There is this... not a genre, nor a trope, but a feel perhaps, that I default to calling the ~Grand Adventure~. The Grand Adventure is your classic story of a young, plucky no-one important soon finding themselves in the middle of something larger than life, discovering the whole vast world beyond their imagination and setting on a quest that takes them from one end of the realm to the other, in the process becoming Someone. It's the classic hero's journey tale that most stories in the world tell in their own words, but the difference between them and a Grand Adventure lies in a certain kind of je ne sais quoi atmosphere of it all. That the heroism is almost incidental to the journey of self-discovery and how you see the world that the protagonist and their confidants take in the process of quite literally travelling from one corner of the world to the other and beyond. I, primarily, associate this with the fantasy genre: Lord of the Rings is an obvious pick here, but my favourite example of that feel being nailed perfectly is Final Fantasy 9. That, and The Longest Journey.
The Longest Journey is the tale of the young art student April Ryan who discovers not only that beyond her year 2200-something Earth lies the fantasy realm of Arcadia, but that these two worlds used to be the one and the same before being split in half and that she has a prophesied role to play in ensuring that the balance between the two remains in place while a secretive organisation moves to tilt the game in their favour. It is, also, is a wonderfully well crafted Grand Adventure. April's haphazard search to understand why all these weird things are happening around her soon opens up to an epic tale that takes her from cyberpunk hellscapes to underwater cities and space stations to enchanted castles, and the more you spend time in the twin worlds the more grippingly fascinating they become. Both Stark (our world) and Arcadia are beautifully designed and rich in detail, and the major characters in them are excellently written (and often also brilliantly acted though the standard slips randomly here and there). April herself is a main character who you latch onto almost immediately, and the change in her her demeanour and personality over the chapters due to everything she's seen and heard feels realistic and engaging; she also keeps a very wordy journal which ranges from quaint attempts at comedy to genuinely adding new shades to what April experiences. Tørnquist's writing and world building knows when to introduce elements with a lighter touch and when things need to be focused on with more serious intent, and the balance (and the world is indeed so much about Balance) is executed so well that whatever tone the game takes, it feels like the right one.
The Longest Journey was already familiar to me and what I especially loved playing it through this time around is that its strengths aren't just in rose-tinted nostalgia. The last time I replayed The Longest Journey was back when I was still installing the game from CD-ROMs (it was a four disc game!), though this time I opted for a simple GOG download instead as - coincidentally - the game happened to be on sale at the time (it was fate!). So it has been a while and in the eons between I had either forgotten more than I thought I had, or I simply didn't get all the nuances when I was younger - but whatever the case, I felt like the story and the world felt even deeper and more nuanced this tiem around. You begin to care about the places and the characters so much that you just want to spend more time with the game, and though not everything has perhaps aged perfectly (the game lightly tackles sexism on account of April's gender in a very masculine world, but it's handled with all the nuance of an adult male videogame writer imagining how his fantasy witty young female videogame protagonist would clap back at such things) the strengths more than make up for it. Arcadia in particular is a joy to learn more about and there's a tangible passion in how its different cultures, traditions and extended histories are portrayed - and how the game very nicely avoids forcefeeding it all so that the discovery feels genuine and not like an exposition dump.
Outside its narrative and design, The Longest Journey is a click 'n' point adventure game and it's mostly a really well done one. It suffers from a few obtuse puzzles, most infamously the inflatable duck puzzle which has a Reputation with the fans of the genre (and which the sequels enjoy lightly ripping into), and there's a few puzzles where a relatively simple task is made a lot trickier to decipher thanks to how they're presented moreso because of what the ask actually is - but generally speaking there's a logic to what the game tries to coax the player to go through and there's some enjoyable Checkov's Gunning going around in both the world and the items the player carries (some which can take up space in the player's endless inventory for several chapters - make sure you hold onto that wholly optional plastic leaf from chapter 1 until you find a suitable garden patch...) which feel particularly satisfying to tackle when the time comes. The only real grumbles I have primarily come from where it's clear the original vision had to be streamlined in order to ship the game in time: when you finally stumble onto the much foreshadowed underwater city you're restricted to a single room and a few exterior locations despite the vast towers visible in the horizon, and it feels genuinely awkward how April cracks the long-forgotten secret history of the city's denizens by simply removing some seaweed from a cavern couple of minutes away from the city walls. Likewise, after spending so much time getting two of the macguffins she needs, the game literally hands her the remaining two in the space of ten minutes. Though April's journal acknowledges it as well (in what feels like a mea culpa from the writers), it takes away from the epic sense of adventure that the game is otherwise so good at delivering.
