Costume Quest Puts The ‘Trick’ In Trick Or Treat
I just knew the day would come when my favorite holiday was made into a sweet video game. Halloween isn’t just a holiday to you when you’re a kid – it’s a mission. Your mission is to have the most awesome costume in the neighborhood and get yourself enough candy to last for the 364 days until next Halloween. You go out there, you fight, and you fight to win.
The upcoming game from Double Fine tells this epic story through the eyes of twins Wren and Reynold as they embark on their mission for fantastic sweets. The title, aptly named Costume Quest, is an RPG set on the fated holiday. Players take the role of one of the twins in this tale, and embark on a journey to prove your costume the best on the block. Depending on who you chose to play as, decides how the story of the game will play out. The twin you choose will have an epic costume while the other is forced to parade around as a candy corn while the twin of your choosing berates them over and over throughout the game.
Reluctantly setting out into the presumably safe neighborhood, the children embark in search for delicious sweets to obtain. The houses are all lined with Halloween-inspired lights, that eerily dim out as you approach. The game instills the real-life fear of the doorbell ringing game of chance. Who knows what will lie beyond that door? Is it a funny man dressed as a clown? A girl as Little Red Riding Hood? Or could it be one of the monsters that is taking over the town in secret?
And now we move on to the plot! Yes, the town is being taken over by envy-skinned goblin monsters that remind me of something out of the game Overlord. These enemies all have one goal in mind – to hoard and eventually devour all of the sweets in town. A witch by the name of Dorsilla commands these wretched beings, and is sending the baddies to literally paint the town red. Now obviously since the twin you did not choose is dressed as a tasty treat, he or she becomes kidnapped by the green-skinned hooligans. You watch in horror as your brother/sister is thrown over a gate guarding a huge mansion, and it is then that you have a decision to make. Do you run in fear and get grounded for the rest of eternity? Or do you initiate a heroic rescue? Of course, we all know that you wanna go kick some goblin monster butt!
So, deciding to go on an all-out search and rescue, you set out for help. There’s only one problem – adults are stupid. No matter what you try and tell them they never believe you! So your only other option is to recruit other trick-or-treaters to form an army of indestructible force!
Now I know what you’re thinking. How can these kids take on an entire gathering of monsters? Well, although it may seem impossible, the kids have one huge trick up their sleeve (Ooh! Pun reference!). It appears that their cute costumes are for more than just receiving candy – they grant the ability to transform into a powerful representation of what the costume is. Since Wren, the sister twin, is dressed as a robot, she can transform into a missile-spitting android that looks somewhat like a Transformer.
Once you encounter an enemy you are taken into a battle screen which reminds me of a movie. The town around you is small and you face off against your monstrous opponent in a turn-based fashion. Within this turn-based system are timed events that keep you paying attention. For instance, when Wren attacks while in her robot form, there is a timed button press that initiates a damage bonus. First you choose what attack you will use, and then follow the timed action to reach the desired result. The same applies with defense as well – press the button at the right time and take less damage.
Throughout the game there are many more costumes that can be gathered and assembled. Some of these include a robot, knight, unicorn (I know, right?), Statue of Liberty, jack-o-lantern, and a Jedi Master. Each costume is unique in its own way, accompanied by its own special attack and abilities. Abilities are used outside of battle and help you gain access to special areas, and do other neat things. The abilities can be used over and over without worrying about any kind of mana depletion. Constructing new costumes requires materials and patterns, which you can acquire in treasure coffins stashed throughout the world or by partaking in quests.
Overall the game is humorous and and it takes us back to the days when we were kids, gathering candy without a care in the world. With a hilarious script written by Double Fine’s Tim Schafer, this Halloween-inspired RPG looks to be a fun and exciting game. The game is set to launch on the PSN and Xbox Live Arcade this Fall, presumably in October. Look out below for a sample of some gameplay.
