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The Unexpected Quest

As an adult and long time gamer, I feel this really is for a much younger crowd of players. It’s not necessarily a bad game, just very simple and easy with no real apparent challenge.
The Unexpected Quest Game Cover
72%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay
Most mentioned negative aspects:music, grinding
79% User Score Based on 98 reviews
Critic Score 61%Based on 6 reviews

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The Unexpected Quest Game Cover

About The Unexpected Quest

The Unexpected Quest is a single player casual city builder game with fantasy, medieval, historical and kids themes. It was developed by rionix and was released on November 27, 2020. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

Adventure game with strategy and management elements in a medieval fantasy setting - drawing inspiration from classics such as Warcraft 3 and The Settlers. Embark on quests, hunt down treasures, and manage your resources as you build, battle, cast magic, and brew potions to bring order to the world.

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The Unexpected Quest screenshot
The Unexpected Quest screenshot
The Unexpected Quest screenshot
The Unexpected Quest screenshot
The Unexpected Quest screenshot
The Unexpected Quest screenshot
The Unexpected Quest screenshot
The Unexpected Quest screenshot
The Unexpected Quest screenshot
The Unexpected Quest screenshot
The Unexpected Quest screenshot
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Reviews

79%Audience ScoreBased on 98 reviews
story7 positive mentions
grinding2 negative mentions
  • Relaxed and fun gameplay with charming art style and music, suitable for casual and younger players.
  • Engaging resource management and puzzle elements without time pressure, allowing for a stress-free experience.
  • Good strategic layer with inventory, upgrades, and side objectives that add variety and replayability.
  • Very short game length with only 8 main chapters and limited replay value; feels incomplete with a cliffhanger ending.
  • Combat system is simplistic and unbalanced, with limited unit control causing repetitive and sometimes frustrating encounters.
  • Controls and quality-of-life features could be improved, including better item management and smoother unit commands.

  • story

    51 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    14% positive mentions, 80% neutral mentions, 6% negative mentions

    The story in The Unexpected Quest is simple and linear, spanning eight chapters with a mild plot about shipwreck survivors facing a necromancer, ending on a somewhat underwhelming cliffhanger. While the narrative is considered bland and unimportant by many, the game’s charm lies more in its relaxed strategy and puzzle elements rather than in story depth or complexity. Players seeking rich or immersive storytelling might find it lacking, but fans of casual time management and light strategy games may appreciate the setting and progression.

    • “The unexpected quest combines so many genres, it's difficult to pin it down.”
    • “I did not expect such a unique mixture between city building, economy management, real time strategy and storytelling.”
    • “That said, I really like the cute characters and their quest against oddly comic undead.”
    • “Plot is just some guys get shipwrecked and end up on a quest to deal with a necromancer and ends on a meh cliffhanger.”
    • “But then comes level 8, which was very small, very easy (even by the game standards) and very quick with a big cliffhanger in the story.”
    • “The story, if you can call it that, is neither interesting, cute nor funny.”

  • gameplay

    20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    20% positive mentions, 65% neutral mentions, 15% negative mentions

    The gameplay offers a relaxing, approachable RTS experience with resource management, unit/building upgrades, and progressively introduced mechanics, suitable for casual and younger players. While fun and strategic, it is relatively short (around 3-10 hours) and can feel repetitive, with some minor pacing and difficulty complaints. Overall, it provides good value for a light, nostalgic gameplay loop.

    • “The core gameplay loop involves using workers to collect resources and build buildings that generate resources, expand population limits, or allow recruitment of various types of troops. Then, use these resources and troops to clear obstacles and defeat enemies.”
    • “Each chapter introduces new mechanics to gradually increase complexity, keeping the gameplay fresh and engaging.”
    • “Gameplay is easy, fun, and relaxing, with light RTS mechanics and strategic elements suitable for a laidback experience.”
    • “The core gameplay loop is the same: use your workers to collect resources and build buildings that generate resources, expand population limit, or allow recruitment of various types of troops, then use these resources/troops to clear obstacles and defeat enemies.”
    • “Later, there are some more RTS mechanics involved, but it's always a very light form of RTS.”
    • “I really disliked the time mechanics in chapter 7, but the rest of the game was a lot of fun.”