But in the wider sense those are very minor qualms which the player easily forgets once the next big part of the plot kicks in, and the achingly bittersweet ending closes off the game in such a poignant way that it sticks with you and removes any memory of what other complaints you might have had. The only real bother I had during my playthrough was the weird glitch where the game wouldn't always recognise my mouse clicks when trying to use the interaction menu (my poor mouse L1 button must feel hammered). Spending a few days again with this game overall felt like seeing an old friend again for the first time in years, still instantly familiar yet intriguingly changed. I was in love with this world again.
The Longest Journey is the tale of the young art student April Ryan who discovers not only that beyond her year 2200-something Earth lies the fantasy realm of Arcadia, but that these two worlds used to be the one and the same before being split in half and that she has a prophesied role to play in ensuring that the balance between the two remains in place while a secretive organisation moves to tilt the game in their favour. It is, also, is a wonderfully well crafted Grand Adventure. April's haphazard search to understand why all these weird things are happening around her soon opens up to an epic tale that takes her from cyberpunk hellscapes to underwater cities and space stations to enchanted castles, and the more you spend time in the twin worlds the more grippingly fascinating they become. Both Stark (our world) and Arcadia are beautifully designed and rich in detail, and the major characters in them are excellently written (and often also brilliantly acted though the standard slips randomly here and there). April herself is a main character who you latch onto almost immediately, and the change in her her demeanour and personality over the chapters due to everything she's seen and heard feels realistic and engaging; she also keeps a very wordy journal which ranges from quaint attempts at comedy to genuinely adding new shades to what April experiences. Tørnquist's writing and world building knows when to introduce elements with a lighter touch and when things need to be focused on with more serious intent, and the balance (and the world is indeed so much about Balance) is executed so well that whatever tone the game takes, it feels like the right one.
The Longest Journey was already familiar to me and what I especially loved playing it through this time around is that its strengths aren't just in rose-tinted nostalgia. The last time I replayed The Longest Journey was back when I was still installing the game from CD-ROMs (it was a four disc game!), though this time I opted for a simple GOG download instead as - coincidentally - the game happened to be on sale at the time (it was fate!). So it has been a while and in the eons between I had either forgotten more than I thought I had, or I simply didn't get all the nuances when I was younger - but whatever the case, I felt like the story and the world felt even deeper and more nuanced this tiem around. You begin to care about the places and the characters so much that you just want to spend more time with the game, and though not everything has perhaps aged perfectly (the game lightly tackles sexism on account of April's gender in a very masculine world, but it's handled with all the nuance of an adult male videogame writer imagining how his fantasy witty young female videogame protagonist would clap back at such things) the strengths more than make up for it. Arcadia in particular is a joy to learn more about and there's a tangible passion in how its different cultures, traditions and extended histories are portrayed - and how the game very nicely avoids forcefeeding it all so that the discovery feels genuine and not like an exposition dump.
Outside its narrative and design, The Longest Journey is a click 'n' point adventure game and it's mostly a really well done one. It suffers from a few obtuse puzzles, most infamously the inflatable duck puzzle which has a Reputation with the fans of the genre (and which the sequels enjoy lightly ripping into), and there's a few puzzles where a relatively simple task is made a lot trickier to decipher thanks to how they're presented moreso because of what the ask actually is - but generally speaking there's a logic to what the game tries to coax the player to go through and there's some enjoyable Checkov's Gunning going around in both the world and the items the player carries (some which can take up space in the player's endless inventory for several chapters - make sure you hold onto that wholly optional plastic leaf from chapter 1 until you find a suitable garden patch...) which feel particularly satisfying to tackle when the time comes. The only real grumbles I have primarily come from where it's clear the original vision had to be streamlined in order to ship the game in time: when you finally stumble onto the much foreshadowed underwater city you're restricted to a single room and a few exterior locations despite the vast towers visible in the horizon, and it feels genuinely awkward how April cracks the long-forgotten secret history of the city's denizens by simply removing some seaweed from a cavern couple of minutes away from the city walls. Likewise, after spending so much time getting two of the macguffins she needs, the game literally hands her the remaining two in the space of ten minutes. Though April's journal acknowledges it as well (in what feels like a mea culpa from the writers), it takes away from the epic sense of adventure that the game is otherwise so good at delivering.
