Publisher: Activision
ESRB Rating: E 10+
Console: Reviewed on Xbox One, also available on Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PC.
Overall Review
King’s Quest is a storied franchise that seems to have been around as long as video games themselves. These adventure games play out like living story books that parents across the world have wanted to share with their kids. Sadly, a lot of the older games in the series are so unforgiving and difficult that younger players might not be able to finish them (or even enjoy them).
The reality of the current gaming environment is that we are experience a resurgence of the adventure game genre thanks to Telltale Games. They have done a great job of improving the formula, but their games are definitely not appropriate for kids.
King’s Quest: A Knight to Remember is here to save the day. It features all of the good natured humor and wonderful storytelling of its ancestor while tempering the mind bending puzzles with modern game design and frequent checkpoints. In short, I cannot recommend this game more.
One of the strongest features of the newest King’s Quest is the art style. It is a stunning game that features a hand-drawn, animated feel. I felt like I was inhabiting a classic storybook for my entire play through.
The game is being released as five episodes. Each of them features a story told by King Graham, the protagonist of most of the previous King’s Quest games, to his granddaughter. Player choice is important because your decisions while playing King Graham will be reflected in the young girls actions as she proceeds through the chapter. This is an interesting design decision and is a great way to help discuss and deliver moral lessons to your children if they play with you or watch you.
Family Gaming Assessment
There is some fantasy violence here, but no blood or gore. This is easily comparable, content-wise, to the various Disney-fied fantasy stories like the Sword in the Stone.
Playability Assessment
Adventure games are incredibly challenging. They require a bit of reading, but a lot of problem solving. The real challenge in the game is derived from traveling around the map acquiring and interacting with different objects. You often need to find just the right combination of items to complete tasks.
Conclusion
If you have any interest in adventure games, then this is a great buy. This is especially true is you want to play the game with your family as it is all but designed for people to essentially share control of King Graham.