  • graphics

    14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    57% positive mentions, 22% neutral mentions, 21% negative mentions

    The graphics are generally praised for their lovely, cute, and fitting art style, with clear visuals and beautiful, smooth gameplay. While some find the visuals effective and cheerful, a few note that the graphics are decent but not exceptional or particularly large-scale. Overall, the art style suits the game well, contributing to a fun and relaxing experience despite some gameplay and control issues.

    • “Excellent graphics, superb maps, smart ideas.”
    • “Beautiful graphics and smooth gameplay.”
    • “Fun, relaxing with awesome graphics, music and cool story.”
    • “The graphics aren't amazing and the game isn't particularly large or complicated.”
    • “[finicky controls, unbalanced combat, eyestrain from visuals, not on mobile???]”
    • “Correct me if I'm wrong but I think the only inspiration this game draws from Warcraft is the art style.”

  • music

    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    43% positive mentions, 14% neutral mentions, 43% negative mentions

    The music in the game is generally praised for its calming and atmospheric qualities that enhance relaxation and complement the graphics and story. However, some users find it repetitive and occasionally annoying, particularly in certain chapters where it loops frequently. Overall, the soundtrack adds a positive ambiance despite moments of repetition.

    • “I really love the music; it creates a great atmosphere despite the pace feeling a little slow at first.”
    • “The music is magical and adds a special charm to the game.”
    • “The music is calm and relaxing, perfectly complementing the easy yet fun gameplay.”
    • “The music gets quite annoying, especially in chapter 7 when it repeats over and over again to indicate lava and poison cloud states.”
    • “Only bad thing is the music, it's super repetitive.”
    • “The music is repetitive and can become irritating during long play sessions.”

  • replayability

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    67% positive mentions, 33% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    Replayability is enhanced by features like the addition of tales and the ability to carry items between rounds for improved performance. However, opinions vary, with some players finding it fun but lacking in long-term replay value.

    • “The addition of the tales really helped make it replayable too.”
    • “It is replayable to a certain extent as you take items in your chest and 'hand' to each round so you can go back and complete a level with higher items and get the three stars for a perfect level.”

  • humor

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game's humor is light and relaxed, offering a generally funny experience, though the story itself is considered uninteresting and not particularly amusing.

    • “A wonderful, relaxed, and funny game!”

  • grinding

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    Grinding in the game is present but kept to a manageable level, avoiding tedium. Additionally, there are no achievements related to grinding.

  • monetization

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    The game's monetization is heavily criticized for excessive ads and low-quality content, detracting from an otherwise promising app experience.

  • optimization

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game is well-optimized, running smoothly without any noticeable bugs, providing a seamless experience for players.

    • “I did not notice any bugs, which was amazing and very rare, and the game ran smoothly as well.”

  • atmosphere

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    Users appreciate the game's great atmosphere, highlighting its immersive music, though they note the pacing can feel a bit slow initially.

  • emotional

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    The emotional aspect is generally seen as weak or underwhelming, with many users finding the storyline boring and lacking impact. Skipping the story may enhance the overall experience for some players.

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Critic Reviews

61%Critics’ scoreBased on 6 critic reviews
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Play Times

4h Median play time
4h Average play time
3-5h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 3 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

The Unexpected Quest is a casual city builder game with fantasy, medieval, historical and kids themes. Common tags for The Unexpected Quest include 3D, indie, trading, exploration, relaxing and others.

The Unexpected Quest is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Steam Deck, Windows and others.

On average players spend around 4 hours playing The Unexpected Quest.

The Unexpected Quest was released on November 27, 2020.

The Unexpected Quest was developed by rionix.

The Unexpected Quest has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked The Unexpected Quest for its story but disliked it for its music.

The Unexpected Quest is a single player game.

Similar games include Hero of the Kingdom II, 12 Labours of Hercules, 12 Labours of Hercules II: The Cretan Bull, Hero of the Kingdom: The Lost Tales 1, Hero of the Kingdom and others.