King's Quest Chapter 1: A Knight to Remember

 PC
User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 103 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 72 out of 103
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 103
  3. Negative: 18 out of 103

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  1. Jozo
    Aug 3, 2015
    1
    This is a very disappointing game. A new King's Quest title could and should have revolutionized the adventure game as we know it. But instead it's turned out to be derivative, generic, formulaic and represents everything that's mediocre about the genre from the year 2000 onward. Firstly, the game has been shoehorned primarily onto consoles and it's scattered with Quick Time Events. SomeThis is a very disappointing game. A new King's Quest title could and should have revolutionized the adventure game as we know it. But instead it's turned out to be derivative, generic, formulaic and represents everything that's mediocre about the genre from the year 2000 onward. Firstly, the game has been shoehorned primarily onto consoles and it's scattered with Quick Time Events. Some people say "Oh, but they are easy QTEs", and to that, I counter "So why include them at all, when a cutscene movie would suffice?" Seriously, whoever thought taking a retro game that's only ever been PC based and had PC fans, and heavily consolizing it needs to be fired. Clunky 3rd-person controls will never win over a point and click interface that creates many more opportunities to explore the game world. Stop trying to cater to every gamer out there and focus on the target PC fans that this franchise is intended for. It's a niche game!

    In A Knight to Remember, I felt that the game mechanics represented the worst of the two extremes commonly seen in bad adventure game design: Either the puzzles are overly simple because they're handed to you on account of all the important hotspot being the only ones you can interact with OR you're stuck wandering around aimlessly, through the confusing game world, trying to figure out what to do next. The graphics are awfully outdated and belong in the PS2 era. Another great shame, as KQ (except the 7th entry) has always been renown for it's pseudo-realistic, fairly tale look. The art style in the new game is cartoony and just doesn't look right. When you can clearly count the number of polygonal lines edges on a "circular" pie tray that an NPC holds up, you know that the graphics could have been SO much better. I really didn't care for the art style at all. I also despise the developer's attempts to redefine Graham's personality and character into a slapstick abomination. The tone and humor is really far off the mark and the writing also very average. I can't help but feel deeply dismayed and let down that this is what we got as the next KQ game, after a 17-year wait. Even those fan KQ remakes were infinitely more faithful to the series' tone, characterizations, and puzzles, the very things that this series is know for. Sadly, this new KQ game strays so far from the established conventions, that it strips away any semblance of what made Sierra's adventure games unique. What we're left with is a product that looks vaguely like KQ on the surface, and only because it uses the character likenesses, names, locations etc. But under the hood it plays and handles like a watered-down LucasArts title and anything uniquely "Sierra" is long gone or has been trashed. It's almost as if the devs are giving a big "Screw you" to Sierra's established mechanics... even the ones that worked and would have translated well into a modern adventure game. The whole thing just feels completely and utterly wrong. This game could have been so much more. It could have forged a new path and been revolutionary in the genre, like nothing before it, and like KQ games of old. Activision certainly has the money to fund this. But instead, A Knight to Remember tries to play it safe and the adventure genre as a whole, and particularly long-time Sierra fans, are worse off as a result.

    It seems to be that people are rating this game highly because they know Activision hold all the Sierra IPs ransom, and unless they kiss Activision's ass and **** around the negatives, they'll never see any more Sierra games made. But if they turn out anything like this one, then I would suggest maybe that's for the best. People also seem to be lauding this game because it does things slightly better than a Telltale game. Well, let me just sau that if this is the new benchmark for what makes a good "modern" adventure title, then I can only facepalm, and say that we clearly have a long, long way to go. Well, the gloves are off. We need to hold Activision to a far, FAR higher standard than this. A barely passable game is not good enough, and if they want to dabble in the Sierra IPs, they'll need to do so much better than this.

