Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Game
Game2016
House of Hell (Standalone)
Developer Tin Man Games
YOU are the hero in House of Hell! Can you escape from the Earl of Drumer's malevolent mansion in Steve Jackson's Fighting Fantasy classic RPG gamebook? From the Steam store page
44 reactions from 1 source (Steam reviews) · newest Oct 6, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
89
LovedLoved
39 positive · 5 negative
95% range 76–95%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 39 | 5 | 0 |
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
61 of 70 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Summary pending — the reactions are listed below.
Reactions
44 of 44 · most liked firstI probably should stop buying these darned gamebooks, lest I should render my transformation into a broken record complete. Tin Man Games really have done a fantastic job of recapturing my childhood with both their literal Fighting Fantasy adaptations, as well as their self-penned "Gamebook Adventures" titles: Even back then I really did want to utterly ADORE these attempts to create a single-player "roleplay"-style adventure, and even back then I somehow never quite felt that these gamebooks…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a nice adventure, if you are in the mood for a quiet, reflective game, that requires a good amount of reading. I think Tin Man Games did an admirable job with the porting of these gamebooks, onto the PC. The game uses the Unity Game Engine, with in-game features such as animated dice rolls, bookmarks, difficulty levels, notes from the original author, in-game achievements, and original artwork. You might not always desire reading pages of text, but this is a worthwhile step up from the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →ENGLISH : It's a strict transposition of Steve Jackson's 1984 gamebook published by Puffin. A great classic but extremely tough : you will wander during many tries in in the Manor's corridors, always encountering a tragic end before finding the one true path to victory. Production value is decent but nothing stellar thought. FRANCAIS : Ce jeu est une strict adaptation du Défi Fantastique 'Le Manoir de l'Enfer' de Steve Jackson, publié pour la première fois en 1984. Un grand classique du…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The good Exactly like the book, no surprises there Cool achievements Cool trading cards The bad Arguably not worth $10 Background music is in mono
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Its a maze in text form. according to walkthroughs you will need to have at least 8 fear points to get through the game. even if you played through it perfectly you would still lose if you had a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ fear roll during character creation. this book is hard, and without visual aids its even more so. this is practically a copy/pasted version of the original book from the series. the only conveniences are auto dice rolling and inventory management. there is no map. and it should have one. or at…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Oh, my... This game feels like Dark Souls : the book. You die. You die. And you die. I haven't played the original gamebook, but this brought some childhood memories back (a book where you are the Hero). It's a perfect digital alternative : automatic dice rolls, counts, links between the pages, 3 difficulty levels, background music... The writing is okay, mostly simple, but the game itself isn't ; you'll spend your time trying to figure out how to escape from a labyrinthine house in which…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →While the game book can be indeed entertaining, it does have some issues. Like the house layout being quite confusing and many rooms and routes leading to certain death, not to mention it is one of those games where you need a bunch of specific steps to get an item to kill the final boss and if you miss a step you simply can't beat it. Last but not least, the game has some weird bugs in easier difficulties in certain battles that makes them impossible to lose. I only played said easier…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Spoopy Text Boi
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A great on-screen production of one of the classic Fighting Fantasy gamebooks. A change of direction from the usual sword&sorcery style games set in the world of Allansia, this one is set in a haunted house (just in case you hadn't already worked that bit out) on modern day Earth. Steve Jackson's original book has been brought back to life with real affection here. The game is exactly as it woz (all those years ago!) and not only are the original b&w artworks here, but full colour versions as…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →AHH FEEL THE NOSTALGIA! As a child growing up in the 80's and being a big reader it was a labour of love saving up money to buy every fighting fantasty book as they came out. House of Hell was a very differnt setting compared to most of the fighting fasntasy books. House of Hell was the first and only fighting fantasy book to un-nerve me and give me nightmares as a child and accordingly has a special place in my mind. Tin Man games has done a great job of transferring this book to the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Yes its good and i like it, but it realy sucks that there is only english and french language to chose. I bought the book 30 years ago in full german translated, so where is the problem to paste this to the game?
