Follow mild mannered Les Manley as he rocks 'n' rolls across America in search of big bucks, beautiful babes and...The King.
The first in Accolade's Les Manley series of adventure games, Search for the King begins with lovable nerd Les at a dead-end job rewinding video tapes at a failing TV statio...
Follow mild mannered Les Manley as he rocks 'n' rolls across America in search of big bucks, beautiful babes and...The King.
The first in Accolade's Les Manley series of adventure games, Search for the King begins with lovable nerd Les at a dead-end job rewinding video tapes at a failing TV station. The station pulls a publicity stunt offering a million dollars to anyone who can photograph "The King", and Les sees it as his chance to escape his job and impress the lady of his dreams. The search for the elusive legend takes Les across America – and places far beyond – on a colorful, humorous, and puzzling adventure.
Converse and interact with dozens of unique characters
Over 70 vibrant, detailed screens to explore on Les's journey
Investigate, deduce, and solve puzzles to get ever closer to the elusive King
Catchy and memorable soundtrack
Explore with the mouse, act with the keyboard: use your wits and your words to solve puzzles with the text parser
So, yeah, this is a budget Leisure Suit Larry, and it shows. The game is less humorous, the gameplay and text parser is less responsive, and the game itself is less risque for those who care about that. The main thing though, is that the puzzles are almost non-sensical, even for a text-adventure.
I suggest if you really want to try this game though that you get a walkthrough and follow it. The game is fairly short, only about an hour.
If you're a diehard fan of early '90s adventure games and at least somewhat familiar with the legacy of Elvis Presley ("The King" for whom Les Manley is searching), I can softly recommend this game. Otherwise, it's best to skip it.
The graphics are excellent for this era of adventure games, with plenty of detail and character. Sound effects are nonexistent, but the catchy soundtrack makes up for it. The absurdist, fourth-wall-breaking, occasionally referential humor is right up my alley, though I could do without a few questionable jokes poking fun at foreigners.
The puzzles all involve items, dialogue, or the environment; often require tedious investigation for all the info you need; and tend to be more comedic than logical. The text parser interface is not the best I've seen, but it's also not the worst. It recognizes a variety of basic commands and synonyms, but it's easily confused by nonessential interactions, and it's very particular about the commands required to solve dialogue puzzles.
It's extremely easy to dead-end the game in an unwinnable scenario. Critical items can be permanently overlooked or wasted on the wrong solution, but aside from a vague hint about missing some items when you enter a new area, it's never apparent until it's too late. The game's greatest weakness is its lack of clear objectives and long-term goals; unless you're clairvoyant or willing to restart/reload a couple dozen times, you WILL need a walkthrough. Also, there are a couple ways to die, none of them gory.
People compare this to Leisure Suit Larry, but the similarities don't extend much farther than the "lovable loser" protagonist. Adult content is limited to a couple mildly dirty jokes, a few glimpses of women in somewhat revealing outfits, and one skippable scene with very brief nudity/sexual content.
NOTE: In the GOG version, copy protection is simplified so you don't need to consult the manual, and the National Inquirer newspaper is missing from the extras.
I played the Les Manley games back in the early 90s. They most closely resemble a budget version of the Leisure Suit Larry series so if you enjoy those games, chances are you may like this. It has been nearly three decades since I played it so I don't remember much of the puzzles, though I do remember I got stuck at one point and had to find a hint - not as easy to do pre-Internet. I am going to pick up the GOG version and give both another play through.
Is this helpful to you?
Something went wrong. Try refresh page.
This game is waiting for a review. Take the first shot!
{{ item.rating }}
{{ item.percentage }}%
Awaiting more reviews
An error occurred. Please try again later.
Other ratings
Awaiting more reviews
Add a review
Edit a review
Your rating:
Stars and all fields are required
Not sure what to say? Start with this:
What kept you playing?
What kind of gamer would enjoy this?
Was the game fair, tough, or just right?
What’s one feature that really stood out?
Did the game run well on your setup?
Inappropriate content. Your reviews contain bad language.
Inappropriate content. Links are not allowed.
Inappropriate content. Content contains gibberish.
Review title is too short.
Review title is too long.
Review description is too short.
Review description is too long.
Not sure what to write?
You cannot save your review due to the following reasons:
You need to select star rating
You need to enter review title
You need to enter the content of your review
Show:
5 on page
15 on page
30 on page
60 on page
Order by:
Most helpful
Most positive
Most critical
Most recent
Filters:
No reviews matching your criteria
Written in
English
Deutsch
polski
français
русский
中文(简体)
Others
Written by
Verified ownersOthers
Added
Last 30 daysLast 90 daysLast 6 monthsWheneverAfter releaseDuring Early Access
Your review should focus on your in-game experience only. Let the game stand entirely on its own merits.
Avoid noise
To discuss topics such as news, pricing, or community, use our forums. To request new games and website or GOG GALAXY features, use the community wishlist. To get technical support for your game contact our support team.
Critique responsibly
To keep our review sections clean and helpful, we will remove any reviews that break these guidelines or our terms of use.
Ok, got it
GOG Patrons who helped preserve this game
{{controller.patronsCount}} GOG Patrons
Error loading patrons. Please refresh the page and try again.
