The Prisoning: Fletcher’s Quest PC Review

Can you imagine being stuck within your own mind? This would be one hell of a weird trip and something I’m not sure I want to experience. Well, this is the reality of The Prisoning: Fletcher’s Quest. It is a strange, Metroidvania-lite title that takes you on a comedic romp within the protagonist’s brain.

Developed by Elden Pixels, this single-player title has a wonderfully pixelated style. Additionally, it focuses on precision platforming as you leap chasms, avoid traps, and defeat an array of weird and wonderful monsters. There are unique weapons to master and a host of giant bosses to overcome. In short, it packs a lot of gameplay into its relatively short playtime.

The Prisoning: Fletcher’s Quest tells a bizarre story.

Despite the bizarre and often eye-opening story, The Prisoning: Fletcher’s Quest is a funny and enjoyable experience from beginning to end. With captivating characters, extremely weird moments, and a host of bosses that’ll make your head spin, this is a brilliant, retro game that’ll appeal to a wide audience.

You play the role of Fletcher, who is a game developer. He has a few issues and requires therapy to help him feel sane and secure. However, it is this very treatment that sends him on his fantastical journey of madness. His new adventure is a mental prison that reflects the real-life burnout of the final stages of his game’s development.

Familiar mechanics.

Despite the strange and sadly realistic undertones to the story, The Prisoning: Fletcher’s Quest delivers some extremely familiar mechanics. The platforming moments are precise, challenging, and often cause frustration. Additionally, the combat is reasonably refined. However, it expands slightly as new weapons are unlocked. It is the Metroidvania-lite moments that demand a sense of exploration. Yet, unlike its beefier older siblings, this M-L experience doesn’t demand the memory of an elephant.

The simple exploration elements were a joy to witness. Additionally, the world was fun to explore as new areas opened up after each boss experience. Thankfully, this was relatively straightforward to understand, and I rarely became lost as I moved from one room to the next. This was the perfect approach for me as it made it easier to put it down for a few days and carry on from where I left off.

The Prisoning: Fletcher’s Quest is super retro.

I love pixelated games. The sharp colours, simple sprites, and interesting level design are a joy to witness. The Prisoning: Fletcher’s Quest doesn’t disappoint as it plays with every old-school layer perfectly. Whether it is the interesting level design, varied character models, or smooth animation, it gets things right. The audio matches the silly theme and the sinister undertones of the plot. Furthermore, the sound effects have a delightful simplicity that highlights the dated design.

I was impressed by the controls. I played this on Steam Deck and on my PC, and it worked perfectly. The control layout is easy to understand, and I experienced no bugs, no input latency, and everything worked as expected. Where The Prisoning: Fletcher’s Quest falls short is replay value. Once you get through the core gameplay, there are a few reasons to return. This was a shame as the story is amusing, and it was a joy to play.

The Prisoning: Fletcher’s Quest is a great indie title.

Finding an original indie experience is easier said than done. Luckily, The Prisoning: Fletcher’s Quest delivers on practically every level. It is amusing, fun to play, and the Metroidvania elements are nicely balanced. Despite the lack of replay value, this is still worthy of your time and money. Accordingly, I recommend heading to the Steam store to purchase a copy!