King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder!

King's Quest V almost was great. It's a a big step up in terms of graphics and mechanics for the franchise. It looks and plays very similarly to KQ6, which everyone loves. But the parts just didn't click.

KQV still looks great. The pixel art has aged very well. There are a good variety of locations to explore and puzzles to solve. But ugh, why did they make it so hard. There are too many dead-end states, that is, paths you can take that permanently ruin your save. Forgetting to pick an item up at the beginning of the game, only to need it hours later is frustrating. When the puzzles work, they are great. But too often it seems like the game is just out to punish you.

My other big gripe with the game is its characters. They have no charm, and I hated all of them by the end. Graham is an idiot who sorta seems like an egotistical asshole. The owl you go around with has the single most annoying voice actor I've ever heard. And everybody else is forgettable as can be.

It's obvious that they were close to something big here. And they were, as their next game is considered one of the best adventure games of all time. Don't bother with this one unless you are interested in the evolution of the King's Quest series. Thank god I will never have to hear Cedric the Owl's awful voice again.