It's really a shame but how fortunate are we that we at least got some closure on the insane cliffhangers at the end of the original Dreamfal?.
I feel bad for RTG and Ragnar. They put in so much work on DFC and it dragged them thru development hell for nearly 2 years yet they've gotten no recognition for it. I feel like having to tie up so many loose ends from the original game handcuffed this game from being able to find mainstream acceptance the way, say, Life is Strange did. As much as I love this franchise, I was so reluctant to recommend it without the caveat that the original games should be played first.
It's really a shame but how fortunate are we that we at least got some closure on the insane cliffhangers at the end of the original Dreamfal?.
I feel bad for RTG and Ragnar. They put in so much work on DFC and it dragged them thru development hell for nearly 2 years yet they've gotten no recognition for it. I feel like having to tie up so many loose ends from the original game handcuffed this game from being able to find mainstream acceptance the way, say, Life is Strange did. As much as I love this franchise, I was so reluctant to recommend it without the caveat that the original games should be played first.
Yup. It's really hard to recommend the third in a series of heavily story based games if someone hasn't played the first two. And Dreamfall is overall a pretty bad "game" experience, though the story is pretty essential to understanding and caring about Chapters. I still recommend TLJ to friends who like adventure games, but I also recognize that not a lot of people want to play a game almost 2 decades old that isn't a 2D platformer (those seem to age much better).
I have Life is Strange on my wishlist, going to have to check that out at some point.
Perhaps some of the recognition will start to come now that it's finished. In my case I played the first 2 hours of the game (came to the psychologist) and wasn't really that in to it. I think it was mostly my mood that hindered going further, and when I was ready, I started to read about performance issues which made me wait for that to be fixed, and then it was about a new engine etc. which in the end made me wait till it was finished.
Perhaps more are in similar situation and will start playing now.
Played up till going to Zoe's work in Ch. 1 and uninstalled. This is one of the worst written games I've ever played, the dialogue is ear splittingly bad and I basically reached my limit of it after Mira started babbling about "shitting shitter children" or whatever and making fun of autistic people.
TLJ took me, like, four attempts to actually break through and understand what the puzzles were asking of me, but once I made it to the forest area and onward... man, what a game.
Played up till going to Zoe's work in Ch. 1 and uninstalled. This is one of the worst written games I've ever played, the dialogue is ear splittingly bad and I basically reached my limit of it after Mira started babbling about "shitting shitter children" or whatever and making fun of autistic people.
Mira is a shitty person. You're not meant to like her. I think you're making a mistake dismissing the game because of the writing. The writing is entirely the reason fell in love with The Longest Journey/Dreamfall universe.
Mild book 5 spoilers :
I loved when Zoë told Mira to shut up and put Wick on.
Mira is a shitty person. You're not meant to like her. I think you're making a mistake dismissing the game because of the writing. The writing is entirely the reason fell in love with The Longest Journey/Dreamfall universe.
Mild book 5 spoilers :
I loved when Zoë told Mira to shut up and put Wick on.
I have way better things to do with my time than listen to someone use disability as the butt of a joke. There's better ways to make me dislike a character.
I have way better things to do with my time than listen to someone use disability as the butt of a joke. There's better ways to make me dislike a character.
I get it, but it's a shame that you bounced off like that. There's a decision that you can make early on that results in you working for someone else. I hope you will give it another chance. Please don't let Mira's shittiness sour you on the whole game.
Played up till going to Zoe's work in Ch. 1 and uninstalled. This is one of the worst written games I've ever played, the dialogue is ear splittingly bad and I basically reached my limit of it after Mira started babbling about "shitting shitter children" or whatever and making fun of autistic people.
TLJ took me, like, four attempts to actually break through and understand what the puzzles were asking of me, but once I made it to the forest area and onward... man, what a game.
That's the problem with some old adventure games, puzzles can be really esoteric and unintuitive at times. I usually have some threshold of time and annoyance where I will just look up the solution :x.
Played up till going to Zoe's work in Ch. 1 and uninstalled. This is one of the worst written games I've ever played, the dialogue is ear splittingly bad and I basically reached my limit of it after Mira started babbling about "shitting shitter children" or whatever and making fun of autistic people.
I have way better things to do with my time than listen to someone use disability as the butt of a joke. There's better ways to make me dislike a character.
