Three Long Journey Can’t All Be The Longest Journey: Dreamfall Series Look At Review Thing. Part 1.

Three Long Journey Can’t All Be The Longest Journey: Dreamfall Series Look At Review Thing. Part 1. 

A few years ago, or something around that, I got a free game from the GOG sales and that game was: Dreamfall Chapters. I had no idea what the game was but it looked cool, I looked around and found out it was a series so I left it, plus my shitty laptop couldn’t actually run it; it couldn’t run the Witcher 2 either. Eventually I got the first two games and I played through them and eventually got a PC that could run the last one, though not that well because of its problems. As a bit of background: The first game was called The Longest Journey, it was released in the year 2000 on PC and it’s a standard sort of point and click that really has not aged well. The second game is Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, this game is a weird sort of early version of what point and click games are- kinda- like now (the Telltale style). The third game I’ll be covering in a separate review because I can’t be arsed to do much more.  

I should also point out that this is a review based off my second playthrough of the games but I’ll probably mention my first playthrough, so y’know.  

The Longest Journey  

Platforms: PC, iOS (apparently)  

Release: 20th April 2000  

The first game in a series that I really enjoy starts off... Not well. Initially I didn’t want to really continue this game, I had no interest apart from wanting to play the newest one. You see, the game starts so slow; it’s grinding, but to be fair it is trying to establish these two new worlds that people have no experience with. Still, it could have totally picked up the pace a bit more. Around chapter 4, I think, is when the game really starts to actually move somewhere and you really get a grasp on what you’re actually meant to be doing and what your goal is.  

In all honesty, this game looks awful. The characters look like flat socks filled with fatty, sweaty, semen. That is, if they even load because a lot of the times parts of characters just don’t appear and are completely invisible; to be fair this is most likely due to how old the game is and it having to run on newer machines. Even a lot of the backgrounds are just, at best, mediocre. I can look at the game and see what the intentions were, I can see what this game would look like in modern times and the intention is good, the style is interesting. Basically, there are two worlds (not that ONE, HU HA, I’m so original) one world is Stark the world or science and order, the other is Arcadia the world of magic and chaos. The back story goes that the two worlds used to be together then people decided that was some bad shit so they split them in two and now the balance protects and watches over both worlds by the use of the guardian (that’s a basic rundown). The legend also says that the worlds will be joined once again but when they are ready, (or some people believe that they should be, it’s all a bit complicated with different religions and all that bollocks). Personally, my own head-cannon; that definitely isn’t true in any way; is that the joined worlds from Shadowrun, cause it’s kinda the same idea to be honest.

  

The point I was trying to make before, but went off the rails as usual, was that Arcadia is a vibrant fantasy setting with different races, thankfully not just the standard dwarfs and elves, I seem to remember more parts in Arcadia, and Stark is a very dystopian almost cyper-punk - though in the third game is when it gets the most dystopian, Orwellian, Cyper-punk – it’s mostly just a horrible dark slimy gutter off some back alley, from what I remember you don’t see much of Stark (at least not as much as in the other games). You see, on my second run through of the series I never actually finished the first game. Part of it was the slow beginning but the biggest issue was that I was on one chapter that I remember not liking that much because of the puzzles and it involves you being on an island and I saved at the start of the chapter then I did it all but used one item before I was meant to and I was fucked. Straight fucked. I had to reload the save. Now you might think that’s not too bad, right? But, I hate losing progress; it’s why I don’t like rogue likes/lites. At that point I just thought, ‘I’m not having fun with this, the writing is OK, I know the story already, the gameplay is just a standard point and click from the early 2000s, the voice acting is mostly passable but also pretty bad at a lot of times, and it looks like shit.’ So, I moved on. And in the second game there are moments where certain events from the first game are mentioned and I knew what they were talking about because I still remember from my first playthough.  

I would say that The Longest Journey is a good game, some even say it’s the best point and click; I would think go that far but I do love the game. If you don’t mind point and clicks and you want to get into the series then I would definitely suggest playing it, just make sure you’re ready to deal with the opening that’s just so slow. As a second playthough goes, it’s not great. I already remembered all the important things that happened and there’s no real reason for me to play it again.  

