Game Review: Queen’s Quest 2: Stories of Forgotten Past (Xbox One)

Developed by Brave Giant LTD and published by Artifex Mundi, the leaders of the hidden object/puzzle adventure game. Queen’s Quest 2: Stories of Forgotten Past is their latest Xbox One release.

We’ve played our fair share of these games made or published by Artifex Mundi and have enjoyed most of them. You can check all of them out here.

The question is how does this latest game stack up?

Firstly, even though this has a ‘2’ in the title, it is unrelated to the first game so can be played without fear of not being able to follow along. In fact, thanks to the fairy-tale setting, Queen’s Quest 2 has a feeling of familiarity to it for those who know the tales and characters in question.

Characters such as Robin Hood, Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood. The fairy-tale backdrop is really well done and adds some layers to a standard Artifex Mundi plot. You are an alchemist summoned by the king to investigate a murder. What begins as straight-forward case spirals out of control revealing a deeper and more sinister plot.

It’s one of the better stories backed up by some of the prettiest animations and beautifully drawn locations.

Gameplay is made up of point and click elements, hidden object scenes and the odd puzzle. There’s some good diversity with a wide range of challenges but most are a little too familiar for regular players. It’s very much business as usual here and the only variation to the standard gameplay is the alchemy mechanic where you follow picture instructions to create potions. Not particularly exciting thanks to its ‘idiot-proof’ instructions.

Another nice piece of variation comes when you use a potion to fly to the King’s castle. Here you’ll have to move point by point completing short mini-games to move on. It’s not ground-breaking stuff but welcome variation.

Queen’s Quest 2: Stories of Forgotten Past is one of the shorter games from Artifex Mundi and can be completed in 2-3 hours max. However, you certainly get value for money as it comes with a bonus chapter which adds 30-60 minutes to the overall experience.

Chances are, if you like these games, you’ve already picked this up. Both old and new players will enjoy it’s setting and story (although the voice acting is a bit suspect).