Review scoopings 4/5 · Jul 14, 2024
Exciting Start to the Influential Next Step in Sierra Adventures, Tho Still Sluggish
Preliminary: This looks and sounds so ahead of its time and based on the playthrough I watched, you train my repeatedly doing actions like in OSRS and FF2 etc. I like that :-X but we shall see because often the controls of computer games from this era become my issue, namely when trying to do action segments. Ohhhh I think …
Preliminary: This looks and sounds so ahead of its time and based on the playthrough I watched, you train my repeatedly doing actions like in OSRS and FF2 etc. I like that :-X but we shall see because often the controls of computer games from this era become my issue, namely when trying to do action segments. Ohhhh I think the playthrough I watched was the VGA version, hoping the original looks and soudns as good!
Oooo you get to choose your class without a convoluted character building start, and there's so much to the game like sleeping in the town may have your wallet stolen etc. I hope it doesn't end up too complex and too difficult/RNG-based and too frustrating with the rations/sleep requirements! But I am excited! I will, of course, just do the Fighter class for this first playthrough but if I love it I surely will be back for more.
At first I felt it was too slow but then discovered the menus and that you can speed things up! And got the sound working right! I am thoroughly impressed! 
I am just so impressed with this so far! The sound may be a bit ridiculous at times but it's the first game to bring me that 90s DOS game feel! It looks great, handles better than expected, and just feels leagues ahead of its contemporary Sierra games. But we shall see once I get to the more action-y segments, one thing is for sure tho I love the adventure elements so far.
Day 1
The inspiration on runescape and other later RPGs is profound. Love how there is the Quest board and you're just sorta open to do as you please. I also love that there is the classic text adventure points system with a clear maximum. I am, however, dreading if I miss just one point ha.
Argh the weight factor is already getting annoying. And I'm confused by the time factor, I can't seem to get it to be night time for the Abdulla guy to show up but I don't wanna venture too far either...
So many cute touches tho, full of well-meaning humor and such, and I loved the music when I was raking at the Stable :-p I don't like that some of the events are randomized, like many adventure games, but the overall vibe made me tolerate that aspect. Still haven't fought anything yet tho... The points are important for me cuz you know I need to 100% when they do that, but sometimes it's delayed in showing my points and some didn't get added (if my guide is accurate). Hmm
Some of the sound is so much louder than other parts lol. As expected the combat is quite bad and clunky, as early DOS goes, but I kinda enjoy it. And beautiful music on this screen 
Beautiful screen at the water here 
I had to just stop taking screenshots cuz so many good ones, love the house at the top of the mountain.
I was not a big fan of the dialog "action segment" with Baba Yaga, like if you're gonna require me to respond in time, don't make me wait for a delayed "talking" animation of the graphics after the dialog box went away.
Unfortunately, as much as I am loving it, I called it quits at this point. I was tired of all the time-based aspects, having to wait around. And that wouldn't have been so bad if I could ever find enemies besides Goblins and one Brigand! The combat is quite bad, both the side-view kind with the Weapon Master and the frontal kind, but yea I think if there weren't these time-based factors and the randomized nature of which enemies spawn and when, I would've pushed through. Excellent concept and excited for the rest of the series.
Look: 9/10 Full of excellent screens and harkening the 90s DOS era I love so much
Sound: 8/10 I liked a lot of it, but sometimes the beeps got annoying. For the most part it was excellent tho.
Play: 8/10 Sluggish as usual with early Sierra adventure games, but definitely one of the best ones so far and definitely the best of the RPG/Sierra adventure hybrids so far.
Feel: 8.5/10 I'm excited to explore this series more even if I didn't finish this one! Honestly it's at least partly because I'm so eager for the backlog... and I'm anxious from the severe storms out my window rn lol, but still, I shouldn't have to wait so much. That being said, it's an excellent idea and got me excited to play more Quest for Glorys.
Attachment: 8/10 I can't deny the desire to finish it, and/or to try the VGA version etc etc. But regardless it will always have that slow Sierra adventure issue. So, I doubt I will replay it often, but it's the furthest I've gotten in one of the hybrid ones and it introduced me to a new series!
Overall: 8.3/10
Completion: 143/500 was waiting for Midnight to pull the Mandrake and to see if new enemies came out... but it was still just mid morning after waiting and resting and searching for battles and resting and resting and resting. Couldn't wait any longer haha
Playtime: ~ 2 hours, maybe more. Wasn't on a program that tracks time