"We dearly love this saga, and our fans, and wrapping up Chapters has been an emotional experience for all of us. It's satisfying but heartbreaking, and part of me would love to jump right into TLJH to tell a personal and soulful story about a character I care deeply about but for many, many reasons I don't think it will happen."
It's the tone of it. The game seems to think Mira's autism joke is endearing or funny or something. Zoe doesn't even call her out on it, and it feels like the writer himself just doesn't care about jokes at the expense of disabled people. As if it's an easy way to just make her shocking or something. A close friend of mine has a low-functioning autistic kid and this is just my own sore spot, when a game or movie plays that card in such a lazy way it turns me off from it completely. The vast majority of people don't care, so I guess it's my problem, but I just have no desire to keep playing the game after that scene left such a sour taste in my mouth.
So, I copy/paste my impression about the full game I posted in the Steam thread:
Well, I completed Dreamfall Chapters. I literally waited for this game to be released for years, but I'm VERY disappointed. Yeah, there are a couple of good visuals, some good ideas, but that's it, nothing else.
The game was very boring to play, pacing is awful, chapter 5 is also basically a serie of cutscenes and you interact a three or four time. But the problem is the plot for me was very weak.
First, there are too many plot holes. Literally. And since of course writers of the game know this, in the end the ended up telling "We'll explain you everything, we promise it", but the game ends and you get no explanations.
For example,
Saga. Who is she? Is she April reborn? Her parents, what happened to them? Why she is so important? Saga ended being literally a deus ex machina, otherwise the game won't be concluded. And all the facts end with a "because it's all written, deal with it". So poor, really. Saga's sections were awful to play, just a collection of "find the item in the house", nothing else. Also, does the game ends with a loop? It seems so, considering April in the end, for some reason, is alive. It's her echo? Is she real? We don't know, but the game basically loops to reconnect with Longest Journey. Characters die, but a second later they are still alive. It's all so confusing.
I loved The Longest Journey, it's actually one of my favourite point and click, I remember I passed months on it.
I liked Dreamfall too, even if not like its prequel, but it was good, interesting, somewhat innovative, since it was pretty different from other point and clicks of that time.
Dreamfall Chapters is just boring, with a couple of good ideas lost in a sea of nothing, with the gameplay very poor when it tries to be a "game" (find all manholes in the city and stuff like that, as I wrote in the spoiler), and a terrible pacing when it tries to tell a story.Also another disappointing thing is there's one and only one ending, no matter what choices you did in book 1-4, you end up with the same ending anyway.
I surely regretted my pre-order purchase, even considering the game was discounted up to 66% off much later, bundled and even given for free. For sure it's worth if you loved April, Zoe and the first two titles, just to see "how it ends", but if you never played the other chapters, please don't start from Chapters, because you will hate the franchise.
Having finished book 5, I found it a bit disappointing. The low budget nature actually became an issue during the end scenes. Some really important moments were made comical by how poorly animated/directed they were. It wasn't helped by things being more than a bit rushed. The way scenes transitioned and skipped around was even a bit jarring at times making for a pretty disjointed episode. Some of the exposition dumps were pretty brutal too
(oh god that really unnatural Saga/Kian conversation that was mostly an excuse to awkwardly explain teases made in TLJ).
It seemed like my decisions mattered little in the end, but I was pretty much expecting that.
I also had some trouble with bugs. The camera would spin untrollably at times when I used the right stick. I had one where a scene repeated itself 3 times before things moved on.
Dreamfall Chapters is decent fanservice for those already invested in the better games in the series, but it's not something I'd recommend to people that haven't been yearning for closure for years. The writing is still generally good (though book 5 has some problems), but the gameplay you have to endure to get to it often incredibly dull and mindless. Instead of wasting time and money creating bad puzzles and busywork, this game would have been better off just limiting itself to story and choices. Maybe then they wouldn't have had to cram half the story into one rushed episode.
Disappointing to hear. Especially about the "incredibly dull and mindless" gameplay you have to slog through, the plot holes, poor execution, etc. Bummer. I was looking forward to playing this on the PS4 eventually, but my interest is dwindling.
Dreamfall Chapters is decent fanservice for those already invested in the better games in the series, but it's not something I'd recommend to people that haven't been yearning for closure for years.
Yeah, that's how I would summarize Chapters as well.