But in the wider sense those are very minor qualms which the player easily forgets once the next big part of the plot kicks in, and the achingly bittersweet ending closes off the game in such a poignant way that it sticks with you and removes any memory of what other complaints you might have had. The only real bother I had during my playthrough was the weird glitch where the game wouldn't always recognise my mouse clicks when trying to use the interaction menu (my poor mouse L1 button must feel hammered). Spending a few days again with this game overall felt like seeing an old friend again for the first time in years, still instantly familiar yet intriguingly changed. I was in love with this world again.
Yet another go at playing through this, and this time it's being done with very little setup difficulty through ScummVM. It looks great with the HD mod, and plays very well.
This game has some pacing problems, and some really obtuse puzzles, not to mention far too much dialogue at points, but, dammit, you know what? I absolutely love it; it's an absolute event of a game and, for better or for worse, really demonstrates what the adventure game genre is capable of
this game FUCKS
I can't believe this came out in 1999.
Ragnar Tørnquist directed a marvellous game. The world of The Longest Journey is one the most detailed and rich I have ever experienced. It definitely stands out.
I first played and completed this game when I was around 9 years old. I was stunned by how well this game aged. Check it out, please
Ragnar Tørnquist directed a marvellous game. The world of The Longest Journey is one the most detailed and rich I have ever experienced. It definitely stands out.
I first played and completed this game when I was around 9 years old. I was stunned by how well this game aged. Check it out, please
Gave up during the second chapter. The story was only mildly interesting up to that point and the puzzles were obnoxious even for point-and-click adventure game standards.
It's a great epic and ambitious story. On the other hand it is an adventure game, so it's just not for me like that.
This review contains spoilers
Очень плохая игра.
Начну с технической части. Запустить «The Longest Journey» на современном железе очень тяжело. С помощью гайдов я смог запустить её только с 3-й попытки, при помощи каких-то фиксов из 2019-го года. И всё равно выглядит она всрато: никакого широкоформатного изображения, только 4:3, только хардкор. Рисованые задники воображение не поражают, а трехмерные персонажи наоборот — поражают своим уродством. Я понимаю, что игра старая, но в шутерах того времени модели симпатичнее, а тут квест.
Но бог с ней с графикой. В «The Longest Journey» очень больно играть. Первые 3 главы — это форменное издевательство над игроком. Загадки в них сделаны по самому убогому принципу на свете — «угадай, что задумал геймдизайнер». Я хреново играю в квесты, но даже на старых форумах, где игру вспоминают исключительно с любовью, чуть ли не каждое сообщение заканчивают в духе «...но как же я тут мучался». Поэтому на втором часу я сдался и читал прохождения, даже не пытаясь решать загадки самостоятельно.
Моя «любимая» загадка — как достать ключ с путей в метро. Нужно скомбинировать зажим, верёвку и резиновую уточку — получится удочка(!) и ей можно будет достать ключ. Естественно, чтобы получить каждый из этих предметов придётся совершать такие же «логичные» действия. Чтобы получить уточку и веревку нужно: выглянуть в окно в комнате Эйприл (самое начало), взять веревку, кинуть булку (которую надо взять в кафе) чайке, тогда около кафе (куда мы ходили за булкой) застрянет уточка. А зажим мы получаем если решим головоломку с переключателями у выхода из пансионата. А чтобы получить возможность(!) решить эту головоломку нужно получить золотое кольцо, которым нужно замкнуть оборванные провода. Чтобы получить кольцо нужно взять записку с доски объявления и отдать её хозяйке пансионата, которая стоит рядом. Но если просто взять записку, то ничего не получится. Записку надо взять и обязательно посмотреть на неё в инвентаре, хотя когда мы видим её на доске, то Эйприл её читает!
Наверняка многие списывают это на «олдскул и харкорные загадки», но игра не даёт вообще никаких подсказок, а иногда ещё и издевается, как с запиской: эпизоды, когда логичные действия не происходят, пока ты как-то правильно по мнению создателей не воспроизведешь последовательность действий редки, но возникаю внезапно на протяжении всей игры. А вишенкой выступает ужасный пиксельхантинг: в местных задниках бывает сложно попадать в нужные объекты даже когда знаешь куда нажимать.
