Desert Quest, the latest game from Sad Cat Software, epitomises the old adage that you should never judge a book by its cover… only not in the way you might expect. It looks great; with vast and expansive design, charmingly simple yet filigreed graphics and an array of RPG extras, Desert Quest promises a lot and certainly looks the part. Where it unfortunately fails to deliver is in the execution of the gameplay itself.

A scant, and rather pointless, storyline suggests that a princess has been stolen away and it is your job to enter the realm of dreams to save her. To do this you must traverse large areas of land for secret keys, spell components and other treasures. This explorative aspect of the game is where you can really see what the developers were trying to achieve. The maps are big, there are plenty of enemies, hidden items are difficult to find and its fairly easy to get to grips with manoeuvring your character about. In theoretical terms this sounds great; the perfect ingredients for a fantastic RPG. In reality, you spend a hell of a lot of time wandering around the map using the floating control-stick, tracing and retracing your steps in a vain attempt to find that one, all-important key to unlock another part of the stage.

You spend most of your time with your thumb firmly planted on the “attack” button as your character fires off a continuous barrage of death, and the majority of enemies you come across are strangely drawn animals reminiscent of cave-paintings whose only form of attack is to assault you en masse (oh, except for the cheetahs. They fire lasers too). This becomes boring very quickly. There’s no challenge in killing off your enemies; simply keep waving your warhammer about and eventually there won’t be any animals left near you. The repetition of both the walking around in circles and the brainless annihilation of innocent animals will grind down even the most hardened of RPG fans.

So while the gameplay may leave a bit to be desired, the game has plenty of positives too. The graphics are enchanting; the intricacy of the tree patterns, the eeriness of the moon and the surreal tone of the animals all blends together to give the feel of a dream-state. Huge levels offer plenty of long-term entertainment, with a calculated approach to scouring the stage essential to not overlook any vital elements. You start with only a bow and arrow or a warhammer at your disposal (either of which will get the job done) and you also have the ability to learn and cast spells based on the gems you collect in the different stages. Furthermore, there are mini-puzzles to be found and completed for added rewards, so there’s certainly enough there to keep players coming back for more.

After showing so much promise it really is quite sad to see how unfulfilling Desert Quest has turned out to be. It doesn’t take long for the game to start to get on your nerves as you wander around aimlessly, the lack of technical challenges quickly descends into repetitive boredom and you just can’t help but feel that this game could have been so much more. The potential was there; the execution was poor.

– Dom S

Our Scoring Policy

Desert Quest, the latest game from Sad Cat Software, epitomises the old adage that you should never judge a book by its cover… only not in the way you might expect. It looks great; with vast and expansive design, charmingly simple yet filigreed graphics and an array of RPG extras, Desert Quest promises a lot and certainly looks the part. Where it unfortunately fails to deliver is in the execution of the gameplay itself.

A scant, and rather pointless, storyline suggests that a princess has been stolen away and it is your job to enter the realm of dreams to save her. To do this you must traverse large areas of land for secret keys, spell components and other treasures. This explorative aspect of the game is where you can really see what the developers were trying to achieve. The maps are big, there are plenty of enemies, hidden items are difficult to find and its fairly easy to get to grips with manoeuvring your character about. In theoretical terms this sounds great; the perfect ingredients for a fantastic RPG. In reality, you spend a hell of a lot of time wandering around the map using the floating control-stick, tracing and retracing your steps in a vain attempt to find that one, all-important key to unlock another part of the stage.

You spend most of your time with your thumb firmly planted on the “attack” button as your character fires off a continuous barrage of death, and the majority of enemies you come across are strangely drawn animals reminiscent of cave-paintings whose only form of attack is to assault you en masse (oh, except for the cheetahs. They fire lasers too). This becomes boring very quickly. There’s no challenge in killing off your enemies; simply keep waving your warhammer about and eventually there won’t be any animals left near you. The repetition of both the walking around in circles and the brainless annihilation of innocent animals will grind down even the most hardened of RPG fans.

So while the gameplay may leave a bit to be desired, the game has plenty of positives too. The graphics are enchanting; the intricacy of the tree patterns, the eeriness of the moon and the surreal tone of the animals all blends together to give the feel of a dream-state. Huge levels offer plenty of long-term entertainment, with a calculated approach to scouring the stage essential to not overlook any vital elements. You start with only a bow and arrow or a warhammer at your disposal (either of which will get the job done) and you also have the ability to learn and cast spells based on the gems you collect in the different stages. Furthermore, there are mini-puzzles to be found and completed for added rewards, so there’s certainly enough there to keep players coming back for more.

After showing so much promise it really is quite sad to see how unfulfilling Desert Quest has turned out to be. It doesn’t take long for the game to start to get on your nerves as you wander around aimlessly, the lack of technical challenges quickly descends into repetitive boredom and you just can’t help but feel that this game could have been so much more. The potential was there; the execution was poor.

– Dom S

Our Scoring Policy