Quest Other 1.20 Quests

Since I made the post about Forbidden Prison, the first 1.20 quest I did, I finished the rest of them. Instead of posting a thread for each quest, I decided to lump all my thoughts together into one thread, though I probably will make a separate thread for all of the quests within the RoL questline, because I still want to gather my thoughts for that one. (Also, I don't think it's complete. I think there'll be another Hero beta before the final quest and the Orphion raid is added?)

Blazing Retribution: I'm kind of neutral on this quest. I don't hate it, but I don't really like it, either. It feels mostly the same as the old version, albeit less grindy. Other than that, it's not really anything special. The biggest difference in this quest, I think, is the worldbuilding. Previously, if my memory serves me right, orcs were treated a lot worse, like rabid animals to be killed (though that might still be the case of "Clearing the Camps" still exists--I'm not entirely sure.), whereas now, villagers appear to have a ceasefire with orcs that they can only break under certain conditions, but humans don't have the same agreement. That's an interesting bit of worldbuilding, but IMO it's not enough to make the quest any more than decent. Like I said before, it's not really anything special--nothing to make it stand out from the other quests. It's forgettable, IMHO. You talk to two people, visit two orc camps and interact with a potato and a stick, then go through a cave with some of the classic "Slay!" barriers and parkour before killing a boss.

Iron Heart (Parts 1 & 2): So I already kind of gave my thoughts about An Iron Heart in another thread, so I'll mostly just be repeating the same thing here--both parts feel like they're missing something. The premise, I'm in love with, but ideas are cheap, and the execution is what matters. And the execution is where I feel like both parts could use some work. Both parts are really short, and Part 1 feels like setup to a not-very-good Part 2. As I said in another thread, and I'll repeat myself here, the player doesn't have enough agency in these quests. In my opinion, of course. And especially in part two. I think P2 would've been a lot more memorable had the player had to do some investigating, running around town and searching through the houses of missing people, maybe with a red herring or two, with the clues eventually leading the player to the Olux guard golems in time to see one of them malfunction and run off. Anyway, yeah. That's my opinion on this quest--more exposition than gameplay.

Lexdale Witch Trials: I enjoyed this one. It wasn't, in my opinion, amazing, but it was a pretty solid quest. I especially loved the new parkour mechanic where you had to swing from the vines. That was really fun! Though all the chasing the bug could get a bit repetitive at times, and dragged on quite a bit, and I honestly have no idea what this means for the lore. I haven't done any of the new secret discoveries yet, so I'm probably missing something, but . . . what even were those tunnel dweller things? And the worm itself--I assume it's related to the decay somehow? So, yeah. I don't think I'm really able to form a solid opinion of this quest when I probably don't understand most of the lore references within it.

Aldorei's Secret Part I: Going to second what I said about Lexdale's Witch Trials--I enjoyed it, but it wasn't, in my opinion, amazing. The mechanics were fun--I don't know why, but for some reason I really, really enjoy mixing potions and making bread. I don't know why, I just do, even though it's basically just clicking things repeatedly--and I liked how you were able to make a decision at the end of the quest, though I think this quest has the same flaw as pre-1.20 An Iron Heart Part II did, which is that one of the options . . . it just doesn't make sense why you'd pick it. I remember when I was first playing through this quest with a friend, and the criminal (I forget his name) said, "Drink this, Father, it'll clear your throat," I was freaking out, because I thought he was lying to his sick father and was instead trying to kill him for some reason. But when I realised that, no, his father was sick and he was curing him, my friend and I both agreed that there wasn't a valid reason to report him to the guards, really. The problem is solved. I think this quest would've been more compelling had the negative effects of the criminal's actions been explored more--maybe, for example, when giving the research back to the botanist elf, she could have a line or two of dialogue about how one very important part of her research that she'd been working on for years and was slowly but steadily working on a cure for an illness that takes thousands of lives, and that section of her notebook was lost to the carnivorous plant. And maybe the "unease" that the elves were supposedly feeling could be explored more--when the player walks by something, maybe a short clip of an elven family commenting on how much their home has changed over the years and deciding to move to Rodoroc to become merchants, or something like that. Just my opinion, though.

Acquiring Credentials & Reclaiming the House: I also talked about these two in another thread. I don't have anything unique to say about both of them, so I'm lumping them together into one section. These types of quests are what I call "popcorn quests"--fun, despite not building upon the main storylines or adding much to the lore. But still, very fun. I loved the mechanics in these quests. Bathing myself in mud to disguise as an orc was amusing, and I liked sawing at the ropes while the guards' backs were turned. Ooh, and the cutscene where the tower collapsed . . . that looked amazing. Neither of the characters felt particularly compelling, but I think the quests serve their purpose, to sort of be a fun, laid-back palette cleanser. Following the clues was really fun in Acquiring Credentials, and this is a small thing, but I liked how I could stick my hand in a furnace and eat a burnt steak. >.> The bidding part was also pretty fun. It was nice how the spirit of Acquiring Credentials remained there despite all the changes (IMO all the changes made the quest a lot more fun than it was previously), with the same sort of "twist/joke" ending.

