So 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 type is clearly QuestLord. If you are a veteran gamer and have probably played the Lands of Lore or Eye of the Beholder series, you will definitely love this game and feel nostalgic. It is a retro style RPG with pixelated graphics and great gameplay.
As you sleep, a strange creature named ValKin visits you and tells you about a great evil that is taking over your kingdom, sending your land into chaos with evil spreading throughout the kingdom. The kingdom needs a QuestLord … you must follow your destiny!
It is common for this type of game to have a very simple story, so from the first moment you start your search within a village, but you know practically nothing about your path. You only have one weapon and you are wearing your clothes. It won’t be long before you realize that you are the infamous “QuestLord”. Your task is simple: protect the citizens of the kingdom and fulfill the errands of many NPCs, while exploring a vast area of dungeons, forests, mountains and islands. Kill enemies with weapons or magic and discover the full story by talking to the inhabitants of the Shattered Kingdom.
There are three races to choose from in QuestLord: Human, Dwarf, and Elf. Each of these races has its different starting point on the Shattered Kingdom map and the gameplay varies. As a human, from the beginning, you don’t have the ability to cast spells and you need to find a spell book. The spellbook is far from the starting point and you only focus on hand-to-hand fighting until you find it. As an elf, you start your adventure next to the spell book and are immediately casting spells. As a dwarf you can’t be able to cast spells right from the start either. Regardless of the 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 missions, and level up. This may seem boring, but it is not. There are more than 150 levels and more than 100 NPCs, and many missions to complete. The game automatically saves your position and each time you die you are resurrected near a shrine statue, assuming, of course, that you have left some food as an offering. There are many of them scattered throughout the Shattered Kingdom. The controls are intuitive and the interface lacks only control 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 pick up, 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 it doesn’t hurt as this is just a minor 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 in addition to 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 great music when you start a quest. There is no speech as expected.
QuestLord is a lot of fun to play. There are a lot of funny moments throughout the game and the dialogue is clever. It will remind you of the golden age of role-playing games and will reward you with great moments. Just remember to play this game on a smaller screen for a better experience.