The Wendy’s JRPG Is a Searing Anti-Capitalist Screed About Humans Making Real Art

Wendy’s commissioned WendyQuest: Legend of the Four Corner Stones, a polished role-playing game that pokes fun at corporate power and champions human-made art. The project matters to its developer, 81Monkeys, because the funding helped the studio continue work on its larger game, World of Anterra, during a difficult period for game financing.

The studio had pursued 60 potential funding prospects without success after World of Anterra’s scope grew beyond its original Kickstarter plans. WendyQuest’s deal came together within a week, and the team split its effort evenly between the two games. 81Monkeys revised the combat to feel more contemporary and rewrote 99% of the script, while Wendy’s retained brand-safety oversight; the game’s villain, Dr. Mechborg, carries a conspicuous golden “M” logo.