King’s Quest Chapter 3: Once Upon a Climb Review – This Season is Finally Finding its Foothold

King’s Quest Chapter 3 Review

Once Upon a Climb is out, and I’ve gotta say, Chapter 3 really brought back my interest in the new King’s Quest. Despite starting strong, Chapter 2 was a bit of a let down. It made me worry about the future of this classic franchise, but that worry is now replaced with a strong sense of hope.

King Graham now has his castle and companions, but he is of course still missing his queen. Once Upon a Climb is all about finding his true love, and winning her over with bravery, wits, and a bit of awkward charm. There are some spoilers in the next paragraph to outline the plot of this chapter, so please feel free to skip ahead if you’d like to remain unaware.

Graham finds himself lonely, eating dinner by himself in his enormous castle. The magic mirror shows him where he can find his soon-to-be queen, a tall tower in the woods, and he sets off at once. Of course, nothing is ever easy, and the tower is sealed shut, leading to an arduous climb to the top. Graham discovers a pair of sisters, and from here on out you have to be careful about your dialogue options if you know which sister you’ like to court. Unfortunately, just when you think this is going to be easy, you discover that you’re all trapped within the tower by a magical spell and an old witch, Hagatha.

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“One big change however, is there isn’t the same sense of doom or danger this time around.”

Chapter 3 still feels like King’s Quest, and so you can expect a lot of puns and comic relief. One big change however, is there isn’t the same sense of doom or danger this time around. Sure, there are some unsavoury characters and some obstacles to get past, but it’s not as frightening as being chased by a dragon or being locked up by goblins like in previous chapters. It was a nice change of pace that really brought it all back to a more charming situation, and I rather enjoyed it.

There are still plenty of tense moments, especially near the climax, and the puzzles felt quite well-done this time around. They were a bit on the easy side, but instead of wishing for specific items, more frequently Graham is placed in front of standalone puzzles that can be completed without having to search through your bag and try every item. Pacing was great too, with puzzles, dialogue, and adventuring all being spaced out well enough so that you’ll never feel tired of one piece in particular.

The only thing that feels like it’s missing this time around is more interaction with Graham and his grandchildren in the present. The few moments the story swaps timelines feel just sort of thrown in there, though I suppose for anyone that doesn’t really care about the kids all that much, this is probably a nice change. To be honest, if I had never become invested in them in the first place within the first couple chapters, Once Upon a Climb would probably be the best chapter yet.

Epic scenery, funny dialogue, and some great reveals help push this chapter higher than Chapter 2, without being arbitrarily long or difficult. The Odd Gentlemen has definitely restored my faith in the possibilities of what is yet to come, and I can’t wait to see what happens in Chapter 4.

If you haven’t looked into this new episodic take on a cult classic, you definitely should. King’s Quest is a great way to kill some time if you enjoy a more comedic point-and-click adventure like Monkey’s Island. Cook up some pancakes, grab a controller, and treat yourself to an enjoyable weekend morning with some laughter and fantasy as you help push Graham along on his quest.

*** PS4 code was supplied by the publisher ***