The Quest was one of the games I played and completed during the summer after picking it up via the last Steam sale. Some brief impressions:
This was reasonably a satisfying change of pace and is quite compelling early on as far as exploration and character building goes. I had a good deal of fun with some of the silly quest choices as the writing can be both quirky, light-hearted and whimsical. For an example of some of the silly writing, check the attached image! It seemed like every third quest involved a tryst or betrayed lover of some kind!
Combat wise, it's cheerfully done with loud over the top sound effects, but there was a degree of repetition towards the end as wands became extremely powerful and once the most efficient means of taking out tougher monsters is found, the challenge waned considerably. I tried to play a melee character yet the damage wasn't really cutting it mid-game and I ended up being quite the jack of all trades in the end, which isn't my style of play normally.
To be honest, despite the purely
cosmetic nods, I think it's a bit of a mischaracterisation to compare the game to Morrowind, as the game's heritage is much more overtly tied with Might & Magic IV-VI, especially in general atmospheric tone, graphical feel and the simple combat mechanics. The interface also in particular made me think of Mandate of Heaven as did the main musical theme in the Quest, which put me immediately back into that MM4-6 head-space.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUpFBrG79Hg (First track especially - great soundtrack!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTfHWCQiFcA (main theme plays from around 0:34 onwards)
Play time: 39 hours. (Main quest+Islands of Fire & Ice expansion) Finished at level 22; albeit with a fair few side-quests remaining.
The expansion content is meaty and I would argue has significant narrative improvements over the main quest in pacing and in the general weaving of clues and quest content. There's even a final secret dungeon (treasure island) that is far more challenging than the rest of the game, including some nods to classic Bard's Tale (teleporter puzzles, no mini-map sections) and other classic dungeon crawlers.
Pros:
- Old school MM4-6 feelings well captured (intended or not!)
- Single character, turn based, simple approachable combat, tile based movement
- Lush world to explore, many quests to stay busy with.
- The pleasure of seeing the mini-map (i.e Wizard's Eye!) reveal terrain features from a previously uncovered state is great!
- Areas require strategic planning; enemies can overwhelm you in groups.
- A map that you can edit with your own notes (very handy!)
- Some unique quest choices and slightly unpredictable outcomes (can fail a quest)
Cons:
- Mildly repetitive; bit grindy at times.
- Overly fast diminishing challenge
- Limited Soundtrack (though using classic RPG soundtracks in the background works well…)
- Some areas are a little empty feeling (many buildings locked out)
- Not quite enough interactivity in dungeons (more riddles/puzzles would have been nice)
- Wands possibly require more balancing (wand recharge was overkill)
All in all, I had a fun sojourn with this little game and would recommend a look for someone after a lighter mid period Might & Magic type experience.