Pelit, videogames magazine from Finland, reviews Episode 1 and 2 and gives the episodes 82/100 and 85/100 respectively. Attached is a scan of the magazine and a translation follows:

The Return of the King

The death of adventure games seems to have been greatly exaggerated. Why, there giving them out for free!

Roberta Williams left an eternal mark on the adventure game genre. With her husband, they were the founders of Sierra On-line, which created the foundation for the whole adventure gaming industry.

King’s Quest was Sierra’s oldest and most beloved gameseries. This favorite child of Roberta Williams, grew from its cradle in to eight sequels in length, but the latest 3D-actionthingie was to be the end of the series.Now the child has gotten a new home in the hands of dedicated collection of fans and after years of silence, the series is getting an unofficial sequel. Made with the strength of amateurs, The Silver Lining is, despite its crude exterior, pure gold.

Because King’s Quest and its characters are still under copyright protection, the route taken by The Silver Lining, that is released in five episodes, has been long and rocky. Luckily in the end, reason won. The first episode was released with the blessings of Roberta Williams, so this is the most official fan product you’ll ever see. This project done with volunteer work is free and there are already two full episodes done.

Wedding straight from hell

A proud father has to do much more harder work than your normal toast, when in the middle of a wedding, Alexander and Rosella, the heirs to the king of Daventry king Graham, are cursed and they fall into a coma. Gray-haired Graham is off to his final adventure to search for a cure.

The troubles of the opening scene are really simple, so even beginners can get a hold of the plot easily. During the first episode, one doesn’t travel far from the beginning island, but the apperatives of the story efficiently waked up tastebuds. After the brooding opening of the second episode, the world is once again painted with candy colors and the serious rescue mission gets some humor on its side. The story hits on a new gear and finally Graham and his company gets to travel around the big world. The second episode also improves the puzzles, but you’ll hardly get stuck anywhere.

Now the story starts to feel like a grand adventure. The episode ends just when the plot starts to thicken, so the excitement is strong while waiting for the third episode.

Sierra or Escort?

The interface is so Sierra. With the right mouse ear you can sail through the actions, while the left button executes it. The gameworld does not have any hotspots, so you’ll have to keep your eyes open. The king’s adventure in this three dimensional kingdom requires some handhelding, since the pathfinding algorithm seems to have been born premature. As a small beauty flaw Graham walks like a robot, but luckily you’ll get used to the stiff main character pretty quickly.

Despite being blessed with a golden heart, the exterior of this fanproduct is unfortunately not as golden. Record blurry textures and blocky character models are something from the last millenium, with higher resolutions the problems are more apparent. Atleast the pixels cover up some of the jagged edges. To counter the apathetic graphics the soundscape is extremely well made. The music offers some melancholical piano notes and there is nothing to complain the voice acting. The monk choirs of episode 2 even managed to raise the hair on my back.

The characters say their lines, with a few exceptions, without overacting, and the gout graphics engine tries its best to make the characters look like they’re displaying emotions. The only exception to the swinging voice acting is the annoying female narrator, who opens her mouth every time there is even a small excuse.

With great interest, I’m waiting to see where does this adventure go. The game already feels like a real King’s Quest and the love of the authors to their work is clearly visible. Usually in these kinds of projects, the schedules get longer, but getting two episodes out is a strong sign that the latest adventure of the Daventry family will see an ending.

The Silver Lining(8) reminds me of homemade house wine. Preserved in a Mehukatti can it’s hard to make the flavor taste like a mass produced alternative. After the long gestation period you have something homebrewn that is to be enjoyed in small portions, of which the final opinion can only be said when the the cup hits the lees.

Juho Kuorikoski (author)

GOOD

– The spirit of King’s Quest is present.

– Voice acting has been nicely executed.

– Beautifully melancholical soundtrack.

– Story has guts.

BAD

– The narrator is annoying.

– Dismal graphics.

– Pathfinder needs some work

Episode 1: 82/100

Episode 2: 85/100

”Pelit suosittelee”-seal (Pelit recommends)