Good Game Get! Costume Quest

Here it is, another October, and once again I found myself counting the days to another Double Fine release. It’s been a year since Brutal Legend rocked our consoles with its crazy fantastic world, only to then befuddled us by becoming a strange RTS halfway through (I never did get the hang of that part). But this year we get something a little more modest. This year the good folks at DF are heading in a new direction with a series of smaller games.

The first in this series, set in the pumpkin glow of Halloween, is Costume Quest, a “candy-gathering sim” from the creative heart of DF’s Tasha Harris. Well, actually, it would have been great if it was a “candy-gathering sim” but an evil witch and her army of monsters just had to ruin the evening by stealing all the candy, so our simple sim morphs into a modest RPG following the adventures of a costume obsessed trick-or-treater on a “quest” to save their sibling from the candy-thieving monsters.

It’s not a very hard game and I found I enjoyed Costume Quest more the faster I played it. The first costume you earn, actually the costume you start the game with, provides the best special ability as its “sneaker skates” allow you to zoom around double-time encouraging fast play. The limited difficulty makes it a wonderful game for kids, especially as an introduction to RPG’s. I was a little turned off by the combat, but that’s because I’m not the biggest fan of quick time events. The timing is pretty loose, though, and never frustrating. Eventually there is enough variety amongst the monsters, costumes and special attacks to keep it interesting enough.

But it’s very much a Double Fine game, and the developer’s humor and wicked charm shine through from beginning to end offering up a big enough bag of candy to keep you munching for a few hours. If you can get past the game’s simplicity and quick-timey combat, Costume Quest is definitely a “treat” (I know, groan, but I just had to say it) because it’s the sticky-sweet joy of the holiday this game gets right. If you love Halloween, or Double Fine’s quirkiness, you’ll love this game too.

- Andy

Costume Quest on PSN, XboxLive Oct. 20

Just spotted that Game Informer reported the release date of Double Fine’s next project, Costume Quest. I’m really excited about this game… I mean, the spookiness of Halloween, the charm of Double Fine and a sprinkle of Schafer magic? Can we just wrap this sucker up and put a big red “awesome” stamp on the package?

-Andy