    If you're a long-time King's Quest fan, skip this. Just stick to the originals, lest you enjoy having your childhood memroies insulted.    … Expand
  2. Zer0TheHer0
    Aug 6, 2015
    1
    Keyboard controls aren't redefinable.If you don't use wasd you're screwed.Don't buy this.Developers should learn to add such a simple,basic and absolutely necessary feature,in 2015
    not the onlu problem though... also,unskippable dialogues,unskippable cutscenes,slow walking and slow transition between an area and the next(and there are quite a lot) sop getting from one place to another    Keyboard controls aren't redefinable.If you don't use wasd you're screwed.Don't buy this.Developers should learn to add such a simple,basic and absolutely necessary feature,in 2015
    not the onlu problem though... also,unskippable dialogues,unskippable cutscenes,slow walking and slow transition between an area and the next(and there are quite a lot) sop getting from one place to another takes quite a lot of pointless walking,bad controls overall(they should have kept the point and click interface),pointless jumping "puzzles",bad qtes.the old graham voiceover is quite bad and annoying too
    on the plus side,the graphics are very good,the tone and humor are good too...but that's it    … Expand
  3. N05tradamus
    Aug 24, 2015
    0
    The Bad: This game is an abomination. I would rather play "Mask of eternity", which was just a bit better than this 3D spectacle. As I approached the half way mark the chilling reality set in - the final nail has been blasted into Sierra's coffin. It's a tough pill to swallow but I think, in a way, I had already come to accept this when the rights passed on to a clueless company such asThe Bad: This game is an abomination. I would rather play "Mask of eternity", which was just a bit better than this 3D spectacle. As I approached the half way mark the chilling reality set in - the final nail has been blasted into Sierra's coffin. It's a tough pill to swallow but I think, in a way, I had already come to accept this when the rights passed on to a clueless company such as activision. The game appears to have been made for three year olds - I found peppers adventures in time more mentally stimulating. From Kings Quest 7 we saw that Disney like graphics and characters can work in a kings quest game, but only when the story, narrative and artistry are closely monitored to keep the heart and themes of the series in tact. Unfortunately this disgrace does not come close to capturing the great, redefining Sierra adventure games of old. RIP Sierra - our only hope now is to turn to the fans for crowd funded remakes.

    The good: The initial splash screen and main menu. It might also appeal to newcomers that don't have a clue about the original series.    … Expand
  4. blackbird1
    Sep 2, 2015
    2
    Well. I was eager for this title to release, and so far it's been quite a disappointment.

    The game is more of an homage to Kings Quest than an actual Kings Quest game. The controls are seriously dumbed down. There is no point and click interface, and most of the "puzzles" so far have been quick-time events. You can't look at the scenery for atmosphere, unless the game wants you to look    Well. I was eager for this title to release, and so far it's been quite a disappointment.

    The game is more of an homage to Kings Quest than an actual Kings Quest game. The controls are seriously dumbed down. There is no point and click interface, and most of the "puzzles" so far have been quick-time events. You can't look at the scenery for atmosphere, unless the game wants you to look at something. It is inexcusable for an adventure game to be so stuck on rails like this. The voice acting is great, but doesn't fit playing Grahm in first person hearing an old man narrate his actions. This may change later in the game.

    The environments are extremely bland, generic, and reuse art assets. However it's all done very well so that you won't notice unless you're looking for it.

    The episodic style release is also, frankly, an insult to the series. I would imagine it's only purpose was to disguise an early release and give the team more time to work on later episodes.

    The art, dialogue and music just drop the ball blatantly. The puzzles are shallow. This is a Kings Quest game by name only.

    Everything was built to the "Odd Gentlemen" theme ( steampunk-esque I guess ) instead of being built to Kings Quest. There is a distinct lack of color and vibrancy as were in the KQ games.

    It's a good game mind you. But if you're looking for Kings Quest; Just play Kings Quest. I recommended against if you're a fan of the series. If you're looking for a generic adventure game, you'll enjoy yourself. However I would wait for a sale after all episodes are released.

    Book of Unwritten Tales is a far superior adventure game, in every single way imaginable.

    To the developers; Not everything needs to be dumbed down. Not everything must be spoon fed. Not everything needs quick-time events.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

42
#42 Best PC Game of 2015
65
#65 Most Shared PC Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
  1. CD-Action
    Oct 17, 2015
    80
    King’s Quest might look quite modern, but it hasn’t forgotten its glorious heritage. [10/2015, p.58]
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Sep 15, 2015
    80
    The return of the classical game was a success and the magical world of Daventry in its cartoon reincarnation will literally charm you by the great events and a nicely written story. [Issue#255]
  3. Pelit (Finland)
    Sep 9, 2015
    88
    This ain't an adventure game in a traditional sense, but altogether the first episode of the new King's Quest is a pleasant surprise. It's an action-adventure, but with a high emphasis on a story. Puzzles are easy and sudden deaths won't sneak up on you anymore, but at its core, King's Quest is a new adaptation of Sierra's thesis of bringing faery tales to bits. This is something, that the game achieves with flying colors. Well done, sirs. [Sept 2015]
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