Review: Dark Quest Remastered
I have fond memories of playing HeroQuest on the Commodore Amiga many years ago. I never played the original board game, but the computer game was right up my street. It featured fantasy characters such as a Barbarian, Wizard and Dwarf wandering around dungeons and fighting monsters. It had great graphics and atmospheric music that really immersed you in the game.
I mention HeroQuest because playing Dark Quest Remastered feels like a tribute to the game I played all those years ago.
Dark Quest Remastered is very, very similar to HeroQuest in a lot of ways. It is a turn-based dungeon crawler where you battle against an evil wizard who sends his minions to stop you in your tracks. You have a Barbarian, Wizard and Dwarf in your party, with each character having slightly different abilities and statistics.
As the game is turn-based, you move around the board, which slowly unfolds the more you explore. Along the way, you encounter monsters, traps and treasures. Once you have completed your quest, you can head back to the local village, which is where the game introduces some roguelike elements.
The gold you collect from each quest can be spent at various locations in the village. The Blacksmith can provide you with stronger weapons and equipment, while the Mage can provide different spells. There is also an Alchemist who can supply potions, including ones that restore health or provide defensive abilities. You can also rest at the inn for a small fee, giving you a little extra health for your next quest.
If you die, you keep the gold which can give you an advantage on your next run through the dungeon. There are 10 levels in total, with the difficulty gradually increasing as you progress.
At first, I wasn’t sure about Dark Quest Remastered, mainly because the graphics are fairly basic. You are essentially moving pieces around a board rather than actually seeing the characters animated and fighting monsters, which was the case in HeroQuest. This was a little disappointing initially, as seeing your characters walk around and attack enemies in HeroQuest added to the overall charm of the game. Seeing a static image of your character move around a board isn’t particularly interesting or inspiring.
The music is also fairly bland and doesn’t really add much to the experience. That being said, the more I played, the more I found myself getting into it. There is definitely a “just one more go” element to the gameplay. The difficulty also ramps up quite quickly. I managed to just scrape through the first level, but on the second level I died fairly quickly.
So, while Dark Quest Remastered isn’t necessarily as good as I remember HeroQuest being, it is a good tribute to a game that I loved all those years ago. It’s worth a go if you’re a fan of fantasy turn-based games, particularly if you enjoyed HeroQuest.
Review by Chris.