Ну ладно, я бы накинул бал за обещанную в рецензиях и отзывах «потрясающую» историю... Но и это враньё. Есть Эйприл, студентка-художница 18-ти лет, которая живет в Старке — мире 22-го века. Её мучают кошмары с драконами, магией и всем таким. Есть Кортес — бомжеватый мужичок, который общается туманными намёками и обещает всё объяснить. По итогу в первых 3-х главах не объясняют ничего. Даже не завлекают. А в 4-й главе мы попадаем в Аркадию — неопределенно фэнтезийный мир с магией. Там нас внезапно начинают грузить лором. Лор при этом не то чтобы стройный и прописанный — больше похоже на околографоманскую солянку из всего, что кажется увлекательным 14-ти летнему подростку.
Эйприл оказывается избранной (конечно!), которая должна соединить (или наоборот — не дать обратно соединить, я запутался в местной графомании) Аркадию и Старк — давно разделенные миры. Для этого мы должны отыскать братьев драконов, Стража, башню Стража и 4 части ключа от Башни стража.
Тут сценарист уходит в особо лютый трип. Игра начинает грузить совершенно безумным количеством лора. Нас ожидают бесконечные и однообразные водянистые монологи чуть ли не от каждого встречного о драконах, Балансе, Страже, подводных людях, летающих людях, хранителях Баланса, противниках Баланса и прочей херне, обязательно с Большой Буквы. С этого момента загадки становятся менее комплексными, упрощаются, но всё равно иногда попадаются задачки, которые без гайда хрен пройдёшь.
Персонажи... Ну как персонажи: большинство встречающихся нам существ — говорящие справочники, а не герои. Естественно, запоминается Эйприл. Но она больше всего напомнила мне героиню из типичной русской юмористической фантастики: не особо умная Мэри Сью, которая не к месту несмешно шутит. В местном дневничке, где нам кратко записывают сюжетные повороты, Эйприл через предложение ноет в духе «ой, мамочки, да что ж такое-то, а я ведь и не хотела ничего такого, но видимо надо, раз я избранная!»
Расхваленный Ворон — единственное светлое пятно, но и он всего лишь типичный комедийный сайдкик. К тому же он появляется только в 5-й, кажется, главе, и, как и все здесь, страдает от излишней многословности. Друзья Эйприл есть в первых главах, нам о них ничего не сообщают, кроме того, что они друзья, а ближе к финалу подругу Эйприл подстреливают — так себе попытка нагнать драмы. Даже злодей, которого периодически упоминают в диалогах, появляется практически в финале на полторы сцены, произносит парочку предельно клишированных (и типично для этой игры невнятно-водянистых) речей и падает в пропасть в заставке.
В общем история получилась такая же херовая, как и игра. Общий тон серьёзный, но настолько нелогичные загадки хоть как-то оправданы, по-моему, только в абсурдно-комедийных квестах.
В комментариях самый частый отзыв это «чудесная сказка», но и это неправда. Старк — мир технологий (игра вообще заканчивается где-то в космосе, в черной дыре), которым правят корпорации, поэтому тут постоянно встречаются типичные подколки о злых капиталистах. Просто чтобы были вставлены лесбиянки, есть персонаж, который шутит об изнасилованиях и общается через «fuck».
В противовес этому Аркадия — и вправду тянет на сказку. Но там столько намешано! Избранные, рыбо-люди, люди-кроты, разумные деревяшки, крабы, маги в летающих замках, что-то типа Бабы-Яги... Наверняка я что-то забыл. В любом случае, оба мира состоят из клише и штампов и вместе не складываются во что-то оригинальное.
Короче, интернет опять наобещал мне шедевр, а получил я — майонезу Торнквиста.
Начну с технической части. Запустить «The Longest Journey» на современном железе очень тяжело. С помощью гайдов я смог запустить её только с 3-й попытки, при помощи каких-то фиксов из 2019-го года. И всё равно выглядит она всрато: никакого широкоформатного изображения, только 4:3, только хардкор. Рисованые задники воображение не поражают, а трехмерные персонажи наоборот — поражают своим уродством. Я понимаю, что игра старая, но в шутерах того времени модели симпатичнее, а тут квест.
