Games

Review Inherit the Earth: Quest for the Orb: A Game for the Whole Family

June 9, 2013
Michelle Topham

Inherit the Earth: Quest for the Globe is a 1994 classic adventure game with a twist. Instead of the usual ‘quest’ being undertaken by humans, it’s an animal task in an animal world with one specific animal, Rif the Fox, the hero.

What makes the story even more interesting, however, is it takes place not in a fantasy world, that could never really exist, but in our world thousands of years in the future when humans have disappeared and the world is populated by animals. There’s no magic, no futuristic machines, just a simple story of a trio of cute little animals out to right a wrong.



Inherit the Earth: Quest for the Globe has just been released on GOG, which is where I picked up my digital copy and immediately got down to playing it.

The Storyline of Inherit the Earth: Quest for the Globe

In this future world, we right away meet Rif. A fox who is determined to be the winner of a game at a local fair, he soon finds himself holding the silver medal instead of the gold as he’s been so obsessed with winning he forgets to watch what his opponent is doing.

But things are about to get a lot worse for Rif as he’s soon accused of stealing an orb, The Orb of Storms — an orb that ‘forecasts the weather’. Of course, he denies being the thief, which then gets him put in the position of having to promise to get it back, to prove that he didn’t steal it in the first place. If he doesn’t, his pretty little girlfriend will suffer the consequences.

The boar tribe and the elk tribe, however, don’t trust this fox as foxes are famous for being sneaky, so they send one representative from each tribe to go with him. And off they all go on their quest.

Controls and Gameplay in Inherit the Earth

Controls in Inherit the Earth are easy. It’s the classic half-screen for the game graphics themselves with the choices of ‘Talk To’, ‘Pick Up’, ‘Use’ etc underneath and a side box for your inventory. You couldn’t get it wrong if you tried.

While you’d first think you’re controlling a party of three, however, similar to a classic RPG you realize quickly you’re not. Rif is the only one worth worrying about in this game as the other two just tag along for the ride and don’t do much at all. You’ll occasionally have to talk to them to get some help to figure out a clue but that’s really it.

Gameplay is simple. It’s nothing more than talk to people, find items, use items and walk backwards and forwards a lot. And that’s where the game falls down. The constant walking from one place to another and then back again is enough to drive you nuts, especially if you have the patience of an ant like me. When the developer throws in a trio of mazes to add to the annoyance, it gets even worse. Because now you’re walking and walking and walking and getting nowhere. Aaarrrgggh.

What does make the game a worthwhile buy, however, are the utterly charming graphics (very nice for such an old game), the interesting story, the amusing characters and the funny dialogue. Inherit the Earth is a delightful game and, as it’s so family-friendly, it’s a perfect game to play with the kids as well. Adults playing on their own, however, will love it just as much.

Expect to get around 6-9 hours of gameplay from Inherit the Earth, depending on how well you do finding objects and in not wanting to pitch your computer out of the window due to the incessant walking.

You can find out more about Inherit the Earth: Quest for the Globe from Wyrmkeep Entertainment, the developer that now owns the rights to the game. You can buy the digital download of Inherit the Earth, of course, on GOG for just $5.99.

It is a lovely game and I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

By the way, if you want to see the opening sequence to Inherit the Earth you can watch it in the video below. Unfortunately, the YouTuber who started the Let’s Play of the game never finished it so it ends a bit abruptly just a few videos in.

Michelle Topham
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