Chex Quest is one of those games that you kind of just had to “be there” to appreciate it. The original was a pack in with Chex cereal in North America back in 1996 and was more or less a kid-friendly version of Doom. Like many of you, I’m sure, I got the game back in the day and enjoyed it quite a bit. Chex Quest HD is a re-imagining of the original, brought to life via Unreal Engine 4 with modern assets and controls. The game is available right NOW on PC & Mac (for free) and is also out right now on the Nintendo Switch. Today, we’re going to tell you everything you need to know about this re-imagined classic on the Nintendo’s platform.
Story
The world of Chex Quest thrusts players into a galaxy where breakfast cereal and snacks are facing a sinister threat. A cereal eating menace called the Flemoids have taken over the planet Bazoik. As a member of the Chex Mix squad, it’s your job to take out as many as you can and save the other members of the team. Like I said before, this is a complete re-imaging of the original game from yesteryear with modern enhancements in almost every possible way. It’s not going to win any awards for narrative prowess or anything like that, but it’s a fun little story.
Controls & Gameplay
The controls in Chex Quest HD feel intuitive and on par with most modern first person shooters. The game uses a dual analog set up and actions are assigned to the face and shoulder buttons. ZR and ZL shoot, R and L cycle through weapons, B jumps and Y is used to interact with panels or open doors. Movement might seem a bit slow on the default settings, but you can easily change these in the options. Overall, things here feel pretty good and you’ll get the hang of the game in no time.
Chex Quest HD is a pretty chill game. While there are quite a few different enemy types that you will have to take out along the way, nothing ever feels really hectic. The enemies themselves move pretty slowly, making it pretty easy to take them out even if you are getting swarmed. To help you take on these gooey foes, you are given a handful of weapons to “zorch” them back to their own dimension. These range from the single shot blaster, a “shotgun,” machine gun and even a spoon in place of a knife. Keeping an eye on you ammo is paramount as it can be pretty easy to fire too early and often. Even with that said, ammunition, health pick ups and armor are generously placed around the levels.
There are a total of five stages on offer and six playable characters that you can choose from off the bat. The stages themselves are pretty varied and are full of keys to collect and secrets to find. The different characters feel pretty similar, and the biggest changes you might find is simply their appearance in the cutscenes and maybe their jumps. Overall, Chex Quest HD is a short game, but it doesn’t overstay its welcome. Things can be finished in around an hour or so per character.
There are some local multiplayer options thrown into the package with Versus and Co-op modes. I didn’t have anyone around to try out the Versus, but I did get to try out the Co-op. Oddly enough, this is essentially a horde mode where you will face off against waves of enemies. This can be done by yourself or with up to three others. It’s not ground breaking or anything, but it does add a bit more to the package and is pretty enjoyable.
Visuals, Audio & Performance
In terms of visuals, the presentation in Chex Quest HD is quite nice. Character models look and animate smoothly and the environments look pretty decent. For the most part, the game runs pretty smoothly, though there were some times when the game would get a bit choppy. I noticed this in the second and fourth stages and it seemed to be triggered when playing through larger areas of the map. Aside from that, things are fine.
The story cut scenes are pretty well done. Things are presented with semi-animated cutscenes that tell you everything you need to know about the world and the challenges that face these tasty characters. Audio is also pretty decent, with some occasional funny one-liners from the characters and pretty nice voice acting overall. Sound effects can sound a bit underwhelming, or for lack of better words, “old” at times, but they get the job done.
Conclusion
Chex Quest HD is a fun romp that will keep you busy for a few playthroughs. The added multiplayer might help you get a bit more mileage out of the game, too. If you’re just looking to try the game in general, I would suggest maybe trying it out on Steam (seeing as its free), and then maybe deciding from there if you think it’s worth throwing down some cold hard cash. When I first heard of this remake, I was thinking it would be a port of the original in a similar way that we’ve seen games like Doom 64 and other classic shooters see straight ports to modern platforms. This isn’t that and I think that’s fine. Regardless, if you’re itching to get back to zapping some Flemoids, Chex Quest HD is a mostly stress free game that you should check out if you have any nostalgia for the original or if you want to give your kid a fun shooter to try out.
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