Quartet - PC (Steam) Review

Quartet by developer and publisher Something Classic Games, LLC—PC (Steam) review written by Pierre-Yves with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

Something Classic Games had me at “A series of train robberies…” immediately making me think of Wild Arms 3 and classic JRPGs. While not quite the same thing, Quartet is an awesome indie RPG that is high on my list of games that I've played this year. 

And why indie RPGs should never be overlooked or underestimated. 

“A series of train robberies leads to evidence of a government conspiracy. A mysterious deck of cards gives a young girl a vision of another world. A fleet of deadly airships burns a path across the Imperial frontier. The world’s unlikeliest hero manifests tremendous magical power. 

These stories intertwine in the world of Quartet. Before it is all over, the eight heroes will uncover how a secret, centuries-old conflict literally reshaped the world. Then they will have their own decision to make about the destiny of magic.”

Quartet opens up with a selection of four main protagonists whose introductions can be played in any order. Venturing forth one by one, the format soon changes and you are strapped in for a very curated ride which will eventually answer the biggest question of: How does everyone meet?

To answer that question, everyone meets quite naturally as the adventure unfolds. In certain cases, it’s almost hilarious as to how it works out as I had to do a double take for one of them because of how bizarre it felt until I remembered the events of two chapters prior. On that note, I also want to praise the devs on the synergy of the characters that come together. Their skills all compliment each other covering combat gaps that were easy to identify prior.

There are several elements that I really appreciated in Quartet. The first is the writing. Each character feels unique and their personality easily shines through. Some are goofier, some are more serious, and some are down right exasperated from those that are exasperating. But each feels like they belong. The second aspect to this is each character’s dialect. Coming from different places, while you’re in control of each originally, everything “sounds” normal. Put them all together and there are a few things “lost in translation” as they figure out the best dialects to use with one another.

The third is the overall gameplay. There are a lot of small things that may not seem like much at the time, but once they add up, make all of the difference. Each area that you’ll explore will contain enemies that you see on the map, and sometimes don’t see as they are hidden, but there are no “random” encounters. If you need to level up, you’ll have to leave the area and come back in.

In a small devious move, you’ll also have to pay attention while exploring these areas as not all items are in chests. Some are simply sitting on the ground in a bag that can look anything but conspicuous, especially in urban settings. These items though can really help out, and often they’ll be better than what you can buy in the shops.

Finally, the combat is interesting but not without its faults. Every character can attack, use abilities, items, or defend which is fairly standard. Abilities I really appreciated did not use “numbers” for MP, AP, SP, etc. Quartet instead uses a percentage. Each ability generally ranges between 10~50% of the total charge making it quite easy to keep up. Standard attacks can restore a small percentage while defending will restore even more. 

Where things are not as fun is that you’ll often be starting off on defense, having to heal up in or after battle. It wasn’t as apparent at first, but as time went on, I realized that you almost never get to go “first” in battle. Often, your first character gets to go second or third and a lot of enemies can hit your whole party with their attacks which gets very annoying.

The other part that doesn’t quite work are the boss battles. While cool at the beginning of every one, they are all long and drawn out affairs, easily changing the flow from being able to keep pace to wondering if you’re going to see the game over screen again. These don’t feel balanced, and while I love a good challenge, it’s not challenging in the right way. Less health and less widespread full back to back party attacks would go a long way. At least their visuals change as they are close to being defeated. 

In a final, huh, this is cool, the devs are still working on adding features to Quartet. A turbo mode has been added to help move around quicker and speed up combat. This was neat after having played for several hours as I could really appreciate the addition. The other, and more hilarious, is the option to toggle the use of the Oxford Comma. Yes, that’s an option! Love it or hate it, it’s up to you if you want to see it.

Overall though, Quarter is a fun RPG that I had a lot of fun playing. Various cast members with personality and mechanical quirks combine for a fun adventure in a strange world that I won’t soon forget.

Score:  7.75 / 10