Somewhere down the track, we forgot that point-and-click adventure games were supposed to be stupid, zany fun.
Don’t get me wrong; titles like The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, The Wolf Among Us and Life is Strange have revitalised the adventure genre, but they’re all. So. Serious. Not to mention dark and gritty.
Thankfully, Sierra Games is returning with King’s Quest, and it’s just as bright and ridiculous as you (hopefully) remember.
We sat down for a hands-off experience with the episodic game’s first chapter – “A Knight to Remember” – at E3 last month, with The Odd Gentlemen’s Matt Korba at the helm. Korba had me eating out of the palm of his hand, and it’s all thanks to puns.
“A Knight to Remember” is a pun in and of itself, with King’s Quest’s first chapter focusing on a very old King Graham recounting the story of how he became a knight himself with his granddaughter Gwendolyn. As Christopher Lloyd voiced the elderly Graham in the presentation, Korba advised that this one chapter of the game has over 640 pages of script, with new pages added regularly. Most of those new pages are added because new puns have been inserted.
The puns themselves are lame and perfect, taking this writer back to a time where games like the original King’s Quest series reigned supreme (get it?). I won’t spoil any of the jokes in the hands-off presentation – as they’re much better experienced first-hand – but several referenced old King’s Quest titles directly, but in a way that won’t alienate newcomers to the franchise.
From what we were shown at various points in the game’s first chapter, The Odd Gentlemen has painstakingly stayed true to King’s Quest legacy. Young Graham was taken down incorrect paths simply to demonstrate to journalists how many lines of dialogue (and running jokes) had been prepared.
We encouraged Korba to use the wrong quest item on anything and everything in the world, and he happily obliged. As he did that, Young Graham often took a backseat, and the aforementioned Lloyd advised us that something in his recollection must have been flawed; after all, he’s an old man retelling a story from years gone by.
The result is a mixture of an endearing, comical, joyous nature, at its base level providing simple entertainment, and at best offering up a morality lesson on self-confidence, bravery, wisdom and compassion.
It’s glorious.
Despite its wonderful – colourful – cel-shaded zaniness, the puzzles we were shown will take some brainpower to best, both with old-fashioned smarts but also with a touch of thinking outside the box. Why try to beat a bunch of hostile knights when you spotted a hive of potentially angry bees just down the road?
Those looking for a light-hearted adventure need look no more; King’s Quest’s first chapter will be available from 28 July on Windows PC, PS3 and PS4, and 29 July on Xbox 360 and Xbox One. The game’s first episode has been priced at $10 USD, with a bundle also offering all five of the game’s episodes for $40 USD.
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