Funcom
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey

INTRODUCTION: Only for the bravest, probably my longest review. But not because "Dreamfall: The Longest Journey" is simply my favorite video game, but because it carries with it a whole series of indelible emotions that not even some of the best films could give me.

After six long years of anxious anticipation (1999 was now long gone and all the adventure game enthusiasts worth their salt—and not only—were hanging on the lips of one of the most human and original heroines in video game history), the much-rumored sequel, about which hope was almost lost, finally arrives.

Probably many of you, especially those less accustomed to video games or even the easy-gamers (those who play PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER and Tekken!) may not even know about the existence of this title. As a die-hard fan of this still incomplete saga that still has so much to say, I can tell you that the wait was completely worth it. "Dreamfall: The Longest Journey" is a magical and hypnotic interactive experience, born from the mind of someone who knows how to tell stories: Ragnar Tørnquist stands halfway between a medieval storyteller and a more modern cyberpunk author.

But let's go in order. Before I lavish my praises on Mr. Tørnquist for the meticulous work done in creating this gem of the gaming world, I must give a (more or less) brief summary of the previous episode, for those who missed it.

Dreamfall is the second chapter in the saga of The Longest Journey (and it should be considered more correctly as a spin-off rather than a sequel) inaugurated by the eponymous title, considered a cornerstone by adventure-gamers who were in famine at the time.

In that climate of lack of ideas and scarcity of adventures, "The Longest Journey" breathed new life into the genre, reconfirming its essential characteristics (the ability to move and perform various actions using only the mouse and the resolution—which sometimes could take a whole month—of puzzles), but enriching it with a plot so compelling as to keep you glued to the screen for the entire duration, despite the dangerously banal and simplistic premises.

A country girl who recently moved to the city discovers that she has a crucial role in the events that will involve the two parallel worlds of Stark (the world in which we all live but set in a distant future, dominated by science, rationality, and disillusionment: a sort of cyberpunk Trainspotting full of decadent locations) and Arcadia (the world of magic, the changeable, the unstable, the possible: a seemingly fairytale land but full of deceit and pitfalls). What we love so much about the plot of "The Longest Journey" is the way it is told, as well as the ability to tackle, with the basics of a 'simple fantasy tale', high-caliber topics such as blind faith in a religion or a philosophy of life (both the good and the bad of the game have peaks of fanaticism from this point of view, given that it feels safer to be on the side of the cynically and comfortably atheist April), governmental conspiracies and… even child abuse (as the catastrophic relationship between the fragile April and her despotic and alcoholic father will testify). All of this is nevertheless lightened by the development of a story that remains always and anyway fantasy, therefore explicitly 'not serious and tear-jerking'; indeed, there will be not a few moments of real fun, especially thanks to the witty remarks of April's sidekick, Crow, the talking bird. April embarks on the classic 'hero's journey' (SPOILER INSIDE usually they are orphans, the variant is that here April has both of her parents alive… at least the adoptive ones) in search of an essential artifact to maintain the Balance between the two worlds which, for the good of both, must never be united. Throughout the adventure, we will be accompanied by April's pills of cynicism, her whims, and her continuous complaints for having gotten herself into a matter much larger than her. What this Norwegian storyteller does best is characterize unforgettable, unpredictable, and multifaceted characters that one sometimes realizes only by diving back into the magnetic creature labeled Funcom. From a purely gaming perspective, the puzzles are generally simple and intuitive (certainly not for a newbie) except for some impossible puzzles, and everything runs smoothly, allowing us to enjoy the story.

The real strength of the saga.

And it is from these premises that we start for Dreamfall: a very solid plot, worthy of the best blockbusters (I would say except for Avatar, especially considering we are talking about a video game) and even superior to some of them, capable of keeping you on the edge, making you dream and making countless conjectures, and above all making you identify with the characters. Who, at least once in their life, hasn’t found themselves in the state of apathy from which our new heroine, Zoe Castillo, starts?

Dreamfall is set historically ten years after The Longest Journey and landed on the markets of (almost) all over the world a full six years after its predecessor (as already mentioned, it would be inappropriate to call it a 'prequel').

For the most die-hard gamers, it might be a huge disappointment, and it may also turn out to be so for the most intransigent 'adventurers', because with Dreamfall we are far from the classic 'point-and-click' style of "The Longest Journey". Having had so much time to mull over it (time in which graphics have taken huge strides forward), Tørnquist and his team have revolutionized all the elements that made "The Longest Journey" an evergreen and captivating classic… But it was still a classic game, which had revived an almost forgotten genre often snubbed by everyone, but without bringing substantial innovations to the gameplay (the set of game dynamics).

