Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire is Sierra On-Line’s 1990 adventure/RPG hybrid, rebuilt from the ground up by fan studio AGD Interactive and released free in 2008. You’re the freshly crowned Hero of Spielburg, arriving by flying carpet in the desert city of Shapeir with your friends Abdulla Doo, Shameen and Shema. The welcome doesn’t last. Elementals start tearing through the city, a darker plot is brewing in neighbouring Raseir, and the whole story plays out over roughly thirty in-game days.
The original was designed by Lori Ann and Corey Cole, and it has an odd place in Sierra history. It was the company’s last EGA adventure, and the only Quest for Glory game that never got an official VGA version. The first game was redone by Sierra itself, and the third onward launched in VGA. Trial by Fire was left behind in 16 colours with a typing parser.
That gap is what the Quest for Glory II remake fills. AGD Interactive, the team formerly known as Tierra Entertainment and best known for its King’s Quest remakes, spent around eight years on it. Sierra granted the studio a limited license on one condition: the game had to be given away. Version 1.0 landed in August 2008, and version 2.0 followed in July 2011, adding a Mac build.
Wondering how a 1990 Sierra classic holds up against the rest of the field? See where it lands among the best free point-and-click adventure games.
Is Quest for Glory II Remake Free?
Yes. The Quest for Glory II Remake is freeware: no price, no microtransactions, no account, and no paid full version waiting behind a demo. AGD Interactive made it under a non-commercial license from Sierra, so selling it was never an option. The Quest for Glory name now belongs to Activision. The original EGA release is still sold, but only as part of the paid Quest for Glory 1-5 bundle on GOG.
Gameplay & Features
Pick a Fighter, Magic User or Thief, then build that hero the Quest for Glory way. Skills improve by using them, so climbing walls makes you a better climber and casting spells sharpens your magic. Each class gets its own puzzle solutions and side quests. Days pass on a clock, and certain events only trigger on certain days, so the rhythm becomes part of the game. Train in the morning, explore Shapeir’s alleys in the afternoon, and rest at the inn before the next elemental shows up.
AGDI kept the content faithful, but changed almost everything about how it plays:
- Full point-and-click control, with the old text parser kept as an option you can switch to at any moment. Purists can still type “ask about Raseir”.
- Real-time combat with more than a dozen moves, including blocks, dodges, special attacks and spells. Pause, difficulty sliders and combat assistance are there if reflexes aren’t your thing.
- An optional simplified street layout for Shapeir, whose maze of alleys famously frustrated players in 1990.
- An expanded plot, fleshed-out characters and optional side quests that weren’t in the EGA version.
- Hand-drawn backgrounds and digitized character portraits in the style of Sierra’s early-90s VGA adventures.
- Hero import and export, the series’ signature trick. Bring a character in from Quest for Glory I, and carry them out the other side into the later games.
If this scratches the itch, Beneath a Steel Sky is another classic adventure you can grab legally for nothing. Our roundup of the best free PC games covers plenty more beyond the adventure genre.
PC System Requirements
These are AGD Interactive’s published specs. They’re so modest that any PC built in the last fifteen years clears them easily.
| Component | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows XP | Windows 10 or 11 |
| Processor | Pentium, 500 MHz | Any modern CPU |
| Memory | 128 MB RAM | Any modern PC |
| Graphics | 32-bit SVGA card, 16 MB VRAM | Any modern GPU |
| DirectX | Version 5 | Latest version |
| Storage | 190 MB, plus up to 180 MB for saves | Same |
| Sound | DirectX-compatible sound card | Same |
There’s also an official Mac build, but it’s a legacy one. It targets Intel Macs running OS X 10.4 to 10.6 and needs Apple’s X11, so it won’t run on current macOS. On a modern Mac or on Linux, run the Windows version through CrossOver or Wine instead. CodeWeavers rates it as running well on both.
How to Download & Play Quest for Glory II Remake for Free
The game isn’t on Steam, GOG or the Epic Games Store. AGD Interactive’s own website is its official, safe source, and there’s no account or sign-up involved. If you’re unsure about a site, our guide to safe free PC game download sites explains what to look for.
- Go to the official page and download Quest for Glory II free from AGD Interactive.
- Grab the v2.0 Windows installer, which is about 71 MB.
- Run the installer and follow the prompts. It needs around 190 MB once installed.
- Launch the game, create your hero, and decide early whether you want the simplified streets or the original maze.
Want the 1990 EGA original for comparison? It’s included in the paid Quest for Glory 1-5 collection on GOG.
FAQ
Is the Quest for Glory II remake legal?
Yes. AGD Interactive made it under a limited license from Sierra, on the condition that it was released for free.
Do I need to play Quest for Glory I first?
No. You can start a fresh hero in Shapeir. Importing a character from the first game is optional, but it’s a nice payoff if you’ve played it.
Can I play it on a Mac or Linux?
Yes, with a workaround. The official Mac build only runs on old Intel versions of OS X, so most players run the Windows version through CrossOver or Wine.
Will my old save games still work?
Not if they’re from before version 2.0. Saves from earlier versions aren’t compatible with the current release.
