Fighting Fantasy is coming to Nintendo Switch next month, and if that sentence made you feel about 30 years younger, you’re not alone.
Tin Man Games has announced that Fighting Fantasy Classics Volume 1 launches on Switch on February 5, bringing four of the most famous gamebooks by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone to Nintendo’s hybrid console. If you ever filled in an Adventure Sheet with a pencil and a sense of blind optimism, this one is aimed straight at you.
Four classics in one digital shelf
Volume 1 includes:
- The Warlock of Firetop Mountain
- The Citadel of Chaos
- The Forest of Doom
- Starship Traveller
These are the books that taught a generation how to cheat politely by keeping one finger in a “safe” page. They’re presented as digital gamebooks, where you read, make choices, roll virtual dice, and watch your STAMINA vanish far faster than you expected.
You can play them straight, or you can quietly turn on “Free Read” mode and pretend you’re not cheating at all, just “exploring narrative possibilities”.
These titles seem a natural fit for Switch
Tin Man Games has been doing digital gamebooks for years across several platforms, and bringing Fighting Fantasy to Switch seems like a good fit. It’s a console you can curl up with, prop on a table, or play in bed while convincing yourself you’ll stop after one more section.
There are a lot of quality-of-life features too, for a more modern gaming experience:
- Automatic stat and inventory tracking
- Unlimited bookmarks
- A map showing where you’ve already died (which could be useful!)
- A gallery of original artwork
- A soundtrack to make your bad decisions feel more dramatic
It even includes background material about the history of Fighting Fantasy and its rules, which is great if you enjoy reading about things you already love. Certainly when I played Roadwarden recently, it had a Fighting Fantasy vibe, and that is a good thing.
Fighting Fantasy is a modern classic
I was reminded just how well these books hold up recently. I gave my son Space Assassin and Seas of Blood not long ago, fully expecting him to bounce off them in favour of something with a battle pass.
He didn’t — he got properly stuck in! There was some arguing with the dice, and he got annoyed when bad luck killed him off, and he learned very quickly why people used to “accidentally” misread dice rolls.
Watching that happen was oddly satisfying. These books don’t need flashy graphics. They just need good writing, good structure, and the simple thrill of choosing your own path and hoping it doesn’t end in a pit trap.
What’s in Volume 1?
If you’re not quite familiar enough with Fighting Fantasy to distinguish one book from another, or you had them but can’t quite distinguish between them:
- Warlock of Firetop Mountain is the big one: dungeon crawling, treasure hunting, and constant fear.
- Citadel of Chaos sends you after the sorcerer Balthus Dire, which already sounds like bad news.
- The Forest of Doom is a race against time through Darkwood Forest.
- Starship Traveller throws the whole thing into space and lets you captain a lost starship.
It’s a strong opening set, mixing fantasy staples with something a bit stranger.
Fighting Fantasy Classics Volume 1 launches on Nintendo Switch on February 5, 2026. Whether you’re reliving your own dog-eared paperbacks or introducing someone new to the joy of dying because you turned to the wrong paragraph, this feels like a very comfortable place for these old adventures to live.
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Christian Cawley is the founder and editor of GamingRetro.co.uk, a website dedicated to classic and retro gaming. With over 20 years of experience writing for technology and gaming publications, he brings considerable expertise and a lifelong passion for interactive entertainment, particularly games from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras.
Christian has written for leading outlets including TechRadar, Computer Weekly, Linux Format, and MakeUseOf, where he also served as Deputy Editor.
When he’s not exploring vintage consoles or retro PCs, Christian enjoys building with LEGO, playing cigar box guitar, and experimenting in the kitchen.
