REVIEW: ‘Mythic Quest: Quarantine’ Just Gets It

An AppleTV+ Original, Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet offered up an office comedy that got the nuances, problems, and everything in between that goes into game development. Made in production with Ubisoft, a leading triple A publisher behind the iconic Assassin’s Creed series, Mythic Quest had a hit season with critics and especially gamers. Now, it’s taking on workplace comedy in the time of COVID-19 with Mythic Quest: Quarantine. The coolest part? It was filmed entirely on iPhone.

If you haven’t heard of the series before, it was co-created by Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, and Megan Ganz and follows a team of video game developers as they navigate the challenges of running a popular video game. Now, Mythic Quest: Quarantine is a half-hour installment that finds the team behind the biggest multiplayer video game of all-time tasked with working from home — specifically dealing with the release of Blood Ocean, their disease update, at the end of last season.

Poppy (Charlotte Nicdao) and Ian (Rob McElhenney) struggle with the isolation while Brad (Danny Pudi) and David (David Hornsby) start a charitable competition. Assistant Jo (Jessie Ennis) tries to explain video conferences to CW (F. Murray Abraham) with mixed results.

To produce this episode, the cast and crew worked remotely in multiple locations across the country and yet, it looks like it was shot directly in a studio. Having watched other remote productions like Netflix’s special Tiger King episode and the Parks & Recreation reunion, Mythic Quest: Quarantine‘s production quality is even higher.

The best thing that Mythic Quest: Quarantine does is that it showcases the different teams as they have their video conferences. From a meeting with the heads to a competition of Street Fighter to decide if the company can give money to charity, to HR meetings and QA testing, this episode packs a lot into just 30 minutes.

The first season of Mythic Quest was amazing because it showcased elements that the audience could connect with and for this special episode, it’s even more true. Like most folks working from home, the technical problems of video conferences are some of the small moments of laughs in our boring days. They also provide really great moments in the episode.

Mythic Quest: Quarantine excels in showing that some of the characters are struggling and how others are functioning like nothing has changed. This offers up some emotional moments and pulls the curtain back from how a lot of us are dealing with things. While we’re okay on video calls or while working, the downtime when all of that stops can be hard. Especially when far away from your family and live alone.

With the games industry thriving right now, it’s easier for us to just think about the games we’re playing and not the humans behind them. This episode is a great reminder of what everyone is dealing with while also providing a heartwarming ending. Of course, it’s also lighthearted enough to give you a nice bright 30-minutes to relax, laugh, and just feel good.

Overall, Mythic Quest: Quarantine is a great special episode and ultimately the perfect salve for work from home frustrations. With the series already renewed for season two, I can’t wait to see what else is in store.

Mythic Quest: Quarantine is now streaming globally exclusively on Apple TV+.