"Dreamfall" is therefore a gamble, a leap in the dark, and a highly risky operation, considering that the audience that enjoys such a work is always elite. Thus, it has inevitably divided into two: between those (surely more open-minded, and therefore also more open to the influence of cinema on video games) who shouted masterpiece and those who judged it to be in their hands a disappointment, a potentially excellent product but stylistically immature and incomplete. In weighing the pros and cons, I will attempt to be as impartial as possible: whether you call it evolution or involution, a transformation in gameplay has indeed occurred.

"Dreamfall" incorporated within its structure brief action and stealth phases (à la Metal Gear Solid, at least in theory) that alternate with the adventure modes. Even these, however, have undergone not a little evolution, since the characters now move with directional keys and in a wholly 3D world, unlike "The Longest Journey" where there was an enchanting contrast between 3D (albeit graphically lacking) human (and non!) figures on highly evocative backdrops. From a gameplay perspective, after a tumultuous beginning that gives good hope to those who 'want to play more than just enjoy the story', the product's dynamism fades away until sometimes reduced to a mere ‘go there to talk to someone and triggers a ten-minute cutscene’. The most intransigent, therefore, those searching for the impossible puzzle that keeps you engaged for a lifetime will be terribly disappointed: there is only one reasonably challenging puzzle (which can keep you busy for about a week more or less), and the others are recurring and can be overcome by trial and error. The action phases (luckily sparse, enthusiasts of fighting games & co. should abstain) are damned lousy, I dare say the worst ever seen in a video game, and against the most powerful enemies, your moves will be utterly useless; whereas the stealth phases, albeit very simplistic (in general, Dreamfall’s gameplay is straightforward and intuitive), will offer some moments of pure entertainment, obviously far from those of real stealth games.

But in its daring, "Dreamfall" is commendable even from a technical standpoint because the absence of overly challenging puzzles allows a more straightforward enjoyment of the story. You will never get completely stuck during the hours of gameplay, losing the plot.

Furthermore, the old 'go there, get the item, then find another one and combine them' is never missing, and this can only be pleasant, but everything is pared down, and we are far from the glories of The Longest Journey and its bizarre combinations.

But the true strength is… the plot. The plot of "Dreamfall: The Longest Journey" overshadows everything, smooths out all the defects, enhances the merits, and above all makes you a participant in the drama of the three protagonists until the end. The old TLJ players will react with uncertain, curious distrust towards a matured, disillusioned April, trapped in a world that doesn’t truly belong to her; and it will be hard not to fall in love with young Zoe, just a child while our dear April was living the fantastic adventures of TLJ. It will be harder for us to become fond of the cold apostle-assassin Kian Alvane (and fans will shudder hearing this last name!) who will melt his heart in the final part of the work. Three fates indissolubly linked, even if apparently motivated by different choices…

With "Dreamfall," Tørnquist definitively abandons the sometimes playful and jokey tone of TLJ to weave a ‘dramatic saga’ (understand it in the best possible sense) and re-elaborates some of TLJ’s themes in a decidedly more mature way. Zoe goes in search of her missing ex-boyfriend while a little girl appears (but only to her eyes) on screens throughout half of Casablanca warning her to save April; April, trapped in Arcadia after the events of TLJ, fights for the Rebels against the invaders of Marcuria, the Azadi; Kian (who reminds me a lot of the guy from Assassin's Creed, whose name escapes me), the Azadi apostle, converts with the cold blade of his sword all heretics and political opponents so that they may be welcomed among the graces of his Goddess.

Everyone is driven by faith in something: Zoe has faith in her journey, which, alongside starting to save Reza, becomes a matter of principle. April has faith (albeit wavering) in Balance and her destiny, though she believes she no longer has a precise purpose. Kian has blind faith in his Goddess. The relationship between fanaticism and religion returns stronger than ever and brings with it the racism of Azadi towards wizards and magical creatures, to the point of confining them in a ghetto which is not always accessible.

Thus, in the world of science, another story unfolds concerning a conspiracy against humanity through a subliminal-acting drug, while in the world of magic, with the totalitarian regime of Azadi in the background, a series of inexplicable events occur (undoubtedly linked to the world of science, although not all connections are yet clear) which will be clarified with subsequent sequels. The story leaves us breathless, the ending is open (I think it’s a necessary warning for those who do not want to embark on a story that will inevitably turn out to be broken), more open than it could be, and… very, very touching. It is hard not to shed a tear in the thirteenth chapter, when half of the plot will make sense and take shape, and the writers of this masterpiece will once again prove to us that the dramas and fragilities of human beings are at the center of everything and can influence an entire world, indeed, more than one.

Waiting for the episodic conclusion (Dreamfall: Chapters) of all the events left halfway by "Dreamfall: The Longest Journey", I can say with certainty that I hold in my hands one of the best ‘interactive films’ (no offense, Fahrenheit) ever made, a work with the gift of transporting you to two utterly fictional yet at the same time ‘tangible’ worlds that you would never tire of exploring.