If you liked Quest for Glory, you will like this game. This is a retro-styled adventure/RPG set in what appears to be Scandinavia during the Viking era. You will encounter creatures in the woods such as frost giants and draugr, and there are many other references to Norse mythology. This game is very similar to Quest for Glory 4, with towns where the player can acquire new quests and supplies as well as wilderness areas, which for most of the game must be traversed one screen at a time. Here the hero will randomly encounter monsters, which they can choose to either flee or fight in a simple combat interface. The combat and puzzles vary somewhat depending on which of the three classes the player chooses - warrior, sorceress or rogue. This game is very impressive visually, with pixelated wintery graphics similar to Quest for Glory 3 or 4. The dialogue is presented in animated portraits and text boxes similar to those used in the Sierra games, except that both they and everything else in the interface are designed to fit with the theme of a world covered in snow and ice. The dedication to atmosphere here is impressive; even some of the music sounds icy, and the need to avoid frostbite is an interesting game dynamic I had not seen in other titles. One of the strongest points of the game is the writing, both in the narration and the dialogue. Characters have their own distinct personalities, dramatic voice acting, and in some cases idiosyncratic use of language. One character speaks entirely in questions, another refers to himself in the third person, while yet another reverses the usual order of subject and predicate. My personal favorite was the aged wizard Aurvandel, who speaks in a parody of redundant scholarly writing. There are issues I do not have space to go into here concerning baffling quests, a shortage of in-game hints, and aspects of the game that seem unbalanced. However, overall this is one of the most interesting games I have played in a long time.
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.
