I played and thoroughly enjoyed the demo of Master Lemon: The Quest for Iceland. It was developed and published by Pepita Digital. I played on a PC with a controller.

The Backstory of Master Lemon: The Quest for Iceland

The developer discussed the creation of Master Lemon: The Quest for Iceland in a Reddit post. He said that it was created to honor the memory of his friend Andre (aka Lemon). The game dev and Lemon are both Brazilians, but Lemon’s dream was to speak Icelandic fluently, move to Iceland and see the Northern Lights.

Lemon was a polyglot, a person who spoke many languages; learning to speak Icelandic was something he accomplished. In 2015, he also achieved his goals of moving to Iceland and seeing the Northern Lights. Tragically, in 2016, he passed away after a car accident.

This is Pepita Digital’s first game. He is self-taught (as was Lemon) and spent 5 years creating Master Lemon: The Quest for Iceland. The full game launches November 4 on Steam, Xbox, PlayStation and Switch (1 and 2).

The developer is on the left, Lemon is on the right.

What is Master Lemon: The Quest for Iceland About

Master Lemon: The Quest for Iceland is a narrative-driven adventure. You play as Lemon, who is a young polyglot on a journey to Iceland. But he is diverted to the magical Bashires Islands, where a plague called Darkness is threatening to destroy the world’s languages forever. To save the Bashires, you use words from different languages as magical powers to solve environmental puzzles and overcome obstacles.

The Gameplay – There are Some Unique Mechanics Here

Master Lemon: The Quest for Iceland begins while you are still in your family home, preparing to leave for Iceland. Your family has thrown a going-away party for Lemon, where you are introduced to all the important people in Lemon’s life, including his friend, the game dev. It’s very sweet. But soon you are mysteriously transported to the unfamiliar world of the Bashires Islands, where the adventure begins.

During the gameplay, you are presented with words in languages that the real-life Lemon knew. These words can be used to explore, solve puzzles, and change the world around you. The NPCs in Bashire speak many different languages, and you need to find a way to communicate with them.

One way to progress in the world is to use the power of your words in interactions with NPCs. For example, I discovered the word “pierogi”, which can mean a few things apparently. The most familiar thing to me is Polish food. I had previously met an NPC who spoke Polish, so I went back to him and we interacted. From that point on, I was able to communicate with him. Interesting….

I also had a really funny interaction with another NPC. This was at the beginning of the game, after I had appeared magically in Bashires and was trying to figure out what to do next. I asked him, “Can I jump?” to which he replied, “No jumping! This is not a platformer!” Haha!

*Master Lemon: The Quest for Iceland *seems to have a day/night cycle, but it does not seem to affect me. I don’t have to worry about energy levels, sleep or hunger either. I like that!! Just straight up exploring.

Nighttime. The lights are lit in Bashires.

The Journal is a Really Great Resource.

You are given a journal which contains a lot of great information. It describes all the quests you have encountered, including ones that you have completed, and it clearly shows their status. It has a list of all the resources (aka words) that you have at your disposal. It shows all the relics that you have collected so far. There are 124 in the game, so there are lots of fun discoveries to be made. And it shows your connections, which are the NPCs in the game, along with descriptions of them. It’s all very useful information gathered in one easy-to-access place.

This NPC also tells me how many relics I have found. I have a lot more to go!My journal is very handy. I have completed 2 main quests so far.Your backpack

You also have a backpack where you store non-relic items you have collected. You are able to combine them to help you achieve your goals. Neat-o.

The Feel of the Game World – What is This Mist?

Master Lemon: The Quest for Iceland is a semi-open world pixel game. There is no musical soundtrack at the beginning, when we are in Lemon’s house. You can hear footsteps and other ambient sounds, but no music. When you enter Bashires, that’s when the lovely soundtrack begins. It’s quiet and magical. However, many areas are obscured by mist, looking ominous.

Lemon learns he has ratljost, which, according to the game, is an Icelandic word for the phrase “the light that illuminates your path”. When you press a certain button (X on my controller), you use your ratljost to clear some of the mist. I love the way the mist is cleared!! There are popping sounds and visuals of circles and strange symbols. It’s very fun!

In the demo, there are 3 different levels of mist. White mist can be cleared right away. There is also purple mist and black mist. I believe you need more powers to clear those. I can see new NPCs and new areas right beyond the mists, so I know there’s a lot more to the world than what I see in the demo.

This is the white mist, which you can clear pretty quickly in the game.This is the purple mist. Note all the mystical symbols it contains.This is the black mist. I think it will take a while before I can clear that.

Final Thoughts

Master Lemon: The Quest for Iceland is a really nice adventure game created with a lot of love. It has some unique mechanics, and I particularly loved the popping when I got rid of the white mist! I played the demo for over 2 hours and enjoyed every minute of it. I look forward to the full release, and I wish the developer the best of luck withMaster Lemon: The Quest for Iceland. What a lovely tribute to a friend.

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