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As far as Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks go, this one is brutally hard, as the map of the house is extremely confusing, with many areas that result in certain death. It isn't combat-intensive difficult (as is Caverns of the Snow Witch), but managing your Fear points can be tough. There are several solutions to it to be found online, including maps, which you will need when you invariably become frustrated with it. I bought this book originally in 1985 as a child, and never finished it…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A book that you are the hero. Like others on Steam, they are tough especially if you do not play with the bookmarks like I do. Like in my teens a long time ago, they are fun... although sometimes the writing is too popular and not enough literary. Still, anyone who loves the real thing should at least try the virtual ones, they have additional features that real books will never have... well, not in our lifetime.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A beautiful adaptation of the classic gamebook. UI and layout is slick and polished, and the story itself is solidly written. One issue is that this book is really TOUGH; you'll need to go through it many times to find the ideal path through it. I would have liked this to be smoothed out with the computer version. Still a recommended classic!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a really good gamebook adaption. But it is also probably one of the hardest to beat. As in most books there is a set route you HAVE to follow, miss an item or miss a clue and well you will not get far. And it is very obvious in this adventure. Still if you want a good read, and are a lover of these old skool books, I would recommend this.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've done two playthroughs so far, and neither have ended well, but this invokes the same kind of fun and enjoyment I had reading Choose Your Own Adventure books as a kid. (Only this has a soundtrack to it.) Great stuff. 10/10.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a fan of the old fighting fantasy gamebooks, I must say I was pleased with what they did here. adding music and automation to the combat system and keeping track of hints and other features make this game an improvement on the original material, unlike other interactive fiction products which in their attempt to add features somehow subtract from the sum of its parts. If you like "choose your own adventure" type games/stories -- this is a good choice. Be warned however that the game is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's just like the book, and the book is good. It's pretty difficult due to the many easy ways to pick the wrong path and end up in an unwinnable scenario, but you can go back using bookmarks or replay the book, which is pretty fun. There's also the option to play a free play mode where you can progress even if you missed a clue, if you just want the story or something. The art can be switched between the current and original at any time. I beat it in 2 hours, but if you've never played…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There have been computer adaptations of Fighting Fantasy books since the '80s, but this is the type of adaptation I'm really interested in. Basically it's an eBook version of the original 1984 book. What's great is that now the computer keeps track of your scores and inventory and does most of the work involved in battles. Of course that means that you can't cheat. Let's face it, most people, when playing the gamebook with pen and paper, would be asking themselves "Why am I playing by the rules…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →ANother Fighting Fantasy classic. It plays like a choose your adventure book. For those of you who are not familiar with this type of game.... The player engages in dice battles and has the freedom to choose one's path by selecting one of multiple options provided. It can get repetitive but alas, this is the nature of this type of game. This one is really damn hard. I really hope they keep making these. 7.8 / 10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I loved the gamebooks as a child so having them in digital format is a real treat... Whats to say? These gamebooks are akin to a very simple game of D&D that you can play solo- And its quite a fun experience. Honestly I would have preffered to have gotten these on tablet but TBH I didnt know they existed until finding the collection on the steam sale and the price was fantastic- personally I think the asking price of $10 is far too much- hell the physical books are much cheaper and require…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →House of Hell, developed and published by Tin Man Games, is a digital adaptation of the classic 1984 Fighting Fantasy gamebook by Steve Jackson. It successfully brings the essence of the original paper-and-dice adventure into an interactive, modern format that remains faithful to the source material while adding conveniences that enhance the user experience. At its core, House of Hell is a horror-themed interactive narrative that immerses players in a chilling story set within a haunted mansion…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →These are great adaptations of the classic books from the 1980's and 90's. Highly recommended to anyone who loves Choose Your Own Adventure, D&D, Pathfinder or any type of RPG's. "House of Hell" is definitely the best one in the series in my opinion with it's modern setting and the extremely difficult "Fear" mechanic that will show you no mercy when trying to explore the haunted mansion. The blood and gore of the old illustrations looks splendid rendered in full color and this legendary…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Amazing book, one of the few i can be bothered to read lol. I beat this game ages ago and now i cant remember exactly how but its so much fun finding the correct path through this stupid labyrinth of a house GL for those who dare to try and call the car people from a house without telephone wires
