Dreamfall Chapters: The Final Cut

This is a piece of art. True, it has more from an interactive film than a classic adventure since inventory and item usage only occur sparingly throughout the game. Yet still, this is a must-play. Chapters looks drop-dead gorgeous on modern hardware, sometmes the graphics look like painted. It is funny yet also has a lot darker, mature tendencies like addressing fascism and genocide. It can feel oppressing at later stages. For me it's an emotional rollercoaster ride for mature gamers and I'm proud to be a backer of it. Maybe you need a certain degree of empathy to fully appreciate this game. And do yourself a favor, at least try playing it in English if you're not native. The voiceovers are great except that of Na'ane. I'll probably go back to TLJ and Dreamfall TLJ some time in the future to fully grasp the story arc. Yet questions remain since in my view the TLJ/April arc is not fully finished. As I said the only negative, if you will, can be that it transcends the classical adventure genre (which, to be honest, Dreamfall TLJ already did).

Dreamfall Chapters is about ambiance, it's about full immersion into the game world. There are small details everywhere. You could just get a walk in the area, or advance into the game story. It's a game about choices. It's a game that lets your imagination run wild. The music is gorgeous, the color palette is beautiful. I played the game on a Amd Athlon II X2 with a Radeon HD5500 (smooth), and on a low-end laptop Intel i3 with HD3000 card. (playable). GNU/Linux version is quite polished. I don't understand people comparing it to TLJ. .... Dreamfall Chapters stands on its own.

Another unity-dinput ignorance case. "Full controller support" is just a lie if dinput controllers not working correctly. (See Layers of Fear or Syberia 3 as good examples.)

I was a big fan of the previous games and excited to play this, but there are a few things preventing me from giving it 5 stars, and if there were an amount between 3 and 4 applicable, I'd probably waste another 10 minutes deciding where to place something as complex as art on this linear scale. Gameplay: Plays much more like a telltale game in so far as that all the puzzles are trivial, and it is more about the story and your choices. The main characters are done well, and the writing is often exceptional. It can feel REALLY slow/pointless occasionally. You won't be feeling like you ever need to figure anything out. The consequences of actions are good. You're not punished for being pragmatic. Atmosphere/Voice Acting/Visuals/etc: Really good. As good as before. Definitely felt drawn back into the universe. Especially in Zoe's city. Gripes: I include this section to single out some of the most infuriating parts of this game. I'd 100% recommend getting it otherwise. Parts feel overtly shoe-horned and irritating. Possibly due to the kickstarter backers? Unsure, but it has a similar immersion-breaking feel as can happen with some kickstarters. There is this particular busker which seriously felt like one of the devs jammed it in just to hear his garbage voice which he thought sounded uber-deep and sensitive. The radius at which you can hear him is ridiculous and sound falls off way too sharply. The microphone it was recorded with doesn't suit the outdoor location. Each time passing him, the escapism which this series excels at is lost. Some political themes seem to make ridiculous assumptions, too ridiculous to not feel like a shoe-horned bias. Some characters feel completely inconsequential in a "Let's just put them in so we can have an X in it"-way. And it's nothing to do with the fact they are X, but more like "I have no emotional attachment to this character at all, but apparently the game expects me to." Regardless of the character's alignment.

Full disclosure: I'm not that far into the game. With that said, this is actually what drove me to write this review. The voice work (at least the English voice work) is outstanding, particularly from Charlotte Ritchie, who plays Zoë. To me, she was instantly likeable, charming and relatable. Down to earth but with a foundation of strength. Wherever else the game goes -- and that seems to be good places, from what I can tell so far -- the characters are what drive any great story, and these characters are great. Cheers.