Unfortunately, and unlike the вЂњQuestвЂќ games of old, trying your luck with random interactions usually results in snarky narration, rather than a myriad of entertaining deaths. The world is surprisingly big and those looking to systematically explore and experience every observation or interaction are in for a lengthy adventure. As the world is also designed around three specialisation paths, it often feels like you should be doing something in an area but specific interactions are often be reserved for another questline. Of course, Quest for Infamy could be a brisk experience if youвЂ™re a veteran of the genre with an understanding of the puzzle logic, but new or casual players will likely find themselves running in circles, trying to trigger scripted encounters, scouring each location for something theyвЂ™ve missed, interacting with everything possible, and systematically trying out combine or use every item theyвЂ™ve found. The dated interface means thereвЂ™s little real вЂњactionвЂќ to speak of, so progress is driven primarily by dialogue choices and puzzle-based roadblocks.ДЇiguring out who to talk to, what items to combine, where to use them, and вЂ“ perhaps most importantly вЂ“ in what order, makes up the bulk of your playtime. YouвЂ™ll traverse a sprawling region, screen-by-screen (well over 200 of them) talking to NPCs, scouring the environment for quest items, and engaging in infrequent combat. When it comes to the gameplay, Quest for Infamy is a late вЂ80s/early вЂ90s point-and-click adventure through and through, not some modern reinterpretation. Unfortunately, much of the narration is too wordy and undermines the gag. This is a simple but representative example of the humour you can expect.

For everyone else, consider yourself warned. As someone who was once a post-pubescent boy and still has a clear memory of my youthful idiocy, it played into the nostalgia aspect. Despite a few jabs at modern events and memes, Quest for Infamy feels like it was written by juvenile developers in the late вЂ80s for an audience of post-pubescent boys. It is undeniably charming if you accept the idea something can be вЂњso bad itвЂ™s goodвЂќ, and there are some legitimately absurd and funny moments, but many of the jokes or quips could be taken as offensive. You can expect truly stupid dialogue, snarky narration, and crude humour that misses the mark as often as it hits. Although each playthrough is not particularly long for an RPG, this structure provides a great incentive for replays.ДЇor better and worse, another вЂњauthenticвЂќ element in Quest for Infamy is the writing. Although youвЂ™ll always experience several major вЂ“ and typically time-sensitive вЂ“ narrative beats, each specialisation offers unique questlines, novel solutions, different allies, and trips to unique locations.

The starting town of Volksville houses potential mentors to guide Roehm in the ways of the fighter, sorcerer, or rogue вЂ“ all of which offer a (mostly) unique path through the three acts. The sheriff of Volksville is a stern and unforgiving man (with a penchant for public executions), the mayor of Tyr is an idiot (albeit equally quick to deal with threats to his rule), and a crazy cult is trying to recruit new followers to their mountain citadel вЂ“ but all is not lost! The setup is simple enough and it can feel aimless at first, but youвЂ™ll soon pick a specialisation and progress along a more structured questline. His fondness for a baronвЂ™s daughter sees him fleeing westwards in a hay-cart, only to get stuck in the Valley of Krasna until a local bridge leading north is repaired. You take control of one William Roehm, a smooth-talking, scoundrel who fancies himself a ladies man. Despite some modern assists вЂ“ hotspots, combat difficulty settings, an in-game manual, and a hint system вЂ“ Quest for Infamy is a game that reminds me of both the best and worst of that era.

That authenticity, however, is a double-edged sword. Quest for Infamy вЂ“ developed by Infamous Quests and published by Ratalaika Games вЂ“ is an unabashedly-authentic throwback to Sierra On-LineвЂ™s classic point-and-click adventures, specifically 1989вЂ™s Quest for Glory.

A quest for infamy