Lock's Quest | Xbox One

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A remaster of a DS title released back in 2008, Lock’s Quest is the latest game to rise from the ashes that were once THQ to be offered up on Xbox One, PS4 and PC for a new generation of gamers.

​by James Michael Parry

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​@james_parry

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Developer: Digital Continue / 5th Cell (Original release)
Publisher: THQ Nordic
Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, PC
Players: 1

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The journey of a hero often starts with family, and, for titular protagonist Lock, that’s tragically the case here. After losing his parents before the game begins, his sister now finds herself facing danger when the clockworks - clockwork robots - attack their village, leading Lock and the player into their quest to rescue her.
 
At first glance, Lock’s Quest has an isometric, 8-bit aesthetic familiar from countless indie titles and games of yore. It pulls it off fairly well, though the visual upgrade between the original release and now is marginal; even the opening cinematic, which sets up the world’s clockwork-battling history, hasn’t had much love, and seems jumpy despite the very basic visual style. It definitely isn’t a power issue, now that the game has found a beefier home, so it’s a little disappointing to see these issues.
 
In game, performance is far more reliable. Gameplay is split into Build and Battle sections, and you begin by putting up defences to hold the evil clockworks (commanded by bosses with names like Pain, Beast and Lord Agony) at bay - then you get to see how your preparations fare as you try to use Lock to keep everything in one piece for as long as possible.

The experience is somewhere between the wave-based, ever-escalating panic of something like Gears of War’s Horde or Plants v Zombies’ Garden Ops and the methodical strategy of Civilization or Command and Conquer. Despite being simple in principle, it certainly takes a while to get the hang of, with plenty of days ending in failure as the clockworks reach your Source well - the place where the blue glowing energy of this universe, Source, comes from.​

Lock is a complete novice, meaning he needs to gradually learn the trade of archineering (that’s Archimedes engineering, possibly…), unlocking new abilities and defences to hold off the strangely time-conscious enemy. There’s only a couple of minutes at the most to throw down defences before the next assault (which usually lasts about three minutes itself), meaning the mad dash to get to grips with how to use new items can cost you precious preparation time.

Once you reach the battle phase, Lock can hold his own in a fight, flailing wildly by tapping A, or employing a little finesse by hitting three to four buttons in sequence for a more deadly combo attack. In practice, we found mashing to be effective enough if you’re taking on one or two baddies at a time, but it’s easy to get surrounded thanks to the more-often-awkward-than-not terrain, so death is never too far away.

Most of the time, NPCs are responsible for defence up until you arrive, at which point they seemingly pop to the pub.

Mastering the combos, as well as a bit of stick waggling and spinning to execute other attacks and repairs quickly, was, for me personally, the weakest point of the experience. You find yourself (or I do, at least) starting with A automatically when most combos dart between the four main face buttons, which leads frustration to follow failure as you kick yourself knowing you could have done something about it.

The thoughtful building was more my thing, gradually learning the enemy AI’s movements and developing cunning ways to distract them and take them down - or even just delay them for a few more precious seconds.​

The main weapons in your arsenal are turrets, but you also get access to traps which can cause trouble in their own right. Putting walls either side of turrets buffs their defence, meaning they can take a few more hits, and later you can assign helpers to gradually repair them over time or increase their range.
 
Despite there being an army, or at least guards, on hand to help with defence (most of the time, they’re responsible for defence up until you arrive, at which point they seemingly pop to the pub), you’re largely left to fend for yourself - even though this could have make for an interesting collaborative co-op experience.
 
The story running throughout is entertaining enough, if fairly obvious, and the musical score is well-suited to the game’s aesthetic. That said, a few weeks into the 100 in-game days on offer, you’ll begin to beg for a little more variety as the repetition sets in.​

The same is largely true of the game experience as a whole. New enemies, new traps and new defences are gradually introduced, but, fundamentally, you learn everything the game has to offer in the first few battles, with few game changers to upset the board and force you to think differently once you’ve got into a pattern you’re comfortable with.
 
For the price (£15.99 on Xbox One), there’s some solid gameplay to be had, though if you weren’t already aware you could probably guess it was a port from a different system. Putting a series of different sized walls down would be considerably easier with the added precision of a stylus - a control method the game was originally designed around - but the input on a gamepad is simple enough to get used to in time.
 
Lock’s Quest might not be a game that’s on your radar, or something you were even looking for, but if you want to flex the strategic muscle on console in particular, then this might be a tempting purchase.
 
Pros

• Embraces its style with dedication to the sillier elements
• Keeping all the plates spinning can be a real thrill
• Far more original than most re-releases on the market

 
Cons
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• Fairly punishingly hard with only ‘Normal’ and ‘Hard’ difficulty to choose from
• Load times can be pretty lengthy
• Mastering the controls on a gamepad is a bit of a struggle at first

 
Score 7/10​