Dreamfall: The Longest Journey 

In my opinion, because everything I’ve ever said is basically just my opinion, Dreamfall: The Longest Journey is weakest of all three games; it’s also the shortest games- even though every game has 13 chapters (13 being a special number in both worlds, a number considered unlucky in Stark and considered to be a powerful number in Arcadia. Even on my second playthrough of the series, I finished this game and still thought it was weaker than the first game, I don’t dislike the game I just feel the other two are a lot stronger on story but I’ll get into that later. By later, I mean now.  

Story 

As I said before, the story in this game feels like the weakest. We do get introduced to a new characters who are important to the later story; one of which, Zoe Castillo, is the main character in the second game and one of the main characters in the third. Basically, the game is split up between three characters: The aforementioned Zoe Castillo, April Ryan from the first game, and Kian Alvane. After the events of the first game April abandons Stark and loses her power to shift then joins the rebellion, or starts it, basically she’s important to the rebellion against the Azadi, a force from Sadir who saved the city from the first game (Marcuria) against an invading force, then they decide to stay. They’re not the nicest people, unless you’re a woman because they treat women as the ones in charge which is an interesting twist, if you’re a nonhuman, they’re referred to as magicals, then you’ll be shoved into a ghetto and raided and oppressed. Kian is a special boy who is sent to kill the ‘scorpion’ well... It’s said you’re meant to convert them but that just means you’re meant to kill them. Kian’s moments are quite short and don’t seem to be that many. The last character is April from the first game, again, I don’t feel there’s that much to be said about April’s parts, he he, all of her parts are just her trying to find herself after she saved the worlds and doesn’t know what to do. My biggest problem with the story is that it just feels like it’s there to set up the third game except for a few bits I’m Zoe’s story. Her story is that she is a student who doesn’t know what to do with her life then her ex, Rez, is journalist and he uncovered a major story which leads to a lot of shit as he disappears and Zoe takes it upon on herself to save him, she also sees weird creepy girls, finds out she’s a dreamer and that dragons and talking hurtles are real. Funnily enough, writing it down seems like a lot, yet it seems like it’s so short and not much happens compared to the other games.  

Presentation  

Luckily, people in this game don’t look like tights full of sweaty, chunky, semen. However, the animations are a bit; off. Especially the faces, when a character is meant to looked shocked it looks like one of those Source meme videos. My biggest problem with this game is the voice acting, the voices are actually woeful, the only two characters that I can at least tolerate are: April Ryan, and Zoe Castillo. Even them two aren’t great, everyone sounds like they’re just reading lines and occasionally remembering they’re meant to be acting. The acting really is part of the reason I kept skipping most of the dialogue, the other reason being; I remember most of the dialogue and the parts I don’t remember were either poorly acted or just kinda pointless. In terms of other things it looks alright, not amazing, not necessarily terrible. In all honesty the only thing I really wanted to say here was how bad the voice acting is, I’m so glad they changed pretty much everyone in the next game.  

Gameplay  

It’ll probably sound like I’m repeating myself but.. The gameplay is mediocre, on the worse side. The game plays like a very early telltale, it still includes puzzles, mostly inventory puzzles, and dialogue options that amount to nothing. Oh, and guess what mechanic they added that works really really well with this game; it’s stealth. Yes, they added stealth to an story game, it works really really well, but not as well as... The combat. Yes, there’s more because a game can’t be an actual game unless you’re kicking the shit out something. The combat consists of a heavy attack, a light attack, and a block. Basically, just hammer the light attack, if they block hammer the heavy attack, and never use the block. Ever. The stealth makes up the worst chapter in the entire series and the combat makes up a constant inconvenience.  

For all my complaints I still love this game, would it be better without the combat and stealth and the latter half of chapter 5? Yes definitely. But, with those things do you still like the game? Well I finished it again, didn’t I? That’s a pretty rare thing for me, I don’t have much patience you know. So how much do I like this series.... Well.  

To be continued... /20 

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