Genre: role playing game

Release Date: 2010

Developer / Publisher: Double Fine Productions

Story:

Trick or treat? It’s Halloween again! In Costume Quest, you can choose to play Wren, a tough little cookie, or her whinnying brother Reynold. Find some duck tape, a bit of cardboard, a feather duster, an empty soda bottle maybe, and make a dazzling space warrior, ninja, pirate or yeti costume. It’s time to take your neighborhood back from the Repugnians (little green trolls with sharp and sweet teeth).

Playability: Child’s play

Costume Quest has simple and straightforward mechanics and game controls. Although self-explanatory, the game provides players with big bold hints as to which buttons to push and where to look for the next pieces of candy. The gameplay is streamlined but yet varied enough without being too simple or too complex. There are plenty of costumes with quirky special moves and power ups that will make you smile along the way.

Annoyance: Yummy candy

Costume Quest is a typical Tim Schaffer / Double Fine Productions: it’s quirky, zany, but never weird and for the most part it is fun to play. The most annoying thing about Costume Quest is that it is relatively short (about a dozen leisurely paced hours for an old video gamer). It’s a bit like a good box of chocolates or candies, there’s never quite enough to satisfy your appetite (let alone pig out big time).

Beauty: Cute

You don’t get 3D models and environments in Costume Quest, but the game shines with its cartoony hand drawn graphics. Beautiful vivid colors are everywhere (after all it’s Halloween!). I wish the dialogs had been voiced-over to provide a bit more life to the endearing little heroes of a once in a lifetime adventure!

The Old Video Gamer’s Prattle: Fun, fun, fun 8/10

I love Costume Quest, an original, refreshing and entertaining experience. It’s one of those rare video games that are finely balanced. Everything from difficulty to discoveries is just about right. The game is a little on the short side (you can’t compare it to multilayer grim and frosty Nordic sagas). Players will want more adventuring beyond the few locations of Costume Quest. However, it is a lot of fun for the (candy) buck. Costume Quest is family entertainment at its best, not just for kids, but for parents as well.