Но бог с ней с графикой. В «The Longest Journey» очень больно играть. Первые 3 главы — это форменное издевательство над игроком. Загадки в них сделаны по самому убогому принципу на свете — «угадай, что задумал геймдизайнер». Я хреново играю в квесты, но даже на старых форумах, где игру вспоминают исключительно с любовью, чуть ли не каждое сообщение заканчивают в духе «...но как же я тут мучался». Поэтому на втором часу я сдался и читал прохождения, даже не пытаясь решать загадки самостоятельно.
Моя «любимая» загадка — как достать ключ с путей в метро. Нужно скомбинировать зажим, верёвку и резиновую уточку — получится удочка(!) и ей можно будет достать ключ. Естественно, чтобы получить каждый из этих предметов придётся совершать такие же «логичные» действия. Чтобы получить уточку и веревку нужно: выглянуть в окно в комнате Эйприл (самое начало), взять веревку, кинуть булку (которую надо взять в кафе) чайке, тогда около кафе (куда мы ходили за булкой) застрянет уточка. А зажим мы получаем если решим головоломку с переключателями у выхода из пансионата. А чтобы получить возможность(!) решить эту головоломку нужно получить золотое кольцо, которым нужно замкнуть оборванные провода. Чтобы получить кольцо нужно взять записку с доски объявления и отдать её хозяйке пансионата, которая стоит рядом. Но если просто взять записку, то ничего не получится. Записку надо взять и обязательно посмотреть на неё в инвентаре, хотя когда мы видим её на доске, то Эйприл её читает!
Наверняка многие списывают это на «олдскул и харкорные загадки», но игра не даёт вообще никаких подсказок, а иногда ещё и издевается, как с запиской: эпизоды, когда логичные действия не происходят, пока ты как-то правильно по мнению создателей не воспроизведешь последовательность действий редки, но возникаю внезапно на протяжении всей игры. А вишенкой выступает ужасный пиксельхантинг: в местных задниках бывает сложно попадать в нужные объекты даже когда знаешь куда нажимать.
Ну ладно, я бы накинул бал за обещанную в рецензиях и отзывах «потрясающую» историю... Но и это враньё. Есть Эйприл, студентка-художница 18-ти лет, которая живет в Старке — мире 22-го века. Её мучают кошмары с драконами, магией и всем таким. Есть Кортес — бомжеватый мужичок, который общается туманными намёками и обещает всё объяснить. По итогу в первых 3-х главах не объясняют ничего. Даже не завлекают. А в 4-й главе мы попадаем в Аркадию — неопределенно фэнтезийный мир с магией. Там нас внезапно начинают грузить лором. Лор при этом не то чтобы стройный и прописанный — больше похоже на околографоманскую солянку из всего, что кажется увлекательным 14-ти летнему подростку.
Эйприл оказывается избранной (конечно!), которая должна соединить (или наоборот — не дать обратно соединить, я запутался в местной графомании) Аркадию и Старк — давно разделенные миры. Для этого мы должны отыскать братьев драконов, Стража, башню Стража и 4 части ключа от Башни стража.
Тут сценарист уходит в особо лютый трип. Игра начинает грузить совершенно безумным количеством лора. Нас ожидают бесконечные и однообразные водянистые монологи чуть ли не от каждого встречного о драконах, Балансе, Страже, подводных людях, летающих людях, хранителях Баланса, противниках Баланса и прочей херне, обязательно с Большой Буквы. С этого момента загадки становятся менее комплексными, упрощаются, но всё равно иногда попадаются задачки, которые без гайда хрен пройдёшь.
Персонажи... Ну как персонажи: большинство встречающихся нам существ — говорящие справочники, а не герои. Естественно, запоминается Эйприл. Но она больше всего напомнила мне героиню из типичной русской юмористической фантастики: не особо умная Мэри Сью, которая не к месту несмешно шутит. В местном дневничке, где нам кратко записывают сюжетные повороты, Эйприл через предложение ноет в духе «ой, мамочки, да что ж такое-то, а я ведь и не хотела ничего такого, но видимо надо, раз я избранная!»
