loading . . . Quartet Interview Quartet is a turn-based RPG that taps into the nostalgia of 16-bit RPGs with a mix of intriguing partly non-linear storytelling, a memorable cast of characters, and well-balanced presentation to find a way to stand out among the many indie RPG offerings that have come out lately. Releasing with great player and critical reception on August 26, 2025 on Steam, GOG, and Epic Game Store, and with plans to release on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch later in 2025, RPGamer has caught up with Tyler Mire (Producer, Composer, Battle Designer) and Patrick Holleman (Director, Writer, Systems Designer) of developer Something Classic Games to answer some questions about the game, its reception, and its future.
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Ryan Costa (RPGamer): Since the full release, what player feedback has surprised the team the most?
Patrick Holleman: Most people are very pleased with the game. It has a 95% positive review score on Steam. But we have definitely seen a few threads of feedback in which players don’t understand the final chapter of the game. During that chapter, you have an airship and a bunch of non-linear character-driven sidequests. It’s the same structure as in FFVI and Chrono Trigger, which we thought everyone would recognize. (And, again, 95% of players liked the game.) But more than a few people were confused as to why the sidequests were all pushed to the end.
Tyler Mire: I’ll echo what Pat said, specifically because we spent the longest amount of time on Chapter 11 and it was significantly expanded from the original scope. I was really proud of it. Other pieces of feedback that caught me off guard were people saying they would not play the game without a turbo button or a hard mode. I don’t recall us getting those requests back in 2017 when we released Shadows of Adam. It just showed how much the market had changed since then. But like Pat said, most of the feedback has been really positive and supportive. And anything else was constructive and easy to act on (we made a lot of small highly requested QoL updates in our 1.1 update - including hard mode and turbo!).
RPGamer: With a large cast of characters and scenarios for them to deal with, were there any that stood out as a favourite to write for?
PH: Ben’s chapter was generally the most fun to write. Who doesn’t like to have a little fun? Other sections were fulfilling to make, but perhaps not as breezy to work on. But different players had different favorite characters, and seeing their reactions to major character moments in other chapters made it all worthwhile.
RPGamer: Was it difficult to plan out dungeon layouts based on the different locations that players visit?
PH: Between myself and our map designer (Tyler Ferguson), we rarely had much trouble making dungeons. We always knew what we wanted to do.
TM: When we came up with all the gear early on in preproduction, I had a spreadsheet detailing where and when you’d find each one. So occasionally I just needed to let Tyler Ferguson know if there was a big chest a dungeon needed to have.
RPGamer: How important was it to have a focus on equipment coming from treasure chests versus other avenues such as purchases in stores?
TM: Every new town usually has a shop that will sell new tiers of gear, but in dungeons and in “the wild” you can find gear in chests that’s usually qualitatively different from what you can get in stores. In the later chapters, the gear becomes more dense, being the majority of chests you can find in dungeons and through exploration. This was done because you have a large party of 8, and we wanted to allow you to spec characters into different builds through their gear.
RPGamer: As an experienced composer now, were there any tracks in Quartet that lent to any creative muscles being flexed? Any new instruments that were utilized?
TM: I really wanted to go all out on the soundtrack. Something I’m especially proud of is the vocal pieces. We did two barbershop quartet tracks and in Chapter 10 there is a piece which utilizes a full chorus singing in Latin. It was definitely a fun challenge for me! The final track count ended up being 94 tracks!
RPGamer: There's a lot of care added to the characters, their stories, and the abilities they use. So, which came first, the character archetype or the skills they use, and how easy was it to match the character to their abilities?
PH: The characters were planned as archetypes first. We thought about party composition dynamics right away, and tried to match everyone’s job class and personality. Additionally, we used the lens of the four humors (from ancient Greek medicine) as a lens through which to view the characters. That made building their personalities pretty easy.
RPGamer: Love the 1996 teaser trailer for Quartet. Was the idea for the 1996 trailer created early on, or just a happy coincidence? Were there any difficulties in filming that trailer, and were there any other ideas that almost ended up happening for a teaser trailer?
PH: The idea for that video just popped into my head one day. I laid down my best Don LaFontaine movie trailer voice in Audacity and sent it to the team. They liked it and so we commissioned one of Ty Deren’s colleagues to make it. All of our friends loved it, but it did not go viral in any way. That’s when we realized we’re old. We had a few other ideas for marketing videos, but we’re much better at making games than we are at making promotional material, so nothing materialized after that point.
RPGamer: What did the evolution of the AP mechanic look like, or was the idea always to feature magic as seen in the final version of the game?
PH: The AP feature was taken in mostly-complete form from the earlier Something Classic game Shadows of Adam. But in Quartet, you have many more options for bending the rules of the base mechanics. That, and AP regeneration is augmented in the back row, for characters who are swapped out. All in all, there aren’t THAT many changes from the SoA version, but small differences can have profound results.
RPGamer: At what point were there too many cards in the Oracle mini-game? Was there consideration of making it a full-fledged event, or was the thought more for it to be a fun Easter egg for players?
PH: The two biggest Kickstarter backers were entitled to design/request one minigame, each. Very early on, one of them requested the card game, and so we wove the first match into the story.
RPGamer: Anything large or small that has been finalized for DLC that can be shared at this time? Is the DLC going to wrap up loose ends or broaden the world to the possibility of a sequel?
PH: There’s one small, one medium, and one large content DLC planned and progressing. The first content update will include a new (timed) optional dungeon, and a minigame called Sheep Stacker. It’s even wackier than it sounds. The medium DLC is a new optional (story-driven!) dungeon called Gluhender’s Grotto. If you want a chance to peer deeper into each character’s head, you’re gonna get it in that one. Also, you’ll get a bunch of new character pairings. No spoilers, though. The last guaranteed DLC is the one we promised on Kickstarter: Tournament of Heroes. Would you like to fight a bunch of challenge monsters, under various special rules, in a classic tournament arc? Well, then you’ll love that DLC. Also, there might be another supernatural murder mystery involved. Only this time, the killer is on the loose.
TM: The small update will come in v 1.2. The medium update will come in v 1.3. The larger DLC, will be a paid DLC and probably will not be out until 2026.
RPGamer: What is something that you would love to share about the game not discussed above?
PH: If the game sells well enough, I’d like to do another DLC showing what was happening on the other side of the war, in Nikolai’s chapter. Could we make a 90-minute roguelite about Stalin’s Great Terror (or its fantasy-world equivalent)? I think we could pull it off. There would also be zombies. It would be expensive, however, and so I can’t guarantee anything like that. Alas!
TM: Just want to thank everyone who has given our game a chance. We really appreciate you all. I also want to give our great Something Classic community a shout out as well. They were behind us during the entire multi year journey, keeping us motivated and helping to provide valuable feedback. As well as our wonderful kickstarter backers, for without their contributions, this game would not have been possible. Thank you!
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RPGamer would like to thank Patrick Holleman and Tyler Mire for their time in answering questions about Quartet. The game is available now on Steam, GOG, and Epic Game Store, and to learn a bit more about Quartet, readers can view Alex Fuller's review of the title here.
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