A Tale of Two Kingdoms

A fantastic game. I used to play the free version many years ago and enjoyed it massively. Later they released the game again but this time with refined gameplay, new puzzles and voice acting. This game is both a wonderful reminiscence on the heydays of the genre as well as a fantastic game experience of its own. The story it tells is epic and intelligent (not your typical fantasy mesh-up), the characters well fleshed out, the different locations are diverse and give you a great feeling of strolling through a living, breathing realm, puzzle design is clever and often allows for different solutions, there are secrets and mysteries to discover. While it looks and feels similar to the great classics of the genre, it avoids the cruel, masochistic gameplay elements many Sierra games "feature" (unfair deaths, deadends...), which is another great plus for me. Overall a fantastic adventure both to be enjoyed by nostalgiacs and coinoisseurs of indie gaming! I'm glad it finally managed to get its rightful place here as well. It took GOG some years to accept it as I remember it being rejected back on release.

This is an excellent game, much like Heroine’s Quest from the same developer. This however is exclusively an adventure game, with no RPG elements. The pixelated graphics are very well done, and the scenery and character portraits are significantly improved from the original 2007 version. The visual aesthetics are similar to early ‘90s games like King’s Quest 6, and it even includes one of the pixelated fonts used in several Sierra games from that era. The synthesized music cannot top the compositions in Quest for Glory 3 and 4, but has a similar general feel and suits the corresponding environments well. The story is more involved than might be expected for an indie game, divided into eight parts of widely varying length. The hero is visiting the kingdom of Theylinn to discuss fighting with his band of mercenaries against a goblin invasion when he is framed for the murder of the king. He must prove his innocence by catching the true killer with the aid of his clever bard and his trusty girlfriend. As with many fantasy games, this title involves magic, sneaking, and haughty women. The player will also learn about the folklore of the British Isles, including creatures such as the Pooka, a morally questionable human-animal hybrid. During one part the hero is transformed into a furry animal, with results significantly less moronic than Goat Simulator 3. As is traditional in adventure games, the gameplay mainly consists of solving puzzles. There are some puzzles which I never would have gotten past without the help of a walkthrough; there is a distinct shortage of hints in the dialogue or narration and it is easy to miss the existence of some puzzles entirely. The game might benefit from an official walkthrough, like the one included with Heroine’s Quest. This confusion does however make it interesting to play through a second time. This unlocks an Easter egg, which I will not give away; the player will have to see it for himself.

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I am currently stuck at Chapter VII due to a bug that prevents me from progressing any further. I prefer to write reviews once I have completed a game however I do not know if I will be able to do so. My tolerance for such bugs is very low so I will be grading this game at a 1/10. Should the issue be resolved then I will change the score. There are multiple endings, at least 1 of which is obtainable at this point in the game other than the multiple "game over" screens of which there are many. I hope that will help to inform you whether you think that 6 (complete) out of 8 chapters of content are sufficient to warrant a purchase. The game wins a lot of praise from me just by virtue of not spoiling its plot on the storefront. It's refreshing to see developers fighting that urge. The voice actors all do a very good job of embodying the game's characters. With the exception of the guards they all feel very distinct from one another. In terms of gameplay, for those familiar with "Quest for Glory", there is a lot less of a focus on combat. It may play more similar to "King's Quest". It is a bit strange to see the protagonist lasting longer against a warchief than regular goblins, though. (Which are a "Game Over" screen.) The game could probably be a good introduction to the genre as it slowly ramps up its difficulty and by Chapter III you will have transitioned from a linear to a largely open world experience. (I suspect that is why at the time of writing this most people only have the achievement for Chapter I.) The puzzles can be solved without a guide even though the game does not hold your hand. I suspect that the more linear nature at the start is to help players to get accustomed to some of the game's logic because Chapter II has got moments that you could easily miss if you had the whole world to explore. The game requires reading and observation. Do this and you will find a rewarding experience.