I've been playing King's Quest since I was a kid. This is the most beginner-friendly one, with clear puzzles, cute animations, and a forgiving save system. I started with 7, and then moved on to 6, followed by 5, which is good...because 5 can be really frustrating! Lol. They're all wonderful, but it was a nice progression for me, as they increased in difficulty, when played in that order. When you die in this one, it offers you the opportunity to pick up right before you made the choice that landed you there. Older KQ games relied on you saving frequently, and sometimes became unwinnable if you missed something earlier on. Anyway, they're all wonderful, but this one is super quirky, kid-friendly, and funny. Also, both protagonists are ladies, which is a nice change. Mother is searching for daughter, while daughter is searching for a castle that she saw through a magical whirlpool -- leaping into it, to escape the pressure to marry. My 2 gripes are about the port. The intro video isn't full screen, and doesn't look as good as it did back in the DOS days. I wish they'd fix that. I really miss it. The other thing is that some sounds have changed, or seem clipped. Mostly sound effects. Not super huge. Oh! Also, you can walk through some of the walls, which is a glitch. I've noticed it in the entrance to the crystal caves, with the bucket. Also, Valanice can walk over the base of the statue that holds the corn. Just some weird graphics glitches, though. It didn't crash or anything. Thanks to whoever brought my childhood into the modern era. And to you, if you're getting the game, enjoy!
Feeling a bit tl;dr, so this game is: quite swell! Seamless point-and-click with humor. Reminds me of King's Quest 7 in terms of animation style and the ability to regenerate after death without saving constantly. However (!), I've been playing it on my PC, and when I tried it on my Mac, it had some issues. Pretty much anything that wasn't a static fixture (backgrounds, mostly) showed up as a faint grey box with no distinguishing features, or didn't show up at all. Considering that playing the game requires switching between different sensory tools, this puts the inexperienced player at a disadvantage. As someone who already knew which grey blocks meant what, or which grey blocks meant who, it has been a fun exercise in existentialism. Oh, and the screens take half a minute to load. So... Give it a try! Just, y'know, watch out for grey blobs. XOXO