Lazarus Pit: I'm kind of "meh" towards this quest. It . . . feels forgettable to me. The only particularly memorable part, in my opinion, is Mrs. Fluffles and the decision you get to make. I decided to tell Poclo the truth about her cat, and I regretted it almost immediately after. As a cat person, I can sympathize with Poclo. (And I don't know why I'm still sad about the skeletal remains of a cat that's just pixels on a screen, but I am.) Other than that, I don't have much to comment on on this quest. I think a lot more interesting lore could be added to it--maybe I missed something in the crypt room, but I would've liked to learn more about the origins of the Lazarus Pit.

From The Mountains: Similar to Acquiring Credentials and Reclaiming the House, this quest felt like "popcorn." Fun mechanics (putting out the fire and capturing the fleris . . . I forget the plural of fleris.), and the story was certainly an improvement from the original. I liked how this quest references the black-market in the Letvus Airbase, a reference which is later made relevant in Acquiring Credentials. Small things like this make worlds feel so much more lived in and realistic. It was also nice that this tied into Axelus/Dwarves and Doguns, though I don't really find Axelus to be that compelling a character. He feels very 2D to me. Sure, he has a goal, but it's the motivation that's the core of a character, and we're never shown why he wants what he wants. He doesn't have a very unique external personality, either, or much of a voice in his dialogue. Other than that, though, I enjoyed this quest.

Shattered Minds: I didn't notice much of a difference between the previous version of this quest and what it is now, other than the cool-looking toad with the tophat. His dialogue was . . . fun to read, I guess. XD It reminded me of Alice in Wonderland, and I like that book, so that's good, I guess? I don't know. I don't have much to say here. I'd also classify this quest as "popcorn," though I like Acquiring Credentials, Reclaiming the House, and From the Mountains all better than this one. The mechanics in those ones just were more fun, in my opinion.

The Feathers Fly (Parts 1 and 2): Both parts, I loved! Ava was a very likeable character (I found Lari to be more multi-faceted, but that doesn't mean that Ava isn't a good character, too.), and very easy to sympathize with. In the second part, when we were preparing ourselves to stand before the council, even though I knew the game would give me another chance if I failed, I couldn't help but be nervous that I'd mess up all the clicking and let Ava down. >.> She was so adorable and upbeat, with a strong motivation and relatable flaws. It was a nice addition to be able to choose what outfit Ava wore (I chose the . . . azure one, I think it was called), and the little comments about Ava/me having a good fashion sense made me smile. I only have two small qualms about this quest, the first being that I didn't enjoy the plant part where I had to climb up it three times and hit the core again each time, and the second being the pay-off at the end--while I don't mind bittersweet endings (I actually like endings that have a cost to them), at the end, the mayor mentioned that, although Ava wasn't allowed in Corkus or in the Avos tribe, she would have Maxie and wouldn't be alone anymore. Though . . . IMO that line is fulfilling a separate promise than the one made at the beginning of this questline. I gathered from Ava's dialogue and actions that her motivation was leaving a lasting impact on the world, not no longer being alone anymore. So I thought it would've been more satisfying had the mayor instead said something about how although Ava isn't allowed to enter Corkus or the Avos tribe, her name will become famous for her invention, and could also add how she thinks much more can be accomplished with the mixing of electromagic and Avos magic. (Also, anyone else seriously want to give Ava a big hug? The letter she left on the ground, with all the exclamation marks, made me grin like an idiot. XD)

The Hero of Gavel: I felt like I should have enjoyed this quest more than I did, because I've always wanted a Siegfried quest. This confirmed what I already thought, that Siegfried was a fake, contracted actor by villagers to make money selling overpriced cookies and toy swords. I can't put my finger on why I didn't really connect with this quest, though. There were fun mechanics, and although Siegfried/Gurix didn't have much depth to him, he had a strong character voice in his dialogue. This quest also seems like it must have a lot of replayability, since apparently you can kill off Siegfried at any stage--for me, I accidentally killed Siegfried at the beacon stage, so I think it's cool that you can have more agency within the quest that way. I didn't like the beginning part where you had to fetch all of the items, though. But . . . other than that, it was good.

Anyway, I think that's all the remade/added quests (other than the RoL ones, which I'll probably cover in a later thread.) If I've missed one, I'll probably edit it back in. Thanks for reading, if you got this far!