CrundleQuest Game Chronology

In early 1985, Lorem Ipsum Studios released what was to become the first in a thirteen-part RPG series: a small, lighthearted high fantasy adventure game called CrundleQuest: Roots of the Hochterbaum.

After almost two years of turmoil following the unexpected success of Roots of the Hochterbaum. Lorem Ipsum Studios got to work on a sequel to their zany fantasy escapade. Following another two years of development, the game was ready for release in late November of 1988 as CrundleQuest II: The Snows of Glindul.

The second CrundleQuest game received mixed but generally positive reviews, adding fuel to the fire that was Lorem Ipsum Studios during the Golden Age of Home Gaming. Over five years of development went into the third CQ title. The base concept actually originated in brainstorming sessions for the sequel, but a deep-plot open-world game like Kukelhelm was deemed too ambitious to attempt at the time. Armed with experience, funding, and new advances in videogame tech, L.I.S. set out to create a masterpiece --and succeeded. In October of 1993, CrundleQuest III: Kings of Kukelhelm was released to much fanfare and critical acclaim. It ranks as one of the best games of all time, and was even reconstructed in a later game engine entirely by fans.

Chasing the roaring success of Kings of Kukelhelm, Lorem Ipsum put together yet another Crundlean adventure that explored new territory, both literally and in terms of gameplay. While not as grandiose or captivating as its predecessor, CrundleQuest IV: Voyage to the Wolkenmeer was an enjoyable experiment with the game media that allowed fans of Crundle a new look at the world.

CrundleQuest V: The Crystals of Gyngledoof was developed essentially alongside CQIV and released just under one year later. In contrast to its open-world predecessor, CQV returned to the more elementary visual novel style of the series' first two installments. While still a lighthearted, goofy romp through the ever-expanding fantasy realm of Crundle, the main plot of the game and even some of the mechanics hinted at the master plan being concocted deep in the NDA-locked bowels of Lorem Ipsum Studios.

February of 1999 marked the dawn of a new era for Lorem Ipsum Studios as they released CrundleQuest VI: Danskroom Wakes --the opening chapter of a masterfully-crafted plotline that would go on to span a full eight games and the entire remaining CrundleQuest series. CQVI --a semi-linear world with expansive vistas but restricted progression paths-- introduced new locations, characters, and mechanics, to mixed reviews. However, the series built on this foundation in innovative ways to create a magnum opus of gaming.

Two years after Danskroom Wakes, the CrundleQuest team at Lorem Ipsum released the next game in the series: an island-hopping Magic-Maguffin scavenger hunt called CrundleQuest VII: Isles of the Damurlich. Reclaiming some mechanics from Voyage to the Wolkenmeer, the seventh installment in the series was lore-heavy and returned to the more open-world approach adopted in Kings of Kukelhelm that would become a staple of the series.

2004 was a turning point for Lorem Ipsum Studios. Three years of development paid off handsomely with the flawless release of CrundleQuest VIII: Shadows of Vubelstarn, a grotesque yet beautiful open-world game that allowed players the opportunity to explore a vast region of Crundle which had never been seen before: Vubelstarn itself, aptly nicknamed the "Crunderworld." Shadows of Vubelstarn is another fan-favorite of the series, and was well-received by critics who praised the fresh storyline of the game. In fact, CQVIII's plot set up that of its successor, released just a year later.

Like the duo of CQIV and CQV, the eighth and ninth installments of the series were developed more or less simultaneously, and in 2005 Lorem Ipsum released CrundleQuest IX: Rosselschoff's Revenge. CQIX smoothly followed up on its predecessor's storyline with equally captivating visuals. Though not entirely open-world, as each large region required a discontinuous entry, Rosselschoff's Revenge was the first time gamers had seen the world of Crundle itself in such painstaking three-dimensional detail, and such rendering became common to the series after it was so well-received.