On 26 February, The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot entered an open beta. During the week I played it, the game underwent a few changes — most of them small — but it’s important to note that this is a review of that beta and not a preview of a finished product. I can’t see them making any significant additions prior to launch but it’s worth noting nonetheless.
Set in the mythical world of Opulencia, The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot doesn’t have very much of a story. Wrapped loosely in light-hearted dialogue, the basic premise is that all the rich have taken to the sky to compete for riches and fame. How do they attain this? By invading and looting each others castles, of course.
In a rather unique twist, The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot offers two very different types of gameplay. On one hand you have a dungeon crawler hack n slash reminiscent of Diablo or Torchlight whilst. On the other, a strategic castle defence game with aspects comparable to tower defence titles. Both parts are essential to each other though so don’t think you can excel at one and skimp on the other. There’s no point amassing a small fortune if you have a poorly defended castle allowing another player to steal it all away!
And players will try to steal it. Aside from a couple of pre-generated levels, the bulk of your game will be populated with other player’s castles. You make your coin by beating their defences, breaching their treasure room and robbing them silly. Of course this means your castle will appear in other player’s worlds as well so your ability to defend is just as important as your ability to steal.
Castle defence is quite detailed but fairly limited. You have a budget with which to place traps, monsters and walls to create the most destructive path possible for potential invaders. Your budget is determined by both your castle level (quantity) and your financial situation (quality). You can build or upgrade structures allowing for stronger monsters or traps however these come at a greater cost so it’s wise to try and balance types. The interface for castle setup is a little clunky at first but, once you learn the controls are, easy to use.
To afford all your home renovations, you’ll need loot and the way to do this is by raiding other castles. You have four stock-standard characters at your disposal with which to raid. At the time of the beta there were a couple of melee characters, a mage and a ranged character. Each character comes with themed armor, special skills and weapons. Special skills are unlocked as you level up and you can assign up to four each time you enter a castle. I felt the characters were quite varied and each offered a unique way to play.
The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot is a great idea but there were a few things that let it down. Whilst the concept is sound both parts of the game feel like gimped versions of a full title. Castle customisation is restricted meaning most people just “went the lazy route” and created overkill rooms in the hope of wiping you out in one hit. Sadly this quite often worked and, considering the competitive nature of the game, I wasn’t surprised people focused on creating a winning castle rather than a “fun to play” castle. This might not seem important at first but, in a game the relies heavily on user generated content, it kind of is.
To counter this you are offered the opportunity to rate and leave feedback at the completion of each castle. This helps to provide you with options when selecting a castle to attack but, in practice, didn’t make all that much of a difference.
Another thing I didn’t like is that the game has a real Facebook or mobile feel to it. Most castles only take a minute or two to complete and, at around level 15, the difficulty spikes, meaning that if you want to remain competitive, you need to grind castles or purchase assistance. It’s a free game so I shouldn’t complain, but it’s just one of those things I’ve never liked games. I’d prefer to purchase a game outright and play on an even field rather than get a game for free then have micro transactions forcing me down a certain path.
That said, The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot does offer a lot of gameplay without requiring a purchase. You can buy the usual boosters or currency if you don’t want to grind but, in a clever move, they also restricted character unlocks and inventory space too. So you can play it for free but, to enjoy the full game or remain competitive, you’ll need to pay real money.
The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot is a great idea but lacks the polish and versatility to make it great. It’s a game that gives the impression of not taking itself seriously whilst hiding some decent mechanics. The main problem with it is that it relies on user content and, as such, becomes boring and tedious quickly. I wouldn’t be surprised if most people gave up on it before they even reached the point of needing to spend real money which makes me wonder what their intended audience is. I can see this working as a tablet or Facebook game but as an installable title, it’s lacking. That said, I’ve no doubt it will make Ubisoft a ton of cash and it’s free to boot. So, stop reading this review and go try it yourself — it’s definitely worth your time.
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