Dreamfall: The Longest Journey

I played The Longest Journey literally the day before buying this on Steam, a grand experience fresh on my mind, expecting more of the same goodness in a more 'modern' dress. Boy, was I in for a surprise. Everything that makes The Longest Journey great... is not in this game. The quirky, somewhat dated (but still surprisingly vibrant) 2.5D backdrops and characters were replaced with lifeless 3D environments, the interesting cast almost entirely replaced by boring or mind-numbingly stupid stand-ins, the story approached and re-opened in strange, unsatisfying ways - without addressing what plotholes the first part left - and the voice acting is at the lower end of the "Bad" scale without ever reaching the point where it's "So bad it's good". Gameplay-wise, somebody tried to shoehorn a terrible combat system into this and decided that, with all the extra fighting, there would be no need for the cool and sometimes challenging puzzles of the first adventure. My advice? Don't buy this. At all. Spare yourself the disappointment. ... But if you absolutely have to play this before you touch Dreamfall Chapters, play this first, then play The Longest Journey - that might give you enough incentive to make it through this. Actually, only pl

When people ask me what game I think has the most artistic merit, I reply without fail with Dreamfall. The best way to evaluate a work of art (I think so, anyway), is it's effect on people. I could recount my own experience the first time through, but that of my brother's is far more telling. As he progressed through the game over the next week or so, it was visible the effect the story was having on him. He would be excited during the character's high moments, cracking at the jokes peppered throughout the plot, and become morose when things started to not look so good for our protagonists. He would always be excited to talk about what had happened, his thoughts on where it could go, and his concerns about some of the commentary he felt the game was containing. By the end of the game he was in tears, and begged me to tell him that a sequel was going to come out, needing to know what was in store next for the characters he had grown to love. It's extremely rare to find a story anywhere, much less in a video game, that is so able to engross you with concern for the inhabitants of its world (or worlds in this case). This isn't to say it's perfect as a game. The controls are some weird hybrid between point-and-click and a third person shooter (without shooting), and the combat ranges from silly to frustrating. These gameplay snafus did nothing to hinder our amazing experience, and it would be a mistake to let them discourage you from playing this game.

Thinking back on The Longest Journey, I still have that lingering sense of awe, of wonder at an experience so expertly grafted. It's still one of my favourite games of all time, one of the best experiences of all time. Dreamfall, though, only brings back lingering feelings of frustration and sadness. Everyone else has delved into the flaws in Dreamfall's gameplay. I won't bother. The cardinal sin that Dreamfall committed, for me, was to completely butcher a world I loved and characters I hoped to spend more time with. When I first played through Dreamfall, I felt something was wrong. Zoe's story wasn't engaging. Kian was forgettable. Still, I loved seeing Newport again, loved seeing the Victory Hotel again. When I reached Arcadia, I felt goosebumps recognising landmarks. But despite all the nostalgia, I knew exactly what I wanted to be playing instead. I wanted to be playing as April Ryan. When you are finally re-introduced to April, her personality has changed completely. She's brooding and violent, bitter at people from her past for no real reason. This change is only explained in poorly written monologues about events from the past which we never see. I expect for those who have never played TLJ, April is just a brooding goth girl with issues about her past. That's the real crime here. April Ryan's character arc is so wonderful in TLJ because it takes her from a lost art student dealing with the responsibilities of adulthood to finally becoming proud of herself and her role in the world. TLJ let you read April's diary entries, which gave you a glimpse into the intimate fears and doubts April has along her journey. Despite the cliches in TLJ's plot, and there are many, April Ryan's characterisation was stunning and made the original trip through Stark and Arcadia unforgettable. Dreamfall throws all of that away and, worse, makes April a bit player. Even worse than that, Dreamfall is unfinished and April's role seems like it will be diminished even more on the small chance a further sequel is made. I hope Ragnar Tørnquist comes to his senses, sits down, and writes a lengthy novel which corrects the failings of Dreamfall. I hope he will, but I do not expect it to happen. Like it or not, Dreamfall is a commitment to a failed experiment. I will continue to pretend it never happened.

I loved the first longest journey. Really. And thought that maybe some warnings were a bit on the conservative side and the game would be good. Actually I didn't even finish it. It is not that it is in now way a sequel to a point and click game (such as having to find your way in a labyrinth being chased by troll), but even taken as an action/adventure game, it is a very poor game. Controls are sloppy. Camera movement is sloppy. Main character creates no attachment. Storyline is poor. Only the graphics (which are great for its age), and the voice acting actually save a second star for the game.

While Dreamfall is well-written, its numerous issues make it hard to recommend. The story takes interesting and touching turns, and even if it’s a sequel to a game I’ve never played, it works well on its own. The characters are compelling and I enjoyed the time spent with each of them. The worldbuilding is cool and detailed, and it’s an interesting universe to explore overall. The graphics are kind of basic for 2006, but I guess they’re fine and have some very inspiring designs and art direction which really contributes to the mood (the Dark People’s Library, for instance, looks fantastic). The soundtrack is also solid. Alas, the good aspects of the game are consistently let down by disappointing execution. With its strong writing and atmosphere, Dreamfall would have been good enough as a walking simulator with a few puzzles thrown in: instead, it tries its hands at multiple gameplay styles… none of which are well implemented. The combat is comically sloppy, the stealth is boring, the minigames are simplistic, the multiple dialog choices don’t seem to affect anything... And what the hell was that musical puzzle in the cave?! Even the solid storytelling suffers from the low production values. The characters have good dialogues and personalities, yes, but their stilted animations and sub-par voice acting (for some of them at least) make them feel quite lifeless. The story ends on a cliffhanger that leaves too many questions unanswered, made worse by the fact that the sequel ended up released 8 YEARS AFTER IT! Games should not end right in the middle like this... There’s an uncanny feel to Dreamfall, as if it had a really good story to tell but was unsure how to build a video game around it. It is a budget title, an awkward game to play, and it is way too pricey for what it is. Yet, there are things to enjoy in the journey it offers: I can’t recommend it to anyone, but if you like narrative-driven games set in interesting worlds, it might have something for you.