The Quest Keeper Review

The Quest Keeper is almost exactly what you might imagine if someone took Crossy Road and made it a dungeon crawler. In it, players wander through an ancient and dark dungeon full of enemies and hazards, collecting gold and dying in the endless quest for rare artifacts and a high score. Although the game isn't quite as graceful in its free-to-play model as Hipster Whale is with Crossy Road, The Quest Keeper is still a heck of a fun game.

To anyone tempted to think The Quest Keeper is just a clone of Crossy Road, let me say that the simple act of making it an auto-runner instead of a "tap to move" affair makes it feel quite different as players have to focus more on timing their movement speed to avoid danger while also not running headlong off a cliff. On top of this, The Quest Keeper features tropes from both Frogger and classic dungeon crawlers, so hazards like spikes, unlocking gates, spiders, fire, etc, all factor into the action. Other differentiating features are its inclusion of specific quests, checkpoints, and more, which help make things feel a little more fleshed out than the source material.

As players collect coins they'll earn their way toward random rewards as well as ones they can purchase from the in-game store. Some of these items are purely cosmetic but others can switch up the gameplay quite a bit, like a pair of boots that allows players to jump over small gaps without dying. The in-game coins come in a steady stream for those that can venture deep enough into the dungeon, but they are also made available for those that are willing to spend money on the game.

As a free game, The Quest Keeper doesn't just rely on players that want to buy coins. It's also ad-supported, and players can opt out of these ads by paying $1.99. While ad-supported models aren't inherently bad, The Quest Keeper's handling of ads is notably irritating and distracting with auto-playing videos and bottom-of-the-screen banner ads being the main offenders. These ads really mar the entire experience, especially considering how well Crossy Road handles its free-to-play model by comparison.

Despite the distracting ads though, The Quest Keeper is an excellent game. It takes the best parts of Crossy Road's gameplay and adds some neat twists and additional depth. It doesn't change up its source material to the point that it will win over any non-fans of Crossy Road, but The Quest Keeper certainly capitalizes on Hipster Whale's concepts in a ways that are compelling and exciting across the board.