Dreamfall: The Longest Journey

Here's why: 1. The immersiveness Call me an uncultured savage stuck in gaming Middle Ages (actually - don't), but when I stepped out into the snowy Marcurian streets, I couldn't help but marvel at the grandeur of it. People walking, the guards keeping a watchful eye over the occupied region... I took my time, panned the camera around, taking it all in. 2. The different paragidms Three characters, operating within wildly different paragidms, troubled by completely different thoughts... all facing the same reality (to a degree), their paths intertwined... The "obviousness" switching in a blitz was something I found intoxication, irresistable. One moment you are trying to figure out WTF is going on, as Zoe, dazzled by the wonders around you... the next you're trying to overcome the harsh reality around you as April, plotting your next moves while people's lives rest upon your shoulders... 3. The thrills of discovery Both exploring the places you encounter for the first time and revisiting the ones you remember from the prequel are incredibly exciting. Meeting the people, sneaking through dangerous passageways (both ancient and futuristic !), learning that there is an entirely new layer of depth beyond that which by now is "obvious" to April. I'm going to be controversial here and say that it's as intellectually satisfying an watching the second and third Matrix movies was to me as a future philosopher. Once shocking revelations become obvious hidden truths, it is all the more alarming to find out that what you knew was merely the tip of the iceberg. 4. The audio Voice acting is something notoriously done poorly in games... yet (if memory serves right) it was brilliantly performed in Dreamfall. On top of that - the music or ambient sounds are always there to paint the atmosphere... The sound effects, of course, are fitting as well. The end result is so powerful that parts of the game gave my roommate nightmares... though she never was a particularly brave soul ;P. 5. The humor The worlds are believable but not necessarily serious. The character interaction dynamic itself can be hilarious... 6. The plot It's NOT predictable. As you desperately cling to learned truths, entirely new perspectives emerge, shoving facts, characters and agendas down your throat. Once you accept that even more mysteries lie onwards, the truth becomes your Holy Grail, so woefully out of reach yet beckoning and taunting you with the occasional minor discoveries. 7. The interface I initially thought you cannot make a good adventure game in 3D. Boy, was I wrong... Being able to "scan" for hotspots means there's no more pixel hunt and interacting with objects becomes a breeze. All it takes is 5-15 minutes of getting used to it and it becomes... natural. 8. The emotional impact I'll be honest - I'm an incredibly emotional guy and this is likely the best reason why I enjoyed Dreamfall thoroughly. The emotional roller-coaster it took me on was rivalled only by what I felt throughout the Max Payne series. Taking my few final steps within the game, I sobbed and I shivered. The surge of emotions and thoughts it gave me lasted several hours, as I paced through my room, slowly getting it out of my system. A masterpiece of a game.

I played this one because I loved "The Longest Journey." Pros: Good graphics, sound and music. Good story immersion. Cons: The story immersion is so good I started feeling for the characters, and bang, cliffhanger. I am really mad they did that. The story needs closure, but I don't thinks this will happen. It has be six years and nothing. FunCom seems to be making MMOs only. :((

I LOVED The Longest Journey and wanted a sequel so badly. Then when we got it I promptly swept it up and wanted to be swept away. Unfortunately I wasn't. The game was full of "almost there" type gameplay that made you see a glimmer of a good idea that didn't quite reach "good." The story, setting, and dialogue all were good, but not good enough to keep me engaged through the slogs of poor controls, bad game mechanics, and fetch questing. If the game was more like the original in that it was basically JUST an adventure game (as Kickstarter and other and Telltale games is proving is still a wanted genre) I think it'd be better as they could have played to their strengths.

I was an avid gamer for many years, when I first touched Dreamfall. Always enjoying adventures since the early days of adventure storytelling ( Maniac Mansion), I expected good riddles, fun story and comical characters. The beginning quickly made me realize, that I was in for something quite different. Dreamfall is more like an adventure combined with some elements of a roleplaying game. The classic fun riddles, that define the genre, are replaced by a very deep, compelling story, interesting characters and puzzles, that are placed logically in the flow of the game world and it's challenges (just like in the first part The Longest Journey). To spice up things, Dreamfall attempts to bring an action element to adventure gaming, like Indiana Jones: Fate of Atlantis, but it didn't fully succeed. The controls are a bit weak and the combat/action systems are not fully polished. I personally didn't care about those systems either way. I saw them as another challenge and the story propelled me forward. In the end it's a great game. A great story. It's the first and only game, that was able to make me cry at the ending. It's been many years since Dreamfall was released but I still vividly remember the emotional ride, that the game made me feel and I cherish every moment. The ending is somewhat open, since it was originally planned to continue the series, but don't let that stop you from experiencing this masterpiece.

So, my story with series began with Dreamfall TLJ sometime in 2010 and I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed it so much that when Dreamfall: Chapters (DTLJ's sequel) came out, I bought the new game along with The Longest Journey (Dreamfall TLJ's predecessor from 1999). After a couple of years of procrastinating, played it, right before replaying Dreamfall TLJ a second time. Sadly, my second playthrough of this game was not a good one. The original Longest Journey (1999) visuals made my eyes bleed but man oh man was that story amazing & man were those characters lovable: especially April Ryan who was goofy and lovable but also clever & resourceful. Strong but still humble. They took April Ryan in Dreamfall: TLJ & made her a secondary character & sucked all the life out of her, making her unrecognizable. That would have been ok if the new protagonist had some depth to her and something new to contribute for the series but sadly, Zoe, has as much depth and charisma as a British accented puddle of water. TLJ's plotline was also way more thought out & developed than Dreamfall TLJ. It had many incomplete threads that could have easilly filled another 2 sequels. When we left TLJ, Mercuria was invaded by the Tyren - a beast race of barbarian controlled by the Vanguard, a conspiracy that spanned across two universes. Although thwarted, the Vanguard were still a strong and present danger in both Stark and Arcadia - far from defeated. Where are the vanguard in Dreamfall? Gone! Fight for the balance? Gone! The Sentinels? Gone! The Tyren? Gone! Apperently, a couple of weeks after they invaded they got wiped out by another invading and occupying force before we even get to see what they looked like. Hell, Dreamfall even casually mentions a collapse in Stark's civilization occuring after TLJ but insultingly glosses over it. Why did such an amazing and still viable plot-line/main character get buried under a rug only to be replace by one that are nowhere near as interesting?