Dreamfall: The Longest Journey review

For the uninitiated, the Longest Journey is one of the most highly acclaimed point and click adventures in the history of the genre. It focused on the character of April Ryan, an art student with a destiny of great importance. Set in the near future, April discovered she could move between what she saw as the real world (Stark) and the realm of magic (Arcadia). Dreamfall picks up some years later with a new character, Zo Castillo.First of all, it is important to point out that not having played the first game will in no way affect your understanding of what is going on here. Zo Castillo, the first of three controllable characters, knows as little as any new player would coming into the series. Thus she discovers things at the same time we do, which means everything remains cohesive and players are not left scratching their heads.In a adventure title such as this, to reveal the plot would be to take away a large amount of the game itself, so instead Gamestyle will focus on the many reasons that you should buy this game and play it through to the finish, and then possibly play it again. What Dreamfall does very well is bring things to life; characters, worlds and storylines are all presented in such a way that you will be hooked from very early on. While there are a few slow patches to begin with, soon enough things become very intriguing - Dreamfall is a title that gets most interesting just when you think it is about to get dull. Indeed, were sleep not a requirement, Gamestyle would have played through the whole thing in one sitting.One of the main things that brings the world to life is the excellent art direction that makes areas look both apt and interesting. There is certainly no generic level design here with even the most ordinary locations holding the illusion of a very unique and real world. Furthermore, the contrast between the two worlds is stunning with some of Arcadia's locations becoming evermore jaw dropping the further into the game you get.The next move to keep players hooked is the high level of scripting and voice acting on display. Dreamfall is a game that relies on large amounts of conversation and, unlike many games, Gamestyle did not feel the need to skip through dialogue or simply read the subtitles, instead waiting to let the characters speak their lines fully. This is mainly due to the three main characters being both interesting and very likable. Most games fail to imbue affection for one character, but here there are three that you feel a real need to protect.There is no denying that Dreamfall contains a real filmic quality to it, from the high scripting and location design to some very clever camera work and perspective shifts between characters. One notable example is when two of the characters meet: here you have a rebel and an opposing assassin talking to each other; as the conversation progresses, control switches between characters, allowing you to decide how they respond to each other and also shows what each of them is thinking. Similar scenarios occur a few times and make titles like Fahrenheit look very amateurish in their handling of the same idea.The only thing that does not really work is the very infrequent combat. Characters have a simple hard attack, light attack and block system which is very rigid and slow-paced. Combat happens very rarely, and on the few times it does, it is normally either a formality to push the narrative forward, or because you have done something wrong and will get killed after a few hits. It may only serve as an alternative to a cut scene but it is still a bit ropey.As with all adventures, most of your time will be spent in conversation or solving puzzles, but here the puzzles are quite simple affairs. The game is set up so you will never have a huge stockpile of items on you, and most of the time you'll just be sneaking in somewhere to find a key or using your mobile to hack a lock via one of the short mini games. While this may seem basic, it actually makes for a highly effective and enjoyable experience. It also avoids stagnating the narrative and keeps it moving along at a good pace.Dreamfall is a very important game for the adventure genre; here we have, without doubt, the best transition of an adventure title from two dimensions to three. There is none of the general silliness of Fahrenheit and the pacing and puzzle structure is much better than Broken Sword 3. The world feels more real and alive, as if it was always meant to be three-dimensional and has broken free of the boundaries that held the series back.Gamestyle has not played a game so enthralling for a long time, and the only thing that stops it from achieving perfection is the slightly bitter feeling you may feel upon its ending (for more reasons than one). Regardless, everyone needs to play this from start to finish. It may be a little short, but with this amount of quality it could have been any length and people would still want more. In years to come, this may be one of the titles people look back to as a moment when a genre truly evolved; for now we can only bask in its brilliance. Here's hoping that next title in the series emerges sooner rather than later.