A First Look at Dark Quest 4

While that might sound quaint, one should never underestimate the broad appeal of a game that new players can easily jump into. The tutorial is quick, informative, and prepares the player quite well for what’s to come.

As for the game itself, while the repetitive dungeon diving can be somewhat monotonous, none of the challenges are particularly cumbersome. Overall, any difficulties that you might experience will be the result of either personal skill issues or a lack of adequate preparation.

Each Character Has Their Role

The game provides you with 10 playable characters, each of which has their own strengths and weaknesses. While not exactly a groundbreaking concept, it is nice to see the creative differences between how characters within the same subtype operate. Part of the challenge of the game is finding the right combination of characters because, sometimes, what works well for one dungeon is absolutely disastrous for another.

The Bad

Now for the other side of the coin.

The Controls can be Finicky

This is primarily seen when using a keyboard and mouse, but targeting can, at times, be rather problematic. Because you have to click on squares or objects through textures, you can end up clicking the wrong thing, which could lead to you either prolonging your exploration or missing the opportunity to attack.

Using a controller is somewhat better, at least regarding targeting, but you will be moving a cursor around the map, which is somewhat slow. Ultimately, you’ll get a handle on the controls, but they do take a little getting used to.

Exploration Can be Rather Tedious

While combat might be the more dynamic and exciting aspect of the game, before you can partake in a fight, you must first arrive at one. This requires you to move your units through the dungeon. The problem is, you can only move one character at a time. And, since you have to bring 3 units with you, that’s quite a bit of moving around.

This results in rather protracted exploration phases, which are far from enjoyable. After the 3^rd dungeon of micromanaging all 3 of your units’ movements outside of combat, you’ll come to appreciate why games tend to combine characters into one unit when they are moving throughout the world.

Volume Problems

The volume levels for this game are somewhat ridiculous. While you can adjust the in-game volume (which I would highly recommend you do before you start playing because the intro takes a while), adjusting the master volume didn’t seem to have much effect on the title screen. I had the master volume all the way down, logged off, and then, when I logged back on, the sound still played. Loudy. In short, a word of caution: if you value your hearing, don’t open this game with headphones on.

The Complicated

Creator mode is a bit hit-or-miss. While it does provide you with the opportunity to stretch your creative muscle, the controls are somewhat cumbersome and slightly hidden (they are under the “Help” tab). That said, if you are willing to muddle through and familiarize yourself with how it all works, you can very easily spend several hours happily crafting your own little worlds. You might even be able to use Creator mode to provide visual, interactive arenas for other games (like DnD or Warhammer).

Final Thoughts on Dark Quest 4

While this game does have its fun elements, it doesn’t quite live up to its hype. The total amount of gameplay is a bit short, the exploration is a touch tedious, the controls can be a bit wonky, and the narrator really only speaks up when you die. That said, the combat is interesting, the characters are unique, and the art style harkens back to the nostalgic 90s.

Ultimately, while the game probably won’t win any awards, it serves the function that a game should: it provides entertainment. As such, if you are interested in this title, I say give it a try. It might surprise you. If you are interested in this title, it is available on PC (Steam), PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.