A classic adventure that incorporates a great story, clever puzzles and some excellent humour.
These types of PC games were fairly common at the time Quest For Glory was made, with other titles such as Sam & Max, Broken Sword (aka Circle of Blood), Maniac Mansion & Sierra’s other key stable King’s Quest playing a very similar “detective” style game. However, this adventure sub-genre is now almost non-existent since the arrival and domination of console gaming.
Upon starting the game you must choose your hero’s starting class from either a Fighter, a Wizard or a Thief. The Paladin option is also available for those who have completed previous Quest for Glory games. This choice affects the way in which the game is played as action and adventure are combined with classic role-playing elements to determine skill levels in certain aspects of the character which influences the abilities your hero is able to use.
QFG4’s gameplay revolves heavily around puzzle solving and can actually require you to use your mind in order to establish what to do next. These puzzles usually involve the use of items from your inventory or the application of the hero’s abilities.
There are plenty of tasks to complete and each quest progresses the story onwards as you learn more about each of the characters who require aid. This is done very effectively through the use of communication with the townspeople.
Another aspect of Shadows of Darkness is the combat, which occurs rarely in the game and is for the most part avoidable if you so choose. Although not abhorrent, this is one aspect where I feel the game fell a little short and could have used a little more depth, although killing your first vorpal bunny is bound to be thrill.
While you may get confused throughout the game as to what needs to be done next, this is a common occurrence in these particular types of games and will usually become clear after some more exploration and discussion with the local inhabitants. However, Sierra did include a difficulty slider in the options menu that helps with both the combat and puzzles.
The control scheme used for QFG4 is fairly basic, it simply requires you to point and click. An interface appears which changes the type of interaction the hero will perform ranging from touching, looking, walking and talking. It is pretty standard stuff and makes for an easy and enjoyable experience.
The story is an important aspect of video games, especially in this genre where it plays an integral role in immersing the player into the game world and causing you to become attached to the characters you meet. This is done extremely well here and is definitely the highlight of the game, as you see the outcome of the actions you take. In this case the plot picks up where QFG3 finished, prior knowledge of the previous game’s back-story is helpful but not required, as Shadows of Darkness remains quite separate from the others in the series.
As the game begins, you find yourself in a dark cave not knowing where you are. You soon discover that you have been magically transported to the land of Mordavia, a place oozing with darkness. It is here where you must save the small village from the power of the Dark One and the malevolent forces of evil by solving the various quests which frequently pop-up. The main plot is well told and highly engaging, well the side quests also provide great insight into the characters that you will come to either love or hate. Humour is also used throughout the game and no series does it better than Quest for Glory, from the characters dialogue to the ways you can die, the humour used in a particularly sinister plot adds to the entire experience.
A darker atmosphere is portrayed with the graphics to suit the games more ominous story line. The graphics resemble 2D animation and work well for this kind of game; they looked great at the time of release and still hold up well even now. Character appearances are detailed and the addition of lighting effects for morning, afternoon and night give the game a great sense of ambiance.
With QFG4 came the introduction of character voice-overs for the series and they are quite remarkably done and make the conversations more enjoyable to sit through.
Narration of the story is provided by John Rhys-Davis who often supplies the humour and was perfectly chosen for the role.
The music establishes the mood and while it is innocuous and doesn’t stand out, it also won’t become annoying either. It simply does its job without being memorable.
Simply completing the game will take up a few hours, after this you will most likely want to play through as each of the separate classes as the game play changes depending on the type of hero chosen. Of course there is also the paladin class that provides a few exclusive quests. Well the game won’t change dramatically every time, you will constantly stumble upon something new. With this game being so old, it does bring a few downfalls. When playing the game on newer and faster machines some major glitches will begin to crop up. These are fixable by downloading a few patches or using some temporary fix programs such as Dos-Box. The glitches and combat system, which feels a little underdeveloped, are the only things that blemish an almost perfect game. I highly advise taking the short amount of time to find and download the respective fixes as a high quality and memorable game lies hidden underneath. Well I feel Shadows of Darkness is the best in the Quest for Glory series I also suggest playing them all to gain further insight into the magnificent anthology that is Quest for Glory.
Suffice to say, this game isn’t suited to everyone, especially action junkies who just want to blow things up. However, if you feel like taking an unforgettable journey into the world of a hero where intelligence is just as important as might, then I greatly recommend tracking down a copy by whatever means necessary.