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pretty much a classic of the genre, and it made me pick up an old copy of the original game book to enjoy with the missus. If you're into this sort of thing, this one's a high point, even if it's somewhat remarkably difficult to actually wrap up.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A little bit of wee came out.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A Superb adaptation of the original book. Great atmosphere and sounds. As hard as it ever was. A must have for any FF fan.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nice game. First time was killed by vampire. I thought it was friendly. Don`t trust vampires!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →House of Hell is another video game adaptation of the popular Fighting Fantasy book series, and one that I used to play when I was younger. I actually remember this particular one for two reasons. Instead of a more traditional fantasy/medieval setting, it’s a horror story where you’re trying to escape from a haunted mansion. And it’s hard. It doesn’t have a lot of combat, since it’s more focused on exploring the mansion, but there are a lot of traps, and a Fear stat that can’t get too high.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →House of Hell was the only gamebook in the original series which didn't have a fancy hero as main character: no dashing swashbuckler, hardboiled detective or daring astronaut, but rather a non-descript Average Joe driving his car during a storm in the british countryside. After an accident he finds himself lost, soaked and looking for shelter at a nearby mansion, owned by Lord Kelnor, Earl of Drumer (who coincidentally has more than a passing resemblance with Christopher Lee). Unebknown to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →House of Hell is unique experience even among FF gamebooks, but however unique it is, it doesn't cancel the wacky realisation. FF series is known for their random fighting system, where you have to re-roll to gain considerable stats and for creator's love for incalculable death sentences('Oh man, you died by boulder dropping out of nowhere on your head, so unlucky!'), however even so series has some gems(ironically, they are almost never to be written by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There is a bug here that is almost game-breaking, and it's not in UK-Steve Jackson's gamebook but in the unbelievably sloppy implementation: Depending on what font size and window size you use (I used the minimum font size and one above it, same problem), the hit spots of the choices don't match up. So what happens frequently is that you end up with exactly the choice you didn't pick, with no way back. The only workaround is to carefully approach the awfully designed button of your choice from…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A little bit different than the usual stories, but not that much when it comes to the "gameplay". Great art as always, although this time coloring them took away some of the charm of gritty b&w art style. Lack of the map is annoying for completionist reruns, even some random scribbles on a crumpled page or piece of cloth would be fine
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nostalgic creepy delight.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An excellent classic horror game where a shirtless old man is scarier than a vampire or a ghost.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →House of Hell is a Gamebook to remember This is an adaptation of the classic Fighting Fantasy adventure made by Steve Jackson. It's very different from other entries, being sort of in the "current times" instead of medieval fantasy. It also has a FEAR system where you can die of fright depending on your choices/encounters in this house. As a gamebook, the gameplay is quite simple, you get to roll your stats and fight/decide where to go which redirects you to different paragraph. For example,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My first ever fighting fantasy book. One day in primary school a friend brought this book in to class and was showing the pictures to me, i remember the mummy. I was hooked and asked my mother to buy a copy for me. This is a faithful, digital version of that book
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →More spoopy than spooky, and never truly scary, this is a pretty good quick game to play with a kid or even alone for Halloween fun, but nothing that deep or compelling. Still, I find myself happy to come back to it from time to time because despite never having beaten it I enjoy the ways I keep dying.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Amazing, nostalgic game play. If you liked Fighting Fantasy, Lone Wolf, or other so-called Choose Your Own Adventures, give it try. If you really liked Netflix's Bandersnatch, give it try. *Note: You must not mind reading your game, for obvious reasons.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This was made for a certain kind of person. Basically, if you've never read an interactive adventure book before. You read the story as it progresses and you make decisions. Most of the decisions you make will end up in the protagonist getting killed. The goal is to make it out alive, which sure as ♥♥♥♥ isn't easy. It's a lot of trial and error, but also a lot of interactivity. More so than your average "interactive" novel. Most of the time you play, you'll get your ass fried or eaten. There…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It was really fun to play.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game rating Innovation: Specific Indulgement qualities: Specific Illustration: Above average Creativity and writing qualities: Average Overall size: Small
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really enjoying it! Loved the original and this is a great port of the game-book with nice features. Good work!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Faithful to the books, which could be a good or bad thing for you. If you liked Fighting Fantasy and don't want to manually write down your stats and roll dice, you'll like. If you don't want to use your imagination a lot, you won't.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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