Dreamfall: The Longest Journey Review
Preaching to the converted.
Version tested: Xbox
Videogames can be brash affairs, with their guns and cars and tits and stuff. Pop culture entertainment and big name brands bound together with startling technical wizardry and graphics-as-porn. Forty quid gets you 15 hours of in-your-face fun. Have some of that, you monkeys!
Some games - adventures games if I'm to get to a point - sit outside this world of in-your-face entertainment. Adventure games need to have a confident style, rich character and intelligent storytelling if they're going to make an impact in a world where bigger guns make a game better than the last. And while many fans look back at the good old days of point and click adventure games as a golden era, titles such as Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon, Bone and Fahrenheit have all delivered enough wit, kookiness and charisma to prove they're just as relevant to this generation as the past. There are not enough developers (or publishers, for that matter) willing to take the risk on this sort of game, but that's a different story.
To its credit, Dreamfall: The Longest Journey pulls off the style and narrative demands of the adventure genre with flair. The story is strong, and it unfolds, twists and develops at a welcome pace. Conversations with the inhabitants of the worlds are meaty but never overwhelming. Ten minutes of chat isn't laborious, but insightful and intriguing. This sequel to the much fawned over PC adventure, confusingly titled The Longest Journey, will be a welcome return for those that succumbed to the charms of the original game six long years ago. With three playable characters and contrasting worlds to explore, Dreamfall has a deep story to sink into.

Maybe later they’ll fall to the ground giggling, with one atop the other, their faces close as their inhibition drops…
The move to three dimensions prompts the player to explore, but it's still a shallow affair. You point your character in the right direction and when it's possible to interact with something or someone an icon appears. Adventure games always rely on puzzles, but in Dreamfall there's no real challenging solutions to your dilemmas. There's barely any complexity to a puzzle that asks you to find an item and take it to a specific location. There's an unwelcome amount of handholding throughout Dreamfall, whether from characters practically telling you what to do, or just very obvious game design, making the experience a meander through the game rather than a challenge. And there's scarcely anything more depressing in a modern adventure game than being confronted with yet another lock-picking mini-game. If I could sacrifice one of my little fingers in order to never have to play such a thing ever again, I would.
Elsewhere, the 'action' aspects of the game can only be described as really, really bad. Fighting doesn't happen a lot, but when it does it's a clumsy, unresponsive punch-drunk shuffle with no style, rudimentary animation and piss poor mechanics. "Hey, it's an adventure game, it's not about fighting," I hear you cry. Well then, why the blinkin' flip are these barely-baked sections even in the game? It makes Fahrenheit's feeble use of quicktime moments for brawling seem like Virtua Fighter.
Stealth makes an appearance too, and feels about as welcome as a jackboot at a testicle party. I'm no ninja, but even I know that to creep past unnoticed I should do my best to avoid broken glass. And that's your lot. No wall-hugging, no using the shadows to your advantage, no light meter or strategic use of scenery. Just crouch down and keep out of your enemy's field of vision and you'll be fine. And try to avoid going in to narrow corners as much as possible, because the camera seems to have been designed by someone with a lazy eye.

Go on, stick a flower down the barrel, you goddamned HIPPY.
Some stealth and confrontational situations can be avoided by turning to conversation, and it's good to know you're given the option to try different approaches, but it's worth noting that there's only ever one outcome. Decisions your character makes will rarely change the course of the game.
The presentation of Dreamfall compliments the story well. It's not a great looking game (even the PC version on Ultra settings is a big disappointment), but it's distinctive with a visual style that helps create the convincing alternative worlds. The use of sound is excellent too, from ambient noise to instrumental soundtrack and strong voice work. Conversations are a little choppy, but that's probably due to the sheer amount of speech recorded for the game. Generally, it's this kind of care and attention to detail that enforces developer Funcom's adventure game credentials.
Dreamfall has clearly been designed for those that like to follow an unfolding story, for those that are happy to listen to other people's conversations and immerse themselves in character exposition and plot revelations. We can't berate something for wanting to be an 'interactive experience' when it does it so well. So many games try to be something different and end up flat on their arses that we can say Dreamfall is an adventure game success.

"Plus, your hair looks too flamboyant for you to come across as hard."
