Quest for Infamy Review (PS4)

good
key review info
  • Game: Quest for Infamy
  • Platform: Playstation 4
  • Show system requirements
  • Reviewed on:
Quest for Infamy

Quest for Infamy is by no means a new game, and we are not referring to the classical art style, rather to the fact that it was released quite a few years ago on PC. Now the time has come for console players to taste this game that is love a letter fueled by nostalgia to the RPGs and quests of the 90’s. As you will see it is not just the graphics that show their age, but also the mechanics that are outdated.

Originally developed by a handful of people, Quest for Infamy is a trip back in time when game development was far from the standards we are used today. Every piece of the game radiates the developer’s love for the heroic age of quests and heroic adventures, presented with a humorous spin. Unfortunately, the game suffers from an identity crisis that makes it even harder to modern gamers to empathize with it.

The developers of the game could not decide between making a quest type classic adventure focusing on puzzles and building an RPG with classes, attributes and a turn-based fighting system. As a result, they combined both directions in a game that does not excel at anything: the puzzles feel out of place, the combat is really primitive, and the class system is too loose to have a meaningful impact.

Despite this shortcomings, Quest for Infamy is more than just the sum of its parts and despite some design flaws it manages to be endearing. Just is the scoundrel who plays the main role of the game, William Roehm, who has a talent to get into trouble while chasing glory and infamy. After being chased by an angry father for being found in his daughter’s room, William founds himself in God forgotten town full of secrets.

Quest for Infamy
Quest for Infamy
Quest for Infamy
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After witnessing the local hospitality best exemplified by an execution, our hero gets involved in the local trouble as means to spend time and avoid boredom before he can travel further north. The developers promise tons of NPCs, quests, a large open world, combat spellcasting and lots of customization. In reality, Quest for Infamy walks on the path laid by the Bard’s Tale series trying to showcase a witty adventure with a hero who is not smart enough to become the villain.

First, you can choose from three different classes: the Brigand which is the equivalent of a warrior specialized in hand-to-hand combat, the Rogue that functions exactly as you would expect it or the Sorcerer who dabbles in the mystic arts. The only character class that actually stands out is the Sorcerer, since he is the only one who can master and use spells. Nonetheless all the characters can learn to climb, to steal or to partake in melee combat.

The sidequests for each character class are indeed different, as they are their mentors, but this part does not weigh enough in the overall picture. In order to finish the game, you have to focus only on the main quest that can be completed with minimal fighting, in a manner resembling classic adventure games. The biggest problem is that you do not feel that you are missing out if you avoid combat, if you neglect recovering a horse as a Brigand or if you don’t learn all the spells as a mage.

The skill system feels just as useless since you can spend a day trying to unlock the same door until you raise your thievery skill enough to actually be able to pick the locks. The same goes for the Sorcerer who can spend a day practicing his lockpicking spell in order to raise his overall spellcasting ability.

So, as far as RPG’s go Quest for Infamy does not really hit the spot. Fortunately, things look better when it comes to the adventure part. You will have a vast game world to explore in order to find the approach you prefer to solve different problems. For example, if you embark on finding all the ingredients necessary to divine the spells thought by Prospero you can chose to get an owl feather by throwing pebbles found at the side of the road at the bird. Or you can just burn down the tree.   

The combination between the two game genres is not perfect, but the result still manages to be satisfying. At least as long as you follow the path envisioned by the developers. If you explore too much ahead, you risk getting items or info that will bug out different NPCs and risk locking yourself out from important conversations and events that move the story forward. So, you have to keep an eye on the most important NPCs and try not to adventure too much ahead of their tasks. This becomes a tad difficult when some of them are scripted to show up at night in front of the local pub without any warning.

The art style will be a delight for pixel art lovers, but technically the game is a mess. Especially the control scheme is a pain in the butt. If you try the use the slide down interface from the top of the screen you will have a hard time with the hotspots that will be hidden bellow the action bar. If you try to use the trigger buttons, the game will often get confused and change your stance from stealth to walking in the worst possible moment, making you fail the mission just because you wanted to go from interacting with an object to leaving the room quietly.

Quest for Infamy
Quest for Infamy
Quest for Infamy
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The Good

  • The nostalgic atmosphere
  • Beautiful pixel art graphics
  • Pretty good voice acting

The Bad

  • Annoying control scheme
  • Level and game design issues
  • Archaic gameplay

Conclusion

Quest for Infamy is an archaic game, that was not adapted well to modern consoles. It has several design and gameplay issues, yet after finishing it I had to admit that I had fun with it. It may be just the nostalgia for the games I played in my teenage years, but Quest for Infamy managed to engage me in its world and story.

The humor and dialogues are just as ambivalent as the rest of the design, but the game has its moments when it can make you chuckle if not laugh. It is recommended for those who miss the games from the 90’s or for those who are curious about what fun meant back then.

Review code provided by the publisher.

story 7
gameplay 6
concept 7
graphics 7
audio 8
multiplayer 0
final rating 7
Editor's review
good
 

Quest for Infamy screenshots (31 Images)

Quest for Infamy
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