We’re on the fence when it comes to the release of the Apple Watch. As a symbiote of the growing iOS experience, the company’s smartwatch is debatably the best on the market right now. And for us, that means beautiful things moving forward in communication, information, fitness and of course keeping track of the time. But for gaming? We’re not so sure. Besides the ridiculous amount of neighborly stares one would receive for walking around looking at your wrist all day, we just don’t see the enjoyment in it. The screen is too small. There’s bound to be some glare issues when playing under a light. Plus, we don’t think we could get used to operating a character via the small buttons of the watch. We haven’t been this frustrated since we had to learn how to feed our Giga Pets back in the ‘90s. But that’s not stopping WayForward from releasing the details on the first Apple Watch-exclusive adventure game. The title alone could convince us to play.
The game is Watch Quest!: Heroes of Time and it’s set up to sync with your iPhone. And although we wouldn’t normally fall for such a simple title, it does do one thing that all Apple Watch users are sure to appreciate: It serves as a reason to show off your new gadget. Listen ,we know that a game is a time-waster on such a device. It’s guaranteed to drain your battery life within an hour. Unless you have a battery source at the ready, it’s not necessarily worth it. But a game on your wrist is one thing worth showing off to show the capabilities of your new watch. There’s no shame in that. With the money you shelled out to get it, a game like Watch Quest! at least emphasizes the fact that you can carry the game around with you.
So what is WayForward Technologies, the developer behind Aliens: Infestation and DuckTales Remastered, saying about their new title? Here’s the official statement on what players will be doing to show off their new game to friends and family:
“Gameplay revolves around choosing a hero and equipping them on the iPhone and then guiding the Hero via the Apple Watch as he or she travels lands, battles monsters, solves puzzles and searches for treasures. Players are invited to play passively by selecting longer, easier quests and outfitting the hero up front—or by taking on more difficult quests which require foraging for items as you go.”
What intrigues us the most from the description above is the mention of passive gameplay. Just how passive are we talking here? If we could equip our hero with enough supplies and let him run about on his own, kicking it solo while we attend to other matters, then we could be talking gold here. Sure, it’s not much of a quest if you’re not doing anything, but there’s something brilliant about having a little dude running around a mythical setting on your wrist while you’re conducting a very important business meeting. There’s also the added bonus of having something to distract you on occasion when that midday boredom kicks in.
Watch Quest! will be available on April 24 as a free-to-download title with one training quest. Other characters and adventures will also be available for purchase if the game proves thrilling. The Apple Watch is set to go on sale worldwide on the same day as the game’s official launch.
