Swordy Quest

Role Playing Adventure

Reviewed By: Aaron Spelker

My long search for a compelling accessible RPG is over. The start of my reviews and the creation of AIIVCG originated with my desire to find a RPG worth playing as a blind player. Swordy Quest nails the execution of an exceptional RPG.

I enjoy complexity in my games. The more multi-tasking, the more interesting I find the game. However, not many games have been able to communicate that complexity to a completely blind player such as myself. Swordy Quest excels in this area. During the game, you will

Fight enemies
Hunt monsters
Gather resources
Fish in the ocean
Trade with merchants
Manipulate the commodity exchange
Assault castles
Travel by foot, donkey, horse, boat, and Dragon
Search towns for clues
Craft armor and weapons
Perform magic
Join clans
Fight PvP battles

Each of these activities have their own unique presentation. Swordy Quest effectively communicates these varied activities using the iPhone Voiceover feature. If you see something that needs adjustment, the developer is easily available in the game’s Facebook page.

Here is the Link:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/243825993740120

Each of these activities have unique sound cues to make the gameplay accessible to a visually challenged player. Grids are labeled with coordinates. Battles state the health of your player and the enemy before each attack. The haul from collecting loot or resources is clearly announced. The developer put exceptional effort in distinctly communicating all the Swordy Quest interactions.

As you play the game, you will gain resources by gathering or through enemy loot drops. These resources are used to craft items, weapons, and armor to improve your character. In addition, resources can be consumed to replenish your health bar or sold to earn you silver coins. Throughout the game, the player must watch their food and water level. If those drop to zero, the player will lose health. If the player’s health gets to zero, they will wake up at their last save point and will lose some of their inventory supplies. Finally, to perform any action, the player will use stamina. If that reaches zero, the player will be forced to sleep before they can take another action. Keeping an eye on all these moving pieces, engrosses the player in the Swordy Quest world.

The storyline of Swordy Quest is straight forward. Gods have transformed and imprisoned evil bosses in the castles around Fonetazia. It is your job to defeat the bosses and save the lands. There is a 50×50 square map to travel on your adventures. The map is well labelled and offers an auto travel mechanic which makes it easier for blind and V.I. gamers. I also suggest turning on the ‘vertical Navigation’ on the rotary wheel to make it more efficient to travel in the four primary directions around the map. The Swordy Quest journey will bring you to castles in various types of biomes to challenge the evil bosses. To travel to the desert you will need something to keep you cool. Conversely, to travel to the frozen tundra, you will need something to keep you warm. Once you defeat all the bosses, you can travel through a portal to tackle another map with equally compelling quests.

The other thing that makes Swordy Quest fun, is the vibrant blind and V.I. community that has embraced the game. They can be found at the Facebook group, I mentioned above. In addition, there are a couple of V.I. YouTubers who are covering the game. Here are links to their content.

Newdeath Gaming YouTuber link: https://www.youtube.com/c/NewdeathGaming/featured

The Warrior Kid YouTuber link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf4UWrtzYndfV6-j-znSL_g/featured

Swordy Quest continues to evolve. In the next year, the developer is introducing player’s home’s, enchantments and procedurally generated content.

I hope the developer will consider enhancing the following areas:

Ability to craft a wider variety of weapons and armor. Currently, there is a straight linear progression to the items. I would like to see a sword that hits with more power but uses up more stamina. However, another player may select the weapon that deals less damage, but can strike more often. This variety would add another layer to my equipment layout.
In the same vein, maybe each item in the inventory should have a weight value and the player has a carry limit to make it so there is trade-off to my load out.
Add more quests and storylines to further build the world.

This game is exceptional and if you enjoy RPG adventures, this is the game you have been looking for! Furthermore, the care and effort toward servicing the needs of the blind and visually impaired community are unparalleled.

Grade A plus

US / UK Price. Free with IN-APP PURCHASES

United States Link:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/swordy-quest-an-rpg-adventure/id1446641513

UK Link:

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/swordy-quest-an-rpg-adventure/id1446641513

For more information and to chat to other iOS gamers you can join the Apple iPhone iOS Voiceover Compatible Games Facebook Group. Link here.

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