Anna’s Quest

Developer: Daedalic Games | Publisher: Daedalic Games | Release Date: 2015 | Genre: Indie / Point & Click Adventure | Website: Official Website | Purchase: Steam

Anna’s Quest stars a young girl living a sheltered life with her grandfather on a secluded farm. Although repeatedly warned not to leave the farm, she has no choice when her grandfather falls ill. After a disastrous start to her journey, she is quickly kidnapped by an evil witch with nefarious intentions. Anna’s only advantage, besides her wit, is the power of telekinesis awakened in her by the experiments the witch subjected her to. Through copious amounts of pointing and clicking, players must assist Anna with escaping and completing her quest to find a cure for her grandpa.

It might sound like a sugary, sweet fairy tale, not helped by the fact that Anna’s sidekick is a giant talking teddy bear, but this is one adventure that fans of all ages will enjoy. Beneath its cutesy exterior lurks a game that doesn’t shy away from mature themes but manages to present its story in a heartwarming manner. Anna has unwavering faith that there is plenty of good in the world despite all her setbacks, which makes for a refreshing change compared to your typical game protagonist. From helping ghosts and outwitting witches to summoning dragons and talking to mirrors, Anna has a long journey ahead of her. It took us more than ten hours to complete the game, and since the puzzles were all very logical, the frustration factor was kept very low.

Visually, the game is a treat, with great artwork and memorable character designs. The hand-drawn style infuses the game with plenty of charm, and there are plenty of varied locations to explore. The animations are also very good, making this game as much fun to watch as it is to play. Anna’s Quest mixes in plenty of fable and fairy tale elements, so you can encounter the Four Musicians of Bremen, a witch catching children to eat them, the three bears, and all kinds of other cameos. There are even some “candies” hidden away in each scene that unlock silly artwork when discovered.

The interface is very streamlined, and, as is typical for the genre, everything can be accomplished simply by pointing and clicking. Anna’s inventory is unlimited, and each scene’s hot spots can be revealed to avoid pixel hunting. Even if you opt not to use this feature, moving your cursor over objects reveals what they are, so you always know what you are dealing with. Interaction is handled with a left click, while right-clicking examines things for a more detailed description. Items in Anna’s inventory can be combined, and “using” telekinesis enables Anna to manipulate things that might usually be too large or out of reach. Overall, the interface is straightforward and very easy to use.

The audio in the game also impressed us as it makes good use of some nice tunes to set the scene. The voice acting is a highlight, though, as every one of the characters you encounter, no matter how minor, is fully voiced. The actors did a great job with their characters, and we encountered very few mediocre performances. Of course, it also helps that the writing is very good and that the game injects plenty of humor into the conversations. You are given ample opportunity to converse with characters, and some of the puzzles are even dialogue-based, so you have to pay attention.

Since all the puzzles in the game are clever but never illogical, they should provide a decent challenge for veterans and newcomers to the genre alike. There is little to fault about Anna’s Quest, apart from the final chapter, which felt a little out of place. It would also have been nice if Ben, the walking, talking teddy bear, was a bit more involved in the puzzles. Players used to getting hints might find the puzzles challenging, but overall, we think there are enough clues to keep you on track. While everyone might not find Anna endearing because of her optimism and naivety, we liked having her as a protagonist.

Anna’s Quest is a game with a lot of heart and offers enough fun that we wholeheartedly recommend it to all fans of the genre. Everything, from the visuals and audio to the writing and puzzles, is done well enough to make the game stand out from the crowd.