But in many ways it's only preaching to the converted. Characters from the first game return, so if you've not experienced part one you can be a little baffled, or simply oblivious to who they are and what they've done in the past. Even if you have played the first game you might not remember the finer details very well - it has been six years after all. And just like a long running TV series, there's no real conclusion to the story. Be aware that however many hours you put into the game (around the 15 hour mark, by the way), you won't come away feeling satisfied with the outcome. Do we have to wait another six years?
And that's a shame for newcomers, because they're missing out on a story that has been so lovingly crafted. If the stealth and fighting sections are there to tempt those that aren't usually aroused by this sort of game, or to breathe life back into a crusty genre, they've done the worst job possible. And with puzzles that don't tax the brain, it's not really a thinking experience either.
The addition of more traditional 'gamey' elements is a complete failure, and Dreamfall lacks the crossover appeal found in something like Fahrenheit, with its self-contained story. It doesn't do anything new and neither does it go very far in welcoming the curious. If you liked The Longest Journey then you'll be eager to delve back into the story, but even that's hampered by the fact that there's a clear set up for Part Three, so don't expect closure. The best that can be said for Dreamfall is that you can sit down with a copy knowing that there's little to do, but you'll enjoy investigating the story and experiencing an interesting sci-fi fable.
5 / 10
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Comments (56) Latest comment 1 year ago
Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!
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"And there's scarcely anything more depressing in a modern adventure game than being confronted with yet another lock-picking mini-game."
The one in Still Life was pure evil. I feel your pain.
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I did enjoy the review
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Right now I have played through what I believe is most part of the game and I really love it. Nowadays I feel that it is getting harder to be captivated by a game, but Dreamfall really hooked me up.
For the record I really liked Fahrenheit too, but the story in there completely lost focus and credibility towards the end. This far, Dreamfall seems to work all the way to the end.
Sure, the puzzles are not very hard, but the "journey" through the game is a really enjoyable one, and is not that the point with playing games in the first place? 8/10 in my book.
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Still, the story seems decent but I really wish they'd just made a game like TLJ, at least they know how to make good adventure games. 5/10 seems about right to me, even though I've been looking forward to this game for months.
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And it is only the middle part of a story, it has no conclusion. That comes in the sequel, IF there is one.
This is just nonsense. Adventure game it is not.
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Also I think the Consolevania review was far more accurate from an actual gamers viewpoint, if you allow yourself the time to fully immerse yourself in something like this then surely it will be appreciated more than flying through it to complete a review.
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or
they are puzzle lite and everything is logical leaving very little 'game' left.
Here the narrative is engrossing, the characters are well realised, the presentation is enchanting and the 'game' element simple helps draw you into the world(s) and the story.
Judge that how you will.
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/orders
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Can't say I really understand the 5 score, but everyone has their opinion.
So far, Dreamfall for me has been the game of the year.
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It's like complaining about Final Fantasy X for the Blitzball minigame.
I haven't read the review yet, so I'll not complain about the score just yet, but I know that for me it was at least a 7/10. And I actually completed this, unlike Fahrenheit.
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The Dig is a VERY good game, it have pretty hard puzzles but puzzles were always a stamp of adventure games in some form.
Adding "mainstream" fad gameplay is a indication of when a game is going to turn into crap, you dont make a good game by design by committee and that is most of the industry is headed.
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Hi, your article should not use speaking language like "there's", but use "there is" instead. Usually I would not nitpick over this, but it was used three times in a row, which (repetition) in itself is bad writing form.
"there's" is an accepted abbreviation of "there is", so what's your problem?
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The story is different, though, when you expect this kind of game.
It's not very puzzely, the review got that right. But the world, story and drama are beautifully crafted and aside from some minor quirks like the mini games, it is a very entertaining title. I highly recommend it to genre fans.
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or
they are puzzle lite and everything is logical leaving very little 'game' left.
Here the narrative is engrossing, the characters are well realised, the presentation is enchanting and the 'game' element simple helps draw you into the world(s) and the story.
Judge that how you will. "
What he said. I don't like adventure games filled with puzzles, it's why i usually avoid them like the plague. I don't feel like trying to figure them out (maybe if they made sense i would, but you'd have to be on acid to get some of the puzzles in TLJ), and playing the game from a walkthrough usually ruins the game for me. So, i like Dreamfall. I would prefer if there was more gameplay... something along the lines of Beyond Good and Evil would do it for me, but i still like it as it is.