I should mention though, that Tornquist is really great at creating memorable characters and dialogue, in fact Chapters probably had the best writing in that regard in the entire series, but he is really weak at planning out a good story. There are some interesting twists at the end of this game, but once you understand them, the rest of the game is so boring and by the numbers in its story. The obviously evil guys are doing the obvious evil thing, only for some you don't know until the ending who they are (though you can make a really good guess).
I like how it finishes most of the open questions from TLJ and Dreamfall and, after waiting years and years, that is enough for me. For a new player, though, Chapters is an overly long, at times incohesive, mess. But it's still an enjoyable mess, at times.
As to ``plot holes" (I mean, the game is clearly aware of the mystery and embraces it, so it's not a hole so much as being vague on prupose):
I feel that is just Ragnars weird decision to put some closure for TLJH in to this game. That game is never gonna come out, and he probably knew once the KS goal was not met, so they doubled down on telling that part of the story, within this game. Bad choice, but understandable to some extent.
"We dearly love this saga, and our fans, and wrapping up Chapters has been an emotional experience for all of us. It's satisfying but heartbreaking, and part of me would love to jump right into TLJH to tell a personal and soulful story about a character I care deeply about but for many, many reasons I don't think it will happen."
Overall, episode 5 wasn't bad as I thought it was going to be, but I still have a bunch of problems with the whole thing:
- The pacing of Zoe story was weird, the first 3 episodes felt like wandering in circles, then suddenly EVERYTHING happens during Episode 4,
You literally meet several being that existed since the dawn of universe in a couple of scenes, wat.
- Kian was actually pretty good on other hand, because his story felt like it had something Zoe's didn't have: A direction and a purpose. He also ended up being a far more interesting character despite being a classic no-nonsense dude. I wish the game delved more into the Azadi culture and their religion, though.
I guess the Goddess is just baseless religion in the end?
- The overall plot was weird. It really didn't leave much an impression on me,
Helena
is a bad sci-fi villain, and
Brian Westhouse
felt very underdeveloped. At least it seems the writers were self-aware on how lame some of the reveals were("What a twist! No wait, I totally saw it coming."), but then, why the giant wall of exposition toward the end?
- Everything about Saga is a fucking disaster. Also if she's really
April reborn, it really sours my enjoyment of her character. The solution of April problems was getting killed so she could just forget all of them and re-start her life? What the fuck?
- Some huge setting changes: I REALLY dislike how now
There are MULTIPLE worlds. Now it's a "generic" multiverse instead of just Arcadia and Stark. Lame.
- Charlie. Emma and the Guardian never appeared ever again.
Overall, I don't know what to think about this Dreamfall Chapters. I'm happy we got some closure, but on other hand it's just not memorable. It's not a good game, like TLJ, and it's not even a particularly memorable story.
Overall, I don't know what to think about this Dreamfall Chapters. I'm happy we got some closure, but on other hand it's just not memorable. It's not a good game, like TLJ, and it's not even a particularly memorable story.
Yeah overall the closure feels good, but I think they should have chosen a pre-rendered background style like TLJ and purely focused on the story and puzzles. It was a bit... irritating to see the game on sale on steam when book 5 came out for 1/3rd of the price I paid to back it, but I guess that's a lesson learned with Kickstarter funded games
I agree a lot of the early Zoe stuff was like... "uh this is boring I guess I'll force myself through it though". I think the story went in really really weird places in Dreamfall and following up on that sorta led to all this, although the "Dreamer" thing is kinda cool. I'm still glad I played through the sequels since I loved TLJ so much.
Red Thread Games is expanding! We're working on several new role-playing adventure games in exciting new universes and we need talented people to join our development team in Oslo, Norway.
Hopefully their next game will have actual gameplay and less cringey writing. And a well-planned out budget so 3/5 of the episodes aren't the worst recycled filler.
I just played through both TLJ and Dreamfall and it reminded me how sour I was after the end of Dreamfall. Now I'm really looking forward to jumping into Chapters for the very first time after many years of waiting (and backing at 75 USD way back when).
But I just skimmed some news and apparently "The Longest Journey Home" was something that was part of the Kickstarter pitch and it's supposedly something that details April Ryan's story between TLJ and Dreamfall, as well as what happened to her after Dreamfall. Is this true? And will Red Thread never touch TLJ/Dreamfall universe again?
