Order of the Thorne: The King’s Challenge

Last updated: January 9, 2026

Overview

Order of the Thorne: The King’s Challenge is a point-and-click adventure game developed by Infamous Quests and released in 2015¹. Described as “a classic point-and-click adventure inspired by the iconic King’s Quest series”², the game serves as a spiritual successor to Sierra’s classic adventure games of the 1980s and 1990s³. Players take control of Finn the Bard, a young musician who participates in the Faerie King’s annual challenge to find the missing queen and compose “the greatest ballad ever”⁴.

The game was successfully crowdfunded through Kickstarter and represents part of the modern retro adventure game revival movement⁵. Built using the Adventure Game Studio (AGS) engine, it features hand-drawn pixel art reminiscent of 1990s adventure games and incorporates classic Sierra-style gameplay with puzzles and exploration⁶. As one reviewer noted, “This feels as much like a 1991 release as you could hope for”⁶.

Game Info

Developer: Infamous Quests¹ Designer: James Broom, Shawn Mills, Steven Alexander⁷ Publisher: Infamous Quests¹ Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android⁵ Release Year: 2015 Series: Order of the Thorne Sierra Lineage: Spiritual Successor

Story Summary

Set in the magical Faerie Kingdom, the story centers around King Quilhairn’s annual tradition where “Every ten years, the ruler of the Faerie Realm, King Quilhairn, offers up his latest challenge to those brave enough to undertake the quest”⁸. The challenge is deceptively simple: “The King of the Faerie Kingdom has gathered various heroes from the land to find his Queen. No, no, don’t worry; she hasn’t been kidnapped or anything, this is just a simple game of hide-and-seek”⁹.

The protagonist, Finn the Bard, enters the competition with his own motivation - “Finn’s own reason for participating is to be inspired into composing the greatest ballad in the world”¹⁰. The reward for completing the challenge is significant: “One wish, any wish that is within his power to grant”¹¹. However, as the game’s description hints, “all is not as it seems, and the true challenge lies ahead”¹².

Gameplay

Interface and Controls

The game employs traditional point-and-click adventure mechanics with modern enhancements. Players navigate using “Keyboard and mouse” with “Controller support” also available⁵. The game supports “Widescreen resolution”, “Windowed mode”, “Borderless fullscreen windowed”, and “60 FPS and 120+ FPS support”⁵.

Structure and Progression

Order of the Thorne: The King’s Challenge is relatively short compared to classic adventure games, with an average playtime of approximately 4 hours⁵. According to HowLongToBeat statistics, the main story takes about 3.5 hours, while completionist runs average 4 hours⁸. The game can be completed in about two hours for experienced players¹³.

Puzzles and Mechanics

A unique feature of the game is its musical puzzle system. Players can “Use your lute to perform musical songs to solve puzzles and complete tasks”¹⁴ and “Play your magic lute to discover the secrets of the land and entertain its people”¹⁵. This mechanic draws inspiration from classic adventure games, featuring “a music ‘mini-game’ similar to Loom”¹⁶.

Reception

Contemporary Reviews

Publication	Score	Notes
Adventure Gamers	3.5/5	Praised nostalgic design elements6
Cubed3	4/10	Criticized as overly simplistic9
GOG.com User Reviews	4.1/5	Based on 28 user reviews4
IMDb	8.2/10	User ratings17
itch.io	4.4/5	Platform user reviews11
HowLongToBeat	64%	User satisfaction rating8

Modern Assessment

Critics from MobyGames gave the game an overall score of 70%¹. User reception has been generally positive among fans of classic Sierra-style adventures. One GOG.com user noted, “Playing this game was like going back in time to the good old King’s Quest days”⁴. The game has been particularly recommended for nostalgia-seeking players, with reviewers stating “if you’re a fan of the old Sierra style adventures you’ll love this one”¹⁸.

Development

Origins

Order of the Thorne: The King’s Challenge was developed by Infamous Quests, an independent studio that began as “originally an amateur developer of VGA game remakes”³. The game was “successfully funded through Kickstarter” and developed “with community feedback”⁵. The development team drew inspiration from “classic adventure games from Sierra and LucasArts”⁵.

Production

The game represents a collaborative effort with extensive voice acting. The comprehensive credits list includes “146 people (41 professional roles, 105 thanks) with 167 credits”⁷. Key voice cast members include Matthew Curtis as Finn the Bard⁷, Ben Wilk as King Quilhairn¹⁷, and Jesse Lowther as the Narrator⁶. The game’s music was composed by James Mulvale⁷.

Technical Achievements

Built using the “Adventure Game Studio (AGS)” engine⁵, the game features “hand-drawn pixel art reminiscent of 1990s adventure games”⁵. The technical specifications include a resolution of “320x200” with a “Pixel art” graphic style⁵. System requirements are modest, requiring only “Windows Vista/7/8/10”, “900 MHz” processor, “128 MB” RAM, and a “Direct X Compatible Graphics Card”⁵.

Legacy

Order of the Thorne: The King’s Challenge is “Part of an anthology series”¹⁹ and was designed as the first installment in a planned series. A potential sequel titled “Fortress of Fire” has been mentioned³. The game is part of the broader revival of classic adventure gaming and has been praised for successfully capturing the essence of Sierra’s golden age adventures.

As one reviewer concluded, “While still a bit on the short side, The King’s Challenge is a polished game and perfectly sets the stage for the next installment”³. The game includes Easter eggs such as the “Isle of the Honored with Kickstarter backer tombstones” and a “Village library with books credited to Kickstarter backers”²⁰, demonstrating the developers’ appreciation for their crowdfunding supporters.

Downloads

Purchase / Digital Stores

• GOG.com
• itch.io

Series Continuity

• Previous: None (First in series)
• Next: Order of the Thorne: Fortress of Fire (In Development)

References

Footnotes

1. MobyGames – - Basic game information ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

2. GamePressure – - Game description and inspiration ↩

3. Cliqist – - Development background ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

4. GOG.com – - Story premise and character details ↩ ↩² ↩³

5. PCGamingWiki – - Development context ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹

6. Adventure Gamers – - Technical and design details ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

7. MobyGames Credits – - Development team ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

8. HowLongToBeat – - Story setup ↩ ↩² ↩³

9. Cubed3 – - Plot description ↩ ↩²

10. Hardcore Gamer – - Character motivation ↩

11. itch.io – - Challenge reward ↩ ↩²

12. itch.io – - Story premise ↩

13. FreeGOGPCGames – - Game length ↩

14. Indie Retro News – - Musical mechanics ↩

15. Phoenix Online Studios – - Lute gameplay ↩

16. GuiaZone – - Musical mini-game comparison ↩

17. IMDb – - User ratings ↩ ↩²

18. N4G – - Review recommendation ↩

19. ModDB – - Series information ↩

20. Adventure Game Database – - Easter eggs ↩