Costume Quest
Costume Quest is a role-playing video game developed and published by Double Fine Productions on iOS on 2010-10-10 and later published on several other platforms.
Contents
Personal
I remember seeing snippets of Costume Quest online around 2010, and I bought it in a bundle years later, but didn't play it until 2021. I assumed I would get bored of it and give up, but the game did a good job of keeping my interests, and I played the game all the way through, beating it on 2021-01-26. I reached level 10, with all stamps, costumes, and cards. I got all the achievements except those for Grubbins On Ice, which I have yet to play.
One late-game strategy I found was having the Fries costume, and equipping each player with eggs and toilet paper. This lets you stun all the enemies in the first round, and they never become unstunned as you slowly chisel away at them, so you never take a single hit. This works on all enemies except bosses.
Status
I own this game on Steam and am playing it.
Review
Good
- The game does a great job of capturing the way children feel on Halloween. For a trick-or-treating child, donning a costume makes them feel like the actual thing they're representing. The powerful animations during combat really make this feel real.
- The locations (a well-decorated neighborhood, mall, and fair) are all perfect for the game's theme.
- The combat mechanic of requiring the player to respond to stimulus both during an attack and defense is a nice way to keep the player focused on the game rather than a passive chore, like so many other RPGs. I also like that you are put back to full health at the end of each combat, so you're not fiddling with healing spells, potions, and the like.
- I like all the mini games included through the game. They're both enjoyable and fitting to the theme. Hide n' seek, bobbing for apples, trading cards, etc.
- The various puns and jokes spoken by the kids throughout the game is a fantastic addition. Most are just worth a chuckle, but some made me laugh out loud.
- The backgrounds during combat faithfully recreate the map of the are you're in in miniature, which is a nice touch.
- The carpet in the arcade is spot-on.
Bad
- The enemies are too similar. You have an orc-like thing, another orc-like thing, and a crow, all of which fight the same way and use the same abilities. This means there isn't much combat strategy required. Only the bosses need any strategy.
- The audio isn't that interesting. The sound effects are barely noticeable, and, although the orchestration is professionally made and fits combat, it doesn't really fit with the rest of the game. I would have much preferred some stand-alone tracks for the exploration sections and mini games rather than all ambiance.
- Dying doesn't mean anything in this game. If you lose in combat, you just try it again until you win. I feel like losing a battle should set you back at least somewhat.
- I would prefer the game used a button to advance text rather than a timeout. Sometimes, when I read the dialogue faster than the game expected me to, I would press a button on the controller, and, when I pressed B, it would skip the entire cutscene and there was no way to rewatch it.
- I would have liked the ability to skip the longer combat animations. They're fun to watch at first, but a bit annoying later in the game. Thankfully, none of them are ever too long.
- I don't understand the point of making one of the main facing buttons a pause button.
- The Statue of Liberty costume, although it has funny animation, isn't very useful or thematic.
- Like so many games, this one awards achievements for simply doing the things necessary to beat the game, and I never feel like that's an achievement.
- When an enemy is stunned, the camera doesn't move for them. Stun all three enemies, and you'll be looking at a strange angle for several seconds.
Ugly
- Nothing.
Media
Box Art
iOS icon.
Box art.
Steam title card.
Documentation
Online manual.
Fan Art
Comic by Zac Gorman.
Videos
Links
