So, do you like old school dungeon crawlers and want to play one on your Android phone or tablet? No problem, one of the best games of this kind is clearly QuestLord. If you are a veteran gamer and have probably played Lands of Lore or Eye of the Beholder series, then you will surely love this game and feel nostalgic. It is a retro-style RPG with pixelated graphics and great gameplay.
While you sleep, a strange creature called ValKin visits you and tells you about a great evil that is coming in your kingdom, causing chaos in your land and evil spreading throughout the kingdom. The kingdom needs a QuestLord… you must follow your destiny!
It is common for these types of games to have a very simple story, so from the first moment you start your search within a town but you know almost nothing about your path. You just hold a gun and wear your clothes. It won’t be long before you realize you’re the infamous “QuestLord.” Your task is simple: protect the citizens of the kingdom and fulfill errands from many NPCs, while exploring a vast area of dungeons, forests, mountains and islands. Kill enemies with weapons or magic and discover the full story, speaking with the inhabitants of the Shattered Kingdom.
There are three races to choose from in QuestLord: human, dwarf, and elf. Each of these races have their different starting points on the Shattered Realm map and the gameplay varies. As a human from the start, you don’t have the ability to cast spells and you need to find a spell book. The spell book is far from the starting point and you focus only on melee until you find it. As an elf, you start your adventure next to the spellbook and cast spells right away. As a dwarf, you also may not be able to cast spells early on. Regardless of which race you choose, the gameplay is pretty much the same. You explore, kill enemies in turn-based combat, collect loot, buy armor, weapons, and potions, complete quests, and level up. This may seem boring, but it is not. There are more than 150 levels and more than 100 NPCs, and many quests to complete. The game automatically saves your position and every time you die you are resurrected near a shrine statue, assuming of course you’ve dropped some food as an offering. There are many of them scattered throughout the Shattered Realm. The controls are intuitive and the interface only lacks scroll buttons. You swipe to attack your enemies and use a shield or spells at the same time. When you press the map button, you have access to your quests and spells, as well as a map of the entire area. Inventory controls are clear and fast, and you can grab, view, or sell an item simply by moving it to the appropriate action. It would be easier for the player to have a fast travel system, but that’s okay, as this is just a small flaw.
The graphics are pixelated in a retro style and do their job very well. The game is enjoyed on the small screen of your Android phone and can also be played on tablets with larger screens. It also has some nice ambient animations apart from the characters. The sound is nice: there are many sound effects and good ambient sounds of nature. The monster sounds are fun and there is good music when you start a quest. There is no speech as expected.
QuestLord is a lot of fun to play. There are many humorous moments throughout the game and the dialogue is clever. It will remind you of the golden age of RPGs and reward you with great moments. Just remember to play this game on a smaller screen for a better experience.
