Presents a new argument of how far story can go in games.
Usually when you pop into some gaming message board, you eventually hit the same “graphics vs. gameplay” argument. Story, for the most part gets left out of the picture. Dreamfall: The Longest Journey makes an outstanding case to present how far story can go in games, going beyond gameplay and graphics to give you an experience that can surpass satisfying the other two sides.
Dreamfall for those who don’t know is a sequel to an adventure game Funcom made by designer Ragnar Tornquist, called The Longest Journey. The Longest Journey was a very well received for it’s expertly presented story, realistic personalities, and unique use of setting. Dreamfall lives up to all the qualities of its predecessor and is a worthy sequel as one of the best adventure games of all time, if not one of the best games of all time.
In the past, you played a character named April Ryan, who started the game as an every day collage teenager who wants to make it in art school. She was a very standard teenager, and that’s probably the biggest strengths of the character in the last game. In a world where Lara Craft was the symbol and itemization of woman, it was entirely refreshing to those who played The Longest Journey to find a girl who worked at a coffee shop, concerned with relations of other people, popularity stances, and getting invited to parties, and as well as marks for tests. You know… like real people. It made her a totally likable and relatable character, and it really helped to connect with the character when the twist happens that she learns about an alternate world, not one dominated by computer and machines, but by magic. She would then go on an adventure to save what is called “The Balance” between the worlds, one of ours which is dominated by science and technology, and theirs which is dominated by magic and mystery.
When she saved the two worlds in The Longest Journey, all seemed well. However in Dreamfall, she has become a much more apathetic and darker person. She wished to stay in which was the world of magic, and she trapped herself afterwards by forgetting the ability to “shift” between the world of , and the world of science and technology which she came from called Stark. She now leads a fight against a military and religious occupation of her-now hometown as a “freedom fighter” and “terrorist.” Making a character darker usually means a downward spiral for character development in your stories, but Dreamfall successfully accomplishes this challenge, by not making the character darker for the sake of being cooler, but to make her darker to explore the cynical side of her adventure. You see, in The Longest Journey she was told to be destined to become the Guardian of The Balance, but an unusual turn of events in the story made someone else the Guardian for better or for worse. As a result she tries to scoff anyone telling her about destiny or fate, but can’t shake the feeling of the desire to explore her purpose in this world, which becomes some of the primary themes of Dreamfall.
The music is just fantastic, the composer Leon Willet took the right direction for the music and the tracks have a wide variety of tones to reflect the large amounts of settings in the game. Whether it is the upbeat electro to go with the most luxurious bar in the world, or the orchestral flutes and xylophones reflecting on the mysterious and magical world of Arcadia, everything just fits. The whole soundtrack uses synthesized music but you could swear that this was done by a live orchestra, while it is unfortunate that it isn’t, the talent of this composer makes the matter of fact irrelevant. There are also some license tracks from a Norwegian singer Magnet which perfectly fit with the overall mood of Zoë and her adventure, which is a somewhat romantic and warm feeling.
Of course we run into the actual gameplay of the game, and it takes a back seat and almost thankfully so. A lot of the gameplay relies on puzzle solving with items as your used to with many other adventure games, the good thing about it, is that it is smartly designed that you only carry about 3-5 items maximum at any given time. This is a lot better than something like Indiana Jones and The Fate of Atlantis where you carried several dozen items at a time, or the original The Longest Journey which may devolve into dubious gameplay of rubbing items against another item or character to progress the story. Instead it relies on logic with the items you have on hand, and some puzzles which are creatively designed with the environment and other elements you may not consider in mind. There’s also combat in the game, but it’s very basic and abysmal compared to anything like Ninja Gaiden and Devil May Cry, but it’s easy and functional allowing you to progress the games story. Same can be said for the stealth as it is no Splinter Cell, but you’ll never get terribly stuck or frustrated as it is also very easy. This also makes the game highly recommendable to bother regular gamers and non gamers alike.
But if you’re playing this game, it’s not going to be for the combat, the stealth, or even the puzzles. You’re going to play this game and leave this game not feeling that is was the most fun experience of your life, but you’re going to leave it feeling something. Whether that feeling is sadness, happiness, satisfaction, or dissatisfaction is something you will have to discover yourself. But when the characters start talking and when you engross yourself into the world of these people, the criticisms of the gameplay mechanics start to fade away, and what your left is an adventure you won’t soon forget.