Game: Crowns and Pawns: Kingdom of Deceit
Genre: Point and Click, Adventure, Puzzle
System: Nintendo Switch (Steam (Windows))
Developer| Publisher: Tag of Joy | Thunderful
Controller Support: Yes
Price: UK £16.99 | US $17.99 | € 17.99
Release Date: September 28th 2023
Review code used with many thanks to Plan of Attack.
Introduction
The 90’s point-and-click adventure games were peaking in quality with titles such as The Secret of Monkey Island and Grim Fandango. This genre of games focuses on storytelling with the interaction aspect of a game using the environment to progress. Previously, I reviewed a point-and-click title incorporating pixel art style to be true to the original genre and the origins, which you can read here. Crowns and Pawns: Kingdom of Deceit is a homage to the genre but utilises the advancements in graphical fidelity for its presentation.
Story
To summarise, you play a witty woman called Milda from Chicago and her recent inheritance that will take her back to Lithuania. After setting off to Europe, she gets threatened to give up her inheritance. Milda wants to uncover the history of her grandfather, dating back to the 15th century.
Gameplay
The prologue acts as the tutorial and the narrative premise of the game, which did warm me up to Milda as I chose to make her answer in the sassiest of ways. The point-and-click functionality whilst using a Switch Pro controller requires using the right stick to highlight certain interactable items.
As with point-and-click adventures, the game will require you to be attentive to your surroundings. Examples are character dialogue, Milda’s dialogue options and how items can interact with the environment to solve the puzzles being presented to you. Additionally, Milda can store items within her inventory, which can be quickly selected using the ZL and ZR buttons and used to interact with people or objects quickly.
Art and Sound
The game is presented in a 3D cel-shaded art style. With this, the environments are styled in a 2-point perspective, allowing more of the location to be presented in one background. The locations are highly detailed and stunning to look at. The game is fully voice-acted. I have mentioned some of the dialogue options that can genuinely make you laugh.
Additionally, Daniel Pharos, the music composer in Crowns and Pawns: Kingdom of Deceit, has been credited with various titles over the years. However, the music, to me, felt inspired by the locations that featured within the game but focused on being ambient. Tag of Joy, the games’ developer, uploaded an interview on YouTube with Daniel discussing the music, which you can view here.
Conclusion
Crowns and Pawns: Kingdom of Deceit is a plucky point-and-click adventure featuring some witty dialogue. The game presents itself in a lovely art style, which really highlights the beauty of the background locations. Overall, the title should take around 3-5 hours to complete. I can recommend this title. You can pick up Crowns and Pawns: Kingdom of Deceit here. Also, the title is currently on sale in the Nintendo e-Shop until 5th October 2023.
Final Verdict: I Like it. 