The Unexpected Quest (2020)

An incredibly simple RTS, The Unexpected Quest is best left unexplored.

Although, at first glance, it may be considered that The Unexpected Quest has wasted its potential due to the lack of depth in the package, its features accessible to beginners in the world of RTS and the interesting art direction adopted in the game make it a good choice both for a casual time pass and for entertaining (and introducing) children and young people who have never played games of this genre.

The Unexpected Quest throws a welcoming hand at the audience thanks to a very well done tutorial and overall organization. Where the game starts steering from higher plateaus, however, is when its constrictions come into place - this may seem quite unusual for a Real Time Strategy game, but The Unexpected Quest imposes too many limits that curtail the player's creative and strategic freedom, thus hindering the experience. Adding to that a lack of touchscreen controls, a slow pace, and a somewhat dated visual environment, and the result is a game that falls below its potential.

It is a decent time-waster of an RTS, but it is far from deeply engaging or exciting. Limited controls, the inability to place buildings where you want and one-on-one unit battles put a damper on the experience. This is not the game that will take the place of Warcraft as it feels like it never quite takes the training wheels off and there are better RTS experiences to be had, making this really only good for newcomers to the genre who need a gentle, simple pace.

The Unexpected Quest mostly looks good, mostly plays good, and I would mostly recommend it. I don’t know if I’ll remember the game in a couple of months, but I still had a good time with it, even with all its frustrations. It might not be a glowing recommendation, but if you have a fantasy itch to scratch and a little money to blow, hey, why not?