Costume Quest Review

31/10/12 16:01 Filed in: Video Games

Costume Quest

Is a hurricane keeping you from going trick-or-treating this year? I have the perfect substitute for you. Costume Quest is a delightful little downloadable title that was developed by Double Fine Productions of Tim Schafer fame and released in 2010 for Microsoft Windows, Xbox Live Arcade & Playstation Network by THQ. In the almost two decades since I last stepped out to collect candy on a fall evening, nothing has again made me feel the way that this game does.

And collect candy you will. Costume Quest is a role playing game similar in style to the JRPGs you may know such as Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy. You wander around, talk to people, complete quests & battle enemies to upgrade your characters and progress through the story. Unlike those games however, this one has you play in a pseudo real world setting where you and your friends go out adventuring on Halloween. Then unlike the real world however, you will come across actual monsters to battle, sometimes on the streets and other times behind the neighborhood doors you knock on in pursuit of sweet, sweet candy.

Candy, you see, takes the place of gold or other forms of currency found in most games. You'll use the candy to barter with other kids for information or perhaps new costumes which are the keys behind gameplay. Your characters' abilities will depend on what costumes you equip them with and the battles are portrayed through the characters' child-like imaginations.

So if your character is dressed in cardboard and tin foil, during battle they will be a giant robot with missiles and lasers. And if your character is dressed as the Statue of Liberty then during battle they will make you god damned love America. It works on me every time.

Being that this is a downloadable title, there isn't really any voice acting, the music is basic if not fitting, the story is nothing profound and it clocks in at a relatively short length compared to many JRPG styled games you may have played in the past. But Costume Quest is a simple and charming game that anyone who fondly remembers what it was like being a child this time of year should play. It's one inexpensive little treat that can be enjoyed anytime without going out into the cold or the rain.

Tags: Costume Quest, entertainmentoverdose