Anyway.. it's true the game is very very light on the actual "gameplay", but on the other hand it's plot, narrative, visuals, music etc are all very well done, and it's more akin to a 14 hour long movie. Honestly i prefer this game much, MUCH more than something like, for example, God Of War, which is very light on story but heavy on gameplay. Well, like most games actually.. but i picked that one because it's supposedly amazing yet i found it to be incredibly boring and wouldn't even give it 5/10 if i was basing my score on how much i enjoyed it. I had enough of senseless hack and slash a few years back. But that and Dreamfall are total opposites really, appealing to different kinds of gamers...
I don't think this game warrants a 5/10, but ah well.. seems a lot of people here dislike it. Bitter adventure game fanatics, maybe?
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There should be a fullstop after the 'Hi', not a comma. The end of the sentence should read, 'but instead use "there is".' The '(repetition)' is entirely out of place, and does not work in those parentheses. The 'in' before 'itself' is superfluous.
'There's' is a perfectly acceptable abbreviation in review writing. This is not a formal letter to the Queen, but an informal communication with a reader. It is good reviewing form to write conversationally.
Dreamfall has a truly wonderful story, and the ending, when engaged with imaginatively - something Zoe requests in her closing words - is magnificent. Shame they forgot the game.
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@botherer
Hehe, that sort of reminded me of something out of Zorro, where he might cut a Z on the bum of a unskilled enemy, whilst snipping a hole in his purse at the same time (coins roll to floor, enemy looks bemused).
Take the above comma ridden sentence and do with it what you will
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I also recommend reading the even less enthusiastic review on 1up.
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/wonders why he is still subscribed to pczone
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Like everyone's saying, nice story, but generally poor puzzles and some pointless action segments that are so embarrassing I can't believe they kept them in there.
As a die hard adventure gamer, I can appreciate the good bits in it, but they really can't paper over the cracks elsewhere. Sorry.
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I bought the game for PC (unfortunately) and I agree with the score it got.
I would also give it 5 or 6 out of 10.
- The story is not captivating.
- The dialogue choices you make are totally irrelevant as the story is completely linear.
- The action parts (fighting and sneaking) are underdevelopped (but being an adventure game this is not too much of a problem)
- The puzzles are ridiculously easy (in 90% of the cases they involve using an item you found in the same room) or pointless and boring: ex.
you are looking for X,
waitress says the blind guy might know,
blind guy wants wine from the waitress,
waitress is out of spices to make the wine,
go to market, the merchant is out of spices as well,
get the spices elsewhere,
bring them back to the merchant,
bring them back to the waitress
bring the wine to the blind guy, and then ...
THE BLIND GUY TELLS YOU HE HAS NO F*CKIN CLUE WHERE THE PERSON IS!
but he knows who might know it and the whole story starts again because that person lost her cat ... :rollingeyes:
Avoid this game
IMCO
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The graphics are beautiful though
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The opening scenes were amazing, and then it never repeats that again at any point. The DDR elements were frequently obfuscating, the plot elements didn't line up, the appearance of choice was entirely false, and the story went completely nutso-bonkers into a derailed series of lunatic nonsenses, before spurting into nothing.
I really enjoyed playing it, and recognised its many good ideas, in amongst its many terrible ones. But pretending it was a perfect adventure is madness. It's very similar to Dreamfall in many respects - a game that fails at crucial elements, and falls significantly short of what it should have achieved, and yet remains compulsive and engrossing.
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As for "one of last year's most significant games". I thought (in my limited personal opinion) it was nothing of the sort. That genre is entirely my bag and has been for over half my life, so I don't believe its like I didn't "get it" or anything. Someone described the plot as "overrated matrix fanboy wank", and although I wouldn't be quite so harsh I was stunned in places by the poor quality of the writing.
I admit that the first couple of interviews I read on here with David Cage really got my back up, and I have really made an effort to double check myself when commenting on Fahrenheit that I wasn't being negative just because I thought the man had an ego problem.
