uncover.
The Handbook compared to similar games
The Handbook combines fantasy exploration, spell acquisition, and group combat around protecting an isolated town. Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition centers on exploring a strange city and its story, while Back to the Dawn focuses on prison survival, investigation, and escape. Ghost of a Tale emphasizes stealth, disguises, and conversations in a medieval animal world rather than elemental spell learning.
The Handbook: platforms & release
Is The Handbook worth it?
It is worth it if: fantasy RPG players who want spell learning tied to exploration. Skip it if: players seeking a tightly linear adventure may find the exploration and hidden-area searching too open-ended.
Where can I download The Handbook?
Use the Download Now button on this page: it opens The Handbook's store page, where you can choose how to get it.
What platforms is The Handbook on?
Windows and Linux.
