Thanks to the United Kingdom’s Parliament fudging things up, Her Majesty the Queen decided that she would dissolve it, and take back power in a bid to reclaim the former glory of the United Kingdom. However, since most of the surface of the Earth has already fallen to their own rule, the Queen had one option, take to the stars and colonize new and interesting planets.
Her Majesty’s Spiffing is an unusual take on the puzzle genre, mixing in true British culture into a game that is both fun and entertaining. The game, which follows you as Captain Frank Lee English—very English—and Aled, a scrawny Welsch kid with a wit for days as they traverse the universe looking for that new British colony. The unusual pair team up as their Queen has tasked them with colonizing the universe, in a bid to reclaim the former glory of the Commonwealth. Captain English is the embodiment of a true Englishman, with a broad chest and a love for his country he is mainly tasked with basically doing everything. He usually over-elaborates his descriptions of items, and sometimes his lack of knowledge in terms of technology is quite hilarious. Aled, the younger between the two is tasked with being the stereotypical overly-vague sidekick who aren’t very useful. He usually sits around and levels sarcastic humor that might come in handy, but only rarely.
Their ship, the HSS Imperialise, is an ode to the Britain of old, with it built from pieces of the old Aston Cooper and filled with little British touches, and is in complete disarray. The old junker, literally falling apart, uses some antique technology like a PC from the Windows 95 era and is filled with artwork of the kings and queens of old. Items strewn around that you will need in your puzzles make fun of British engineering, with things like a motor burning out because it was made in Britain.
There’s more to the story than that. A third shipmate mysteriously disappears, however one can elaborate from his office is that he was a manic genius who was into heavy metal. There is a lot to do in the game and multiple plot points are explored.
Although I find myself quite annoyed by puzzle games in general due to their vague nature, forcing you to wander around for hours looking for that one piece that would complete the task that would move the plot forward, Her Majesty’s Spiffing made this journey a lot easier with the funny banter and back and forth between the characters. Puzzles in the game can become quite daunting, but the answer usually being in your own pocket. Twisting and turning items around reveals things that you might not see right off the bat. For instance, when you have to find a driver for the Xbox controller that will control the ship because you spilled tea all over the ship’s dashboard, the answer to that puzzle is a document attached to a wall.
After finishing a few puzzles trying to fix the ship after Captain English caused a ruckus, you land on a strange new world. You start to explore the ‘new New World’, and Aled just wanders around giving elaborate exposition. Unfortunately, the French have already landed and conquered the world by planting their flag and their stereotypical French behavior is quite on point and funny. As you would expect, your task is to take down the flag and hoist the Union Jack and lay claim to the planet as your own. Classic Britain.
The game is quite patriotic and may cause a bit of a problem amongst the pro-remain camp in the case of Brexit. Some of the references seem to point to that. I wouldn’t recommend the game if you’re easily offended. But for the rest of us, the game is quite enjoyable. I found the comedy side hilarious and would recommend it to anyone looking for a challenging puzzle game.
Summary
For me, puzzle games usually get under my skin with their overly-elaborate nature. Her Majesty’s Spiffing doesn’t change this for the most part, but with the hilarious story and quips, I have to say that I managed to enjoy this game. The story is quite short and you will finish it in a mere two hours if you explore. The game offers players a fun little time-killer and even the achievements will make you giggle. I highly recommend you pick up this gem from the store. As for the name of the game, Spiffing is a term used by upper-class Britons to describe something excellent.
Dreyer was a regular ICXM contributor between 2016–2017, publishing 139 articles across opinion pieces, game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news. Their work focused on hands-on reviews, platform commentary, and breaking-news reporting during the Xbox One X launch year and Microsoft’s wider Play Anywhere / UWP gaming initiative. They post on X as @dreyer_smit.