The Office Quest
Title: The Office Quest
Developer: 11Sheep
Publisher: 11Sheep
Website: theofficequest.com
Genre: Adventure
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Audience: E for Everyone
Release Date: Switch: 17/1/2019
Price: $11.99 – Rapid Reviews UK was very kindly provided with a review code for this title.
What the Developers say
Not all heroes wear capes…. some prefer fluffy onesies.
The Office Quest is a point & click adventure for all you people who just cannot stay in the office any longer!Be it your grumpy boss or annoying co-worker, it’s the people that make the office (as unbearable as it is). Trick them into letting you slip away!
Introduction
Point-and-click adventure games have been making a triumphant return, in large part to how easily accessible they are on a mobile platform or the Nintendo Switch. The number of titles has grown the last couple years exponentially, and it’s easy to see why with how enjoyable and straightforward they are. One that you may not have heard of from developer 11Sheep is The Office Quest, and it’s easy to overlook, but don’t let this one pass you by. It may not innovate in the genre, but it is a fun experience with a great sense of humour for the narrative and clever puzzles.
The Office Quest is a short four or five-hour point-and-click adventure where you take control of an office employee trying his hardest to get out of work. This is easier said than done though, as there are many puzzles and obstacles that you will have to solve and overcome to progress forward. There are five chapters and while the first couple feature puzzles on the simpler and more straightforward side, the later quests go back to the more confusing point-and-click tropes which can be frustrating, but more often than not are cleverly presented.
Gameplay and Replayability
It is the typical point-and-click affair where you can use the left analogue stick to select items, or in handheld mode tap on objects, you want to interact with. The only other thing to note about the controls is by pressing the R button you can slow the cursor to pinpoint more specific points of interest. You’ll usually just be picking up items to use them somewhere else, but some puzzles require different methods of using an item or interacting with an NPC or object.
Where The Office Quest sets itself apart from other games in the genre is with its distinct graphical style, crazy characters, and thought-provoking puzzles and quests. The puzzles vary from simple memory games and fetch quests, to more complex ones where you have to call upon some extra brain cells if you want to progress. There are minimal in-game help options, so if you do get stuck, you’ll most likely have to find the solution online which doesn’t make for good game design.
Like any challenging game, however, coming up with the answer on your own for a seemingly impossible task or puzzle will leave you feeling intellectually rewarded and ready for the next obstacle. I was able to make it through most of the game on my own, but the moments where I had to look up a solution because I could, for the life of me, not understand a solution involving causing a distraction with a fish was mind-boggling. Fortunately, as stated before, The Office Quest is not long and the “what the hell” moments of certain solutions are kept to a minimum.
Looks and Sounds
Graphically, The Office Quest is a sharp looking title, despite only using a small colour palette. Characters are zany and quirky and add to the overall charm of the game. The music is equally as appropriate, with light jazz instrumentation for a vintage type of quality, perfect for an office-like setting.
Conclusion
Overall, The Office Quest is a clever point-and-click title that is reminiscent of many of the 90’s adventure games from Sierra and LucasArts. It is a challenging and memorable point-and-click adventure that is only marred by some backtracking issues and a few frustrating puzzles. While it can be played with the Joy-Cons, I enjoyed my time more with the controls by using the touchscreen. If you are in the mood for a more straightforward adventure title with some humour, you should give The Office Quest a shot.
Rapid Reviews UK Rating
You can purchase The Office Quest on the Nintendo eShop at the following link, https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/the-office-quest-switch
