Dreamfall: The Longest Journey (PC, Xbox) (2006)
Developer: Funcom

Review written by Faididi and Co.

"The Longest Journey 2"

Story: Below Average

Funcom's Dreamfall: The Longest Journey is the confusingly named sequel to the original The Longest Journey. The parallel worlds of Arcadia and Stark are threatened anew by another conspiracy involving supernatural power-grabbing. This time, the story is told from the viewpoints of three different main protagonists. The new primary heroine is Zoe, a young woman whose lack of direction in life soon changes when she becomes caught in the secret war. The second hero is Kian, a religious warrior who is conveniently more open-minded than his colleagues. Last but not least is everyone's favorite student-turned-savior, April, who is now a disillusioned rebel fighter who amusingly hasn't lost her hardcore liberal streak.

Unfortunately, little of that matters, because this sequel seems confused over how much it truly connects with its predecessor. On one hand, it's glutted with an obsessive amount of references to the first game, from the Banda's specialties to April's sexy, fire-breathing (and very non-human) sister. On the other hand, it disregards the previous installment's perfectly satisfying outcome while cheaply concluding itself with an unfinished ending, insulting the audience.

Gameplay: Below Average

Dreamfall is still mostly a graphic adventure, resembling a fully 3D version of its predecessor. The heroes, only one of whom you play at any time, will make many observations, speak with other characters, and solve puzzles as they explore the areas. Sadly, the vastly watered-down puzzles and the clunky new combat scenes ruin the fun.

If the first game has already been lenient, then the puzzle design here is childishly simplistic. There are very few items to gather, and the heroes never hold more than five of them at any point, leaving no challenge in discovering their correct uses. Although the multiple solutions to the puzzles in Dreamfall sound like an interesting new feature, in reality they make this sequel even more of a pushover.

However, the worst offender is the awful, awful real-time combat that occurs at certain points. The way that Zoe and her friends must fight a single enemy at a time makes the battles laughably artificial, to the point where the heroes will bizarrely sheathe their weapons upon beating one foe only to immediately draw their weapons again to face a second villain who has been standing in front of them during the whole time. Yet, whenever both a hero and the current opponent attack, the bad guy will always come out on top, so trying to counter enemy blows is an utter joke. One wonders why the battles aren't done in the form of puzzles, after the elegant fashion of the original The Longest Journey.

Controls: Poor

The arbitrarily defined interaction buttons aren't as consistent as they should be, but none of that is as aggravating as the stupid combat controls. The camera is frustratingly uncooperative during battles, and once the heroes face an enemy, they can't break out from their fighting stances to move about more freely.

Graphics: Excellent

The best part of Dreamfall is its visuals. The beautifully rendered characters are animated well, at least outside the combat scenes. Arcadia and Stark come alive again thanks to the highly detailed environments and the awesome lighting and weather effects. The cinematics can't look any better, and one of the most memorable scenes is the part where flashbacks are cleverly used to help Zoe recall what to do as she carries out a series of tasks.

Audio: Above Average

The audio work isn't bad, either. Whether they're the creaking of heavy oaken doors, the bustle of traffic within city streets, or the noisy murmur of patrons inside a tavern, the sound effects are perfect. The great voice acting is absolutely consistent in quality this time, too. The music reflects the sequel's somewhat bigger focus on Stark over Arcadia. Alas, the less memorable mix of sci-fi and medieval fantasy tunes doesn't match what has been heard in the earlier game.

Overall: Below Average

Pretty graphics or not, Dreamfall is a disappointing sequel to the original The Longest Journey. Its awkward story clings to its predecessor's trivia but glaringly forgets the main outcome there, rendering its own events meaningless. The brain-dead puzzles might as well not exist, while the shitty combat scenes are plagued by moronic controls and comically artificial single-opponent limitations. No one should bother with this weak graphic adventure when story-driven games as early as a decade ago, like Kalisto's Dark Earth, offer far superior combinations of engaging character interactions, wonderful puzzle design, and smooth real-time combat.

OST: Average

Published by Funcom, the Dreamfall soundtrack contains almost all the music from the graphic adventure, as it excludes the songs found on the Dreamfall EP. Other than a hidden sound bit that hints at a future installment, it doesn't come with any bonus material.

Packaged with the special edition of the PC version, the Dreamfall EP features, in their original entirety, the four songs that are heard in variously edited forms within the game. These songs are okay, although there's no real reason why they can't be grouped together with the main soundtrack.