The Longest Journey

Probably the best adventure game made after the golden era of adventure games.

I don't usually like adventure games (the puzzles always frustrate me in their diffuculty), but The Longest Journey is a beautiful exception. I had this on CD ages ago and was saddened that I couldn't play it again when I upgraded my PC. I read elsewhere that this game could play on Windows 7, so that's why I got a GOG account in the first place. I've finished the game and it's a great piece of work, graphically and story wise. The gameplay is good as well. the puzzles being not too difficult, but still challenging. Get this game, you won't regret it.

The Longest Journey represents the absolute best and worst of the adventure genre. The best? An incredibly complex story backed up by some of the most memorable, likable characters and snappy, natural dialogue I've ever had the pleasure of encountering in a game. April is a wonderful protagonist, fiery and funny, and the people she meets are always interesting, even the NPCs you only meet once. A tremendous amount of effort has been poured into making the story feel as believable and immersive as possible, and the game itself is actually quite long. The sort of thing that takes you weeks rather than days. The worst? Most of the puzzles were apparently conceived in some sort of bizarro dimension. The logic behind them is frequently baffling, with completely ridiculous items and combinations, and the solutions are so overcomplicated that even if you're the "go everywhere, try everything" type of player, you'll still have to consult a walkthrough at least once or twice. When you do, "How the heck was I supposed to know THAT?" is the most frequent reaction. And yet, somehow, the game manages to keep being fun. The writing is fantastic, the voice acting is surprisingly good, and the environments are fascinating. April's semi-futuristic world somehow manages to be even more interesting than the magical realm she eventually gains access to; it's seeing people like you or me strolling down an ordinary looking street while power-armored police officers direct sky traffic overhead that manages to seamlessly mesh the fantastic with the everyday. This is, of course, all backed up by a soundtrack that features some wonderfully atmospheric pieces that only serve to help immerse you even more. Of course, the visuals are more than a little dated by today's expectations, and the game can look ugly at higher resolutions, but I actually feel the areas still look beautiful, while the people are unfortunately blocky. Despite some frustrating puzzle solving, The Longest Journey is one of the games you really need to play if you never have before, and even one you should play again if it's been a while, if only to remind yourself that amidst a current-day clutch of blah-bland adventure titles, there are still titans of the genre out there.

Now that I completed this game twice, I thought writing a review would help everyone else not to miss this masterpiece. My verdict is 5/5. Being an oldschool point-and-click adventure, this game is absolutely stunning. Where should I even start? I guess I should probably start with graphics. You don't expect too much and you shouldn't - but I believe that back then this 2.5D mix must have been really pleasing. You got two drawn worlds and lots of beautiful scenery. Character models are fine - as long as you don't compare them to modern graphics. But where this game is shining...dialogues. I've played quite a bunch of adventures before, but never been so immersed in conversations between characters. Everyone seems very real, having their own unique personalities and you can't help but to feel it. Protagonist is not only battling overwhelming forces, but also her very own demons. Some of the moments are almost therapeutic - you kinda grow as your character grows too. The plot itself has quite a few twists and turns. I absolutely don't want to spoiler any of it, but one thing I can say for sure - Tornquist created a massive world design and it doesn't feel incomplete. Can't say too much about gameplay - I mean, it is point-and-click adventure, after all. Don't forget to read the diary once in a while. If you're still in doubt - stop doubting. There's a long journey ahead. In fact - the longest one.

I've seen the word "perfect" thrown around in several reviews. To think this game has no flaws is to look at it through some severely rose-colored glasses. The 1 star reviews are equally crazy, because there is plenty to appreciate, but there are enough glaring flaws to prevent me from dubbing this as anything above "good." The most obvious problem is the game's pacing. The first handful of chapters are long and deliberate, filled with large environments to explore and plenty of puzzles that make you feel like you are accomplishing something. And through exposition you are given a laundry list of magical items you must acquire. You embark on an epic quest and earn the first, feeling like there is still plenty of adventure ahead of you. But all of a sudden the game's pacing gets thrown into high gear. Environments now consist of no more than three screens, chapters are over after a mere handful of clicks, and before you know it, the rest of the dominoes fall and you possess all of the goal items without feeling like you've earned them. Soon you find yourself at the anticlimactic finale with a slight sense of disappointment. This is one of those adventure games where you can't die, which a lot of players enjoy. The problem is, the game puts you in "dangerous" situations, with harrowing music urging you to hurry. But if you merely stand still, the monster just stands right next to you, and the excitement is completely removed. Also, the solution to these scenes if never more than one click away, so there's no sense of "whew! Good thing I used my wits to barely escape!" A lot of people rave about the story, which is interesting, but the protagonist is one of the few characters that seems to care about the inherent danger to the world. The few others that care all seem to fall into the "you're the chosen one, but I can't tell you any more" camp. So much of the game is spent questing without really knowing why. Overall, a solid adventure, but far from "best ever"