But I just skimmed some news and apparently "The Longest Journey Home" was something that was part of the Kickstarter pitch and it's supposedly something that details April Ryan's story between TLJ and Dreamfall, as well as what happened to her after Dreamfall. Is this true? And will Red Thread never touch TLJ/Dreamfall universe again?
By the way, has anyone who backed it received their rewards? I backed at $75 and I still haven't received:
'Journeys: Birth' digital eBook
'Tome of the Balance' digital eBook
'Art of Dreamfall' digital eBook
'Journeys: The Graphic Novel' digital eBook
Digital Map of Arcadia
Digital copy of the making-of-videos
All I've gotten is the Steam key for the base game on Humble Bundle.
Nevermind, I just read their KS update from September and apparently they are still working out fulfilling both physical rewards and digital rewards.
This seems to have been quite the task for Red Thread. I kind of wish they had reached the Longest Journey Home tier so that they would've been committed to actually telling April's story.
After re-playing Dreamfall The Longest Journey yesterday, I seriously became so frustrated that the game ended like that with such a shitty and nonsensical ending (and
April's death
). And since I've been holding off on playing Chapters, I sure hope my frustration after such a long time of waiting and backing the Kickstarter as well will finally be lessened. If the threads won't be tied up and instead I'll have to endure 5 chapters with time spent on completely new characters while the old threads remain unresolved, I'm not even sure what to do with myself :lol
I seriously hope they do TLJH, that was one of my primary hopes with Chapters (at least in terms of finishing loose threads).
After re-playing Dreamfall The Longest Journey yesterday, I seriously became so frustrated that the game ended like that with such a shitty and nonsensical ending (and
April's death
). And since I've been holding off on playing Chapters, I sure hope my frustration after such a long time of waiting and backing the Kickstarter as well will finally be lessened. If the threads won't be tied up and instead I'll have to endure 5 chapters with time spent on completely new characters while the old threads remain unresolved, I'm not even sure what to do with myself :lol
It does give explanations though, if you are willing to do some mental gymnastics. And it finishes the stories of all characters involved, even if it only sketches out how they got there.
Still, for a story that Tornquist had about a decade to think about, a lot of it felt very ... rash? Like in a movie where they had only one take for all important scenes.
It does give explanations though, if you are willing to do some mental gymnastics. And it finishes the stories of all characters involved, even if it only sketches out how they got there.
Still, for a story that Tornquist had about a decade to think about, a lot of it felt very ... rash? Like in a movie where they had only one take for all important scenes.
I suspect they ran low on budget. Just like "Life is Strange" the decisions you make throughout the game ends up not really mattering. In particular, I never learned of
the boyfriend's betrayal
, but Zoe still knew about it in the ending.
I also found the "Arcadia" sections to be very weak. The characters simply felt too modern, and I found none of them endearing. Typically, it's Arcadia that gets most of the focus towards the end. The Interludes were cute, but Saga becomes
an edgelord and got 0 agency. Hell, she pretty much tells you she's doing her stuff because the writers put it into the script and couldn't be arsed to give her proper motivation.
I swear, after almost a decade and a creative opportunity with Kickstarter funding doesn't make Tornquist finish up all the major loose ends of Dreamfall TLJ, then I don't know what to do with myself. The ending of DF:TLJ was a complete mess and it would sadden me that 1,4 million dollars along with Norwegian governmental support doesn't make it possible for Tornquist to finish a simple narrative.
I suspect they ran low on budget. Just like "Life is Strange" the decisions you make throughout the game ends up not really mattering. In particular, I never learned of
Well, she knew about it in the beginning of the game, in Storytime and then forgot when waking up. Though she didn't "wake up", so much as project her image into the real world, since she is in a laboratory in South Africa. This is so dumb. Then in Chapter 3 or 4, her memories come back (if you want to or not) and she knows about Reza once more. The consequences of his soul being "eaten" by in Dreamfall are totally glossed over though. It's a mess.
I also found the "Arcadia" sections to be very weak. The characters simply felt too modern, and I found none of them endearing. Typically, it's Arcadia that gets most of the focus towards the end.
That didn't bother me. Arcadia is not supposed to be old Stark, it's just a totally different world. The influx of technology through the Azadi is meant to show that the Divide is getting fucked up, and that is only resolved in the future (When "Starkadia" comes about)
an edgelord and got 0 agency. Hell, she pretty much tells you she's doing her stuff because the writers put it into the script and couldn't be arsed to give her proper motivation.
