We found our hero, King Graham, climbing to the top of a tower to find his princess… after all, what would a fairy tale be without the "save the princess" story? As he reached the top, he quickly realized that there were two princesses ready for the taking. As luck would have it, a wicked witch was holding the two captive and would soon have her clutches on King Graham. After a bit of cunning, puzzle-solving, and a few puns, the King would soon choose his mate to live happily ever after… or would he? We will soon find out in King’s Quest – Chapter 4: Snow Place Like Home.

As we open on Graham and his wife, we quickly see the future unfold in a story of twins separated at birth. This wasn’t a common accident, however, but instead a malicious attempt at King Graham’s confidence by the scorned Manny… who reintroduces himself as a different creature called Manannan. Spellbinding the King and Queen, Manannan talks of retribution and a future where his son will gain access to the crown. The catcher is that "his" son is actually Prince Alexander, one of the twins.

This is where our story begins, with a frantic cry and a lifelong search for Alexander. Time passes by and, after 18 years, the Prince returns to his family having been renamed Gwydion. Of course, this teenager doesn’t like either of his names, so he attempts to call himself Caduceus the Magnificent. Well, Caduceus isn’t so sure that his return to the life he was abducted from was such a good idea. He would soon learn his true fate, however, when Queen Valanice and his twin sister Rosella are taken to the middle of a labyrinth, where he has to work with his birth father to find them.

Caduceus, or Alexander, as we will continue to call him, struggles between wanting to trust King Graham and learn to love him or simply go about the ways of his teachings. In the way are a series of puzzles that all have a very similar theme to them. The goal is essentially to walk along a path of tiles in order to unlock the door that holds them within the Ice Castle, thanks to Queen Icebella’s and the Sphinx’s dubious nature. With multiple rooms and many variations of this puzzle type, King Graham takes the opportunity to attempt to reunite and bond with his long-lost son.

It is along the journey in King’s Quest – Chapter 4: Snow Place Like Home, however, that King Graham quickly realizes that Alexander isn’t the young man that the King envisioned in his dreams. Instead, standing before him is a bratty child that is always looking for the easy way out. Rather than use his brain to solve the puzzles before him, Alexander relies on the magic that was taught to him my Manannan, much to the dismay of King Graham.

Alexander starts this quest more or less opposed to King Graham. Slowly but surely, Graham’s words and behaviors begin to sink in and the father and son pair up to solve puzzles the old fashioned way, by earning them. Together, the duo work in tandem to make it through the labyrinth and soon find themselves in front of their nemesis that is holding the Queen and Princess for one final puzzle to set them free.

King’s Quest – Chapter 4: Snow Place Like Home contains a lot more puzzles that the previous three chapters, although there is a lot of repetition within them. I will say, however, that a couple of the puzzles tripped me up… providing a nice level of difficulty. To a degree, this difficulty was a bit contrived with repetitive trial and error, but at the same time, it was enjoyable and satisfying to finally solve. Will the King and his son save the women of their lives? Only a final puzzle will tell, if it can be solved. But with one last chapter to come, it may be all for naught and we will see where this reunited family goes.

King’s Quest – Chapter 4: Snow Place Like Home covered a number of years in the life of King Graham, and the story within the story may shock you (no spoilers here!). However, the final few scenes that hint toward Chapter 5’s storyline indicate that there are deeper roots surrounding the elder King and his throne. Meanwhile, Manannan and his evil brother bid their tribute to the proceeding events and plot revenge against Daventry and King Graham. We will see how it all unfolds in the final chapter of King’s Quest.