Reviews - ShaneWSmith

There's a lot to like about Anna's Quest Volume One, the first full-length game from Dane Krams.

Krams' art style is cartoony and instantly appealing; it feels like a trip down Nostalgia Avenue, but not at the expense of modern graphical integrity. Don't get the wrong idea when I say 'cartoony': the visual direction is lush and stunning, proving once and for all that you don't need the latest hardware or a team of a thousand programmers to create visually appealing games.

The music is stunning and suits the game completely down to the ground, a true credit to James Flamestar.

The story itself is basic but engaging, and the characters are thoroughly enjoyable. I loved hearing Anna's often-innocent, often-sarcastic, always-genuine reactions to everything I tried to do, and often would find myself intentionally trying ridiculous things just to hear the reaction. The antics of her simple and over-enthusiastic ally Ted never fail to bring a smile to my face.

This is a family-friendly game, and would suit players of almost all ages. The puzzles are largely intuitive, although often multi-faceted, rooted deeply in logical behaviour with a twist of unexpected lunacy here and there.

There are only two controls, the left and right click. Unfortunately, without in-game instructions, figuring them out is a matter of trial-and-error. This would be a major faux pas in a more complex game, but - although not ideal - is forgivable here.

Anna's Quest revived a lot of positive memories of the point-and-click games of my childhood, but introduced some fascinating mechanics of its own to distinguish itself and remind us that it's not 1995 anymore.

If this is the future of indy games, sign me up.

And sell me a season pass for Anna's Quest. Part Two is a day-one purchase, for sure!