I understand though, why he put Saga in the game, to resolve the larger fate of April. Actually, the puzzle how she will "save the world, and end it" from TLJ. The problem is just that Dreamfall Chapters is not Sagas story. She doesn't fit in, AT ALL. It boggles my mind that Ragnar didn't get that, when he wrote out the story. She is like a tumor that is killing the narrative.
Well, she knew about it in the beginning of the game, in Storytime and then forgot when waking up. Though she didn't "wake up", so much as project her image into the real world, since she is in a laboratory in South Africa. This is so dumb. Then in Chapter 3 or 4, her memories come back (if you want to or not) and she knows about Reza once more. The consequences of his soul being "eaten" by in Dreamfall are totally glossed over though. It's a mess.
True, but Arcadia is a very different setting than the modern world. It's like how the wizards in Harry Potter has their own culture and lingo. The characters basically behaving like us in costumes just didn't feel right.
Woah, dude. That is, IMO, the single worst insult you could ever give to any game's ending.
True, but Arcadia is a very different setting than the modern world. It's like how the wizards in Harry Potter has their own culture and lingo. The characters basically behaving like us in costumes just didn't feel right.
That is nicely explained in TLJ. They speak a magical language, so to a modern Stark audience, it sounds overly familiar. The old games were so incredibly clever with their lore. It is sad that Chapters rarely lives up to that, in the new stuff that it introduces. Even the new political things in Chapter 1 and 2 feel so childish and simplistic.
Also, the ending in Dreamfall to me is the worst, because it just stops. Its not even a bad ending, it is the absence of an ending. Like ending on a commercial break. FOR. 10. YEARS.
Finally managed to finish this game after waiting awhile. While it has some definite flaws, I quite enjoyed the game overall. It has some interesting locations, characters, and good dialog at times. It's unfortunate this is the last we'll see of the universe.
Finally managed to finish this game after waiting awhile. While it has some definite flaws, I quite enjoyed the game overall. It has some interesting locations, characters, and good dialog at times. It's unfortunate this is the last we'll see of the universe.
Funny you bumped this, I just finished Dreamfall:TLJ today for the second time. I've been waiting to play Chapters until the final update comes out later this month. I really just want some closure for the characters as Zoe is so likeable in Dreamfall:TLJ.
Funny you bumped this, I just finished Dreamfall:TLJ today for the second time. I've been waiting to play Chapters until the final update comes out later this month. I really just want some closure for the characters as Zoe is so likeable in Dreamfall:TLJ.
Funny you bumped this, I just finished Dreamfall:TLJ today for the second time. I've been waiting to play Chapters until the final update comes out later this month. I really just want some closure for the characters as Zoe is so likeable in Dreamfall:TLJ.
Yeah, I'm a big fan of the series but put off playing all of the episodes for awhile. Naturally, I go ahead and read that the Final Cut is coming right after I finish
This might be the most mismanaged Kickstarter that I've backed. No communication, a lack of support and complete silence for PC backers, under-delivery on physical goods, delay after delay, and multiple humble bundles.
They executed well with the game itself I guess, all things considered, but the management and administration have been pretty underwhelming, imo.
Some spoiler thoughts on the overall game/story now that I've finished it.
The episodic structure was probably a mistake. In retrospect, it feels like the story doesn't really get going until episode 3 or 4, especially for Zoe.
I didn't have any major issues with where the story went and I was mostly satisfied with the resolution of all the hanging threads from Dreamfall. The one real sticking point I had, predictably, was Saga and her role in the story. I didn't mind the character, but for someone we spend a LOT of time with over the course of the game, we end up finding out nothing about who her parents are, where her powers come from, where this very specific prophecy about Kian came from, and how she ended up tasked with fulfilling it. Pretty much all of her development that actually relates to the larger story, takes place offscreen between episodes 4 and 5.
Loved the voice performances throughout. Zoe and Kian were both outstanding, and it's always a treat to hear Dave Fennoy even though the character he played was a bit of a turd IMO.
Also, after spending this entire saga preventing the unification of Stark and Arcadia, you find out, through an optional prompt in the epilogue, that they eventually end up unifying anyway?? That seems like kind of a big deal. Maybe this was what The Longest Journey Home would have been about?
