King's Quest Chapter I: A Knight to Remember Review (Xbox One)

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  • Game: King's Quest Chapter I: A Knight to Remember
  • Platform: Xbox One
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King's Quest Chapter I review on Xbox One

The King's Quest saga has been around for decades now and millions of adventure game fans have been delighted with the various iterations in the series, ever since the debut of the original in 1980s. Since then, the series has gone through ups and downs, as well as through attempts at remaking the whole narrative.

Now, after resurrecting the Sierra brand, Activision wants to do just that, by partnering with developer The Odd Gentlemen in order to deliver an episodic adventure experience that brings more adventures for series protagonist Graham, which take place in between the various established storylines.

The first chapter, A Knight to Remember, is now available across most of its intended platforms, and veterans as well as newcomers can finally see if Graham's new quests can delight.

Does A Knight to Remember manage to live up to the huge pedigree of the King's Quest series or should it be stripped of its title? Let's find out.

Story

The King's Quest saga has taken main protagonist Graham through all sorts of different adventures, many noble quests, and it certainly painted a glorious picture for the eventual King.

The new series doesn't try to tamper with that, although it does opt to reimagine some key moments, such as the dragon well section from the original.

However, the main story takes place before that actual moment, with Graham's first actual journey into the land of Daventry. He enters a contest for Knights in order to prove his worth and embark on glorious adventures.

The actual tasks solicited by the competition prove to be quite challenging, but also essential in shaping the general philosophy of the young adventurer. There are plenty of outlandish characters, but also a few very interesting ones that play surprising roles in the general narrative.

The writing is top notch, managing to once again feature some great puns from Graham, not to mention some genuinely hilarious conversations, especially if you take your time and don't try to rush through the whole thing.

Deal with the dragon in King's Quest
Deal with the dragon in King's Quest

Gameplay

While episodic adventure experiences are nowadays the specialty of Telltale Games, what with its many different series, The Odd Gentlemen and Sierra aren't afraid to dip their toes into this genre, mainly because, in their view, a full version of King's Quest would be way too long.

A Knight to Remember certainly serves to back this statement, as the whole experience is rather lengthy, requiring 5 or even more hours to complete, depending on how sharp your puzzle solving skills and platforming abilities are, as many moments require reflexes, not just strategic thinking.

The actual chapter begins in a straightforward manner and eases players into its adventure, but soon enough, the environments start getting larger, feature various paths and all sorts of available interactions, and you might easily get overwhelmed.

There are plenty of choices that make some differences and quite a few actual tasks have multiple possible solutions. This can prove to be a bit frustrating, as you always have the feeling that you're making the wrong choice, especially since you're constrained by the items you have in your inventory, such as money.

Some choices have immediate consequences while others are certain to have an impact on King Graham's niece, who's gearing up to participate in a competition at the castle.

While most of the game is rather well designed, some puzzles prove to be quite frustrating. Some of them are quite punishing, especially when coupled with the lackadaisical controls. You often have to mash those buttons to get Graham to move faster from hand-hold to hand-hold, in order to avoid dangers that instantly kill him.

In other situations, the fixed camera angle is way too zoomed out or doesn't actually frame the whole action in a decent way. As such, you're forced back to trial and error. Throw in the multiple backtracking, especially when you're not sure how to deal with certain challenges, and your game's length can easily increase.

There are some pretty good first-person sequences, in which Graham employs his bow, but also some interesting conversations that are quite tricky to navigate and can prove essential in getting to various zones or paths during the story.

Go back to the famous well in King's Quest
Go back to the famous well in King's Quest

Visuals and Sound

In terms of graphics, King's Quest uses a pretty decent style, but some characters are modeled better than others. Unfortunately, while the color palette is quite varied, many textures area pixelated, blurry, or have general low textures.

The soundtrack is decent, but the voice acting is top notch, as it offers plenty of different accents, great performances, and really manages to bring the characters to life.


The Good

  • Respects the established storyline
  • Great writing and compelling story
  • Plenty of hilarious moments
  • Lots of interesting choices

The Bad

  • Some puzzles are let down by the controls
  • Camera angles can prove frustrating
  • Plenty of textures look pixelated

Conclusion

King's Quest Chapter I: A Knight to Remember manages to deliver a pretty good entry in the series. Not only does it respect the huge legacy but it also brings the franchise to the present day. It offers a lot of content, and while it's generally enjoyable, there are some sequences that might leave players frustrated.

Editor's note: Due to technical limitations, we can't provide our own screenshots of the game. The images below are offered by Activision.

story 8
gameplay 7
concept 8
graphics 7
audio 8
multiplayer 0
final rating 7.5
Editor's review
good
 

King's Quest Chapter I: A Knight to Remember (10 Images)

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