King’s Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow is a point-and-click adventure from Sierra, sending Alexander across a chain of magical isles to rescue Cassima from a forced marriage. The complete campaign was finished in a single stream, with two hundred and thirty-one of two hundred and thirty-two points earned.
The island-hopping structure is the game’s spine, with the magic map fast-travelling between the Isle of the Crown, the Isle of Wonder, the Isle of the Beast and the mist-shrouded druid isle. Each island carries its own tone and puzzle set.
The fairytale vignettes charm, from the miniature oysters with toothaches soothed by reading to the quarrelling Red and White Queens of Wonder. The gnome-guard gauntlet is a highlight, with each gnome judging a different sense and appeased with a specific item.
The underworld chapter is the standout, with the grieving king and queen, the skeleton-bone music and the Lord of the Dead’s challenge answered with the mirror of truth. The voice acting is superb, with the recurring Tony Jay anchoring the villain and the gate.
The villain’s scheme is satisfyingly layered, with the stolen treasured objects revealing how the islands were set against each other. The finale delivers, with the painted-door spell, the genie’s lamp swap and the wedding of Alexander and Cassima.
The one-pixel cursor is finicky, with tiny interactive hotspots causing repeated misclicks. The riddle of the gate costs a death on a letter-shape confusion, the save-slot cap forces deleting older saves, and some puzzle logic is obscure.
Overall, the island-hopping structure, the fairytale vignettes and the underworld chapter make this an awesome adventure. The finicky cursor hotspots and the obscure riddle logic are the caveats.