King's Quest VII, Part 1

Описание: Originally streamed Jan 6, 2023.

King's Quest VII was released in 1994. I remember being quite nonplussed when I saw the look of this game. I played through it and thought it was okay, but was not a fan of the animation style. This is one of those games where I didn't know how I was going to feel about it when I replayed it. As it turns out, it's worse than I remember.

Perhaps this game is a lesson in being too ambitious for your own good; for some reason, Roberta Williams wanted to switch the game's art-style from it's gorgeous pixel art aesthetic to a Disney animated look. This is doubly a problem when you're letting go of an aesthetic that you've absolutely mastered; King's Quest VI has some of the best pixel art of all time. You can't say the same for the animation in this game, which often looks amateurish. Sierra really bit off more than it could chew with this game, and the end result just looks sloppy and unappealing. Apparently they had to outsource the animation to Russian and Croatian animation studios, and those animators had no experience in computer game animation.

For some reason the soundtrack is quite a bit worse as well. Even the characters and writing seem to have taken a hit; maybe it's all a result of trying to fit the more cartoony aesthetic, but everything in this game seems more childish. It's especially jarring if you had just played through one of the great masterpieces King's Quest VI, as I had.

The game is divided up into chapters now, with you alternating between playing as Rosella and Queen Valanice (for the first time.) Puzzle design has changed in that the interface is generally simplified, though this doesn't make it easier. I believe you can't be softlocked in this game, but you can still easily be quite stuck.

This game was apparently well received when it came out. Going back to it now, I really think it doesn't hold up well at all. This is definitely my least favorite in the series.

My Rating:
Overall 3/10 - Music 5/10

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