But I stand by my opinion, the plot is very poor, the dialogue immature and there are far too many moments when it forgets that the player is Number One, that they are there to be catered for rather than simply to bear witness to a "great work" of movie based story telling.
Anyway, I had sworn to shut up about Fahrenheit. Clearly I'm still happy to bolt if I feel I have the excuse that someone else has left the gate open for me
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"the appearance of choice was entirely false"
My main problem with the game. I can live with the bollox dialogue, because so many games have that its just par for the course. I guess in summary, after DC talked so much about how his "rubber band method" would save the day for story telling in games... it just turned out to be more of the same I had seen before and not done as well.
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Damn you, EG, why couldn't you have reviewed the game LATE for a change?!?
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Personally, I rate story over puzzles, interesting world over combining inflatable duck with item X to get item Y. Plus, where TLJ got lost and became a cliched fairy tale with the introduction of Arcadia, Dreamfall stands tall with a script that's smart & relevant.
It's your call.
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Of course.
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If you want to put the blinkers on and rate it purely on storyline alone, then maybe a 7 is fair.
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While I respect and understand the opinion of those that loved Fahrenheit I have to say I found it utterly infuriating and from the review I thought I'd love it. I really think it's a bit 'marmite'.
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"You point your character in the right direction and when it's possible to interact with something or someone an icon appears."
"There's barely any complexity to a puzzle that asks you to find an item and take it to a specific location. There's an unwelcome amount of handholding throughout Dreamfall, whether from characters practically telling you what to do, or just very obvious game design, making the experience a meander through the game rather than a challenge."
"It makes Fahrenheit's feeble use of quicktime moments for brawling seem like Virtua Fighter."
What? I had to replay a section of the game purely because the controls didn't get it.
"Stealth makes an appearance too, and feels about as welcome as a jackboot at a testicle party."
Yohohooo, dream sequence when I was a little child in Fahrenheit, anyone? The stupid guards just were "sooo much fun".
"Some stealth and confrontational situations can be avoided by turning to conversation, and it's good to know you're given the option to try different approaches, but it's worth noting that there's only ever one outcome."
Just like Fahrenheit: Success or DIE. RINSE. REPEAT.
"Decisions your character makes will rarely change the course of the game."
I tried almost every conversation at least with different answers... only a small portion of Fahrenheit really lead to different scenes.
And finally the second half of Fahrenheit was just plain "unbelievable".
--
I'm a huge sucker for adventure games, grew up with LucasArts' greatest titles like Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle or Indiana Jones... and I know what to expect from an adventure, so I'm open to new ways like Fahrenheit but when I read this review it just reminded me a lot about the game - it was more "interactive movie" (as the developers themselves said) than "adventure".
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And as bad as Fahrenheit was, Dreamfall makes it look like a stunner. It just seems these days that adventure games are striving for new depths of mediocrity.
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I'm in two minds about buying this. On the one hand I really want to see how the story pans out but on the other it just doesn't sound like the discovery is worth the effort.
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btw this review shows why syberia is the best! and i can't play paradise because of the widescreen problem...
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/ponders
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The icing on the cake was how the end sequence is triggered. Walk forward a few steps and then make sure you have a large cup of tea handy because you'll be there a while. I sat there watching the ending with the feeling I just hadn't earned it.
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I can understand the negative comments in the review about combat and stealth but I didn't find them annoying at all, they just gave the game a change of pace from time to time, and while I agree the puzzles were not the most challenging I really didn't care, the story had me so hooked.
Looking past this as a game and more of a form of entertainment I would have to rate it very highly as its been a long time since I have been so engrosed in a game world and story like this.
Its also a game that I can see impatient players rushing through and skipping dialogue and spoiling the game, if that sounds like you then its probably not a game for you.
If you are the sort of person that can read a book and get really drawn into its story or the same for movies then chances are you will enjoy this.
My best suggestion would be to just crack open a can of diet coke and a bag of crisps, sit back and enjoy one amazing adventure.
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Damn you, EG, why couldn't you have reviewed the game LATE for a change?!? "
Go for it, take a look at some of the other reviews for it, 5/5 Gamespy 8.2/10 Gamespot.
You may just find you see it the same way those reviewers did as did I and end up very pleased with your purchase, and for £17.99 on play.com its definetly worth a chance.
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