One of the latest games from indie publisher Ratalaika Games is Quest for Infamy, a point-and-click game in the style of those many of us grew up with. The game was first released on PC back in 2014 and was developed by Infamous Quests. Now that it has made the move onto consoles is this one worth checking out for old-school adventure game fans?
The story in Quest for Infamy is a strange one with humor that may or may not appeal to you but to me, it was funny at times. You play as a man named Roehm who has fled from a Baron at the start of the game because you were caught in the bed with his daughter. After this event, Roehm ends up stuck in a town waiting for some work to be done and in the meantime, he’ll have to help the townspeople there with all kinds of errands. The game has voice acting but it is pretty bad to be honest whether by mistake or on purpose. I still got some laughs out of a few jokes and the writing in general can be funny at times but the voice acting kind of hurts the experience.
Getting into the gameplay there are three different classes you can choose to play as with those being a Rogue, Brigand, and a Sorcerer. The Sorcerer casts magic naturally, the Brigand is better at fighting in close quarters, and the Rogue who is sneaky. Each class has their own abilities and their own side-quests that they open up but if you just want to get through the game and focus on the main quest then you can just stick with a class you prefer. When you see enemies on the map you can enter into battles with them. The combat in this game is quite simple as it operates on a turn-based battle system with you and your foes exchanging blows. The battles really don’t have much depth as you really just hit the attack or defend commands. You can use a special move at times and as you use your attacks, they get stronger over time with each use. This goes for abilities outside of battle too like if you’re trying to pick a lock. If you need to raise your skill for that then you just need to keep picking locks to raise it.
While the combat is rather simple and the writing can be hit-or-miss I did enjoy exploring the world, talking to the NPCs, and solving the puzzles, The game has some nice pixel art so it was enjoyable to look at while I played through it too. Trophy hunters will find 40 trophies here which is a lot more than a Ratalaika published game usually has. This won’t be a fast or easy one either so if you usually pick their games up for that reason you should approach this one with caution.
Quest for Infamy is a solid throwback to the classic point-and-click adventure days but one that isn’t a must-play by any means. It has some good art, funny writing at times, and some good puzzles but the combat is pretty bland and the voice acting is some of the worst I’ve heard in recent memory. If you really have an itch that needs to be scratched by this style of game give it a look but otherwise you aren’t missing much.
*Quest for Infamy is available now on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. PlayStation 5 version reviewed. Review copy provided by the publisher for this review.
Quest for Infamy
$9.99
Pros
- Solid homage to the point-and-click games of the 80s and 90s
- Writing can be funny if you enjoy this type of humor
- Pixel art is quite good
Cons
- Absolutely terrible voice acting
- Style of humor won't be to everyone's liking
- Combat system is very basic