Расхваленный Ворон — единственное светлое пятно, но и он всего лишь типичный комедийный сайдкик. К тому же он появляется только в 5-й, кажется, главе, и, как и все здесь, страдает от излишней многословности. Друзья Эйприл есть в первых главах, нам о них ничего не сообщают, кроме того, что они друзья, а ближе к финалу подругу Эйприл подстреливают — так себе попытка нагнать драмы. Даже злодей, которого периодически упоминают в диалогах, появляется практически в финале на полторы сцены, произносит парочку предельно клишированных (и типично для этой игры невнятно-водянистых) речей и падает в пропасть в заставке.
В общем история получилась такая же херовая, как и игра. Общий тон серьёзный, но настолько нелогичные загадки хоть как-то оправданы, по-моему, только в абсурдно-комедийных квестах.
В комментариях самый частый отзыв это «чудесная сказка», но и это неправда. Старк — мир технологий (игра вообще заканчивается где-то в космосе, в черной дыре), которым правят корпорации, поэтому тут постоянно встречаются типичные подколки о злых капиталистах. Просто чтобы были вставлены лесбиянки, есть персонаж, который шутит об изнасилованиях и общается через «fuck».
В противовес этому Аркадия — и вправду тянет на сказку. Но там столько намешано! Избранные, рыбо-люди, люди-кроты, разумные деревяшки, крабы, маги в летающих замках, что-то типа Бабы-Яги... Наверняка я что-то забыл. В любом случае, оба мира состоят из клише и штампов и вместе не складываются во что-то оригинальное.
Короче, интернет опять наобещал мне шедевр, а получил я — майонезу Торнквиста.
Algunos diálogos son muy bueno, también me gusta cómo critica la sociedad. Pero el final es insuficiente.
Through playing this I learned that I loathe point-and-click games. I needed to use a walkthrough for most of the game so I wouldn't waste time on strange and nonsensical "puzzles." It's a shame because they did their best to run against the grain of mainstream tropes and really spent quality time on the dialogue and character development. If only the story, with such fleshed-out characters, actually went anywhere with resolution. I finished confused and let down, which was strange considering how much I liked April Ryan.
put this on switch or something
Un viaje maravilloso que me llegó en el mejor momento y que siempre tendrá un lugar especial en mi corazón.
One of the most beautiful and well-written games I've played in my life. Genuine tears were streaming down my face when I finished the epilogue. I haven't played many point-and-click adventure games: only the ones by Humongous Entertainment and Sam & Max, so randomly picking up this game that was super cheap during the steam sale and having it be one of the best pieces of media I've experienced in my life was an insanely pleasant surprise.
The Longest Journey, without going into too many spoilers, is a story about April Ryan, and her connection between the two worlds: Stark (the world of science and law) and Arcadia (the world of magic and chaos). Throughout the story, through April, you travel and experience the struggles of abuse, political censorship, and if war can ever truly be "just". You meet strange people, animals, and mystical creatures that help you along your journey to help reconnect the seperated worlds. Every character is so well thought-out and truly personal, it feels like you're properly meeting someone who has gone through so much in life, their skin moist with the sweat of real fears and missed dreams. Something personal to me that I really enjoyed was the crazy amount of strongly written female characters, ranging from our relatable but brave girl protag, to the realistic and openly accepted lesbian couple, to the old women whose tales we must trust more than our own self. I appreciate that the serious times of the game are allowed their moments, while also having many silly moments that know when to be separate. I went in expecting to hate Crow, as an example, but you don't see him too often for him to become annoying, and when you do see him, it feels like a breath of fresh air to hear his dumb, silly banter. The story is set up perfectly, and clearly had a lot of time and love put into it, with it being absolutely perfectly paced, and one of the better examples of using the Chekhov's Gun trope that I can think of.
My compliants are small, and just involve stuff that old point-and-clicks almost always do, such as having a couple confusing puzzles or actions to continue the story, but for a point-and-click as long and complicated as The Longest Journey I was pretty shocked how few "dead-ends" I ran into. The game also crashed a bit, but I guess it's to be expected when running an older PC game on a modern computer, and I mostly only really had issues with crashes when it didn't mix well with OBS.
The Longest Journey is $3 during the Steam sale - I've already bought and gifted it to 5 of my friends, begging them to put time aside and play this game. It's not going to be a game that touches everyone as emotionally as it touched me, but if you have $3 lying around and 25+ hours to spend, please please give it a chance...
This is the story of the Longest Journey, and I told it in my own words, as told to me by my teacher. As we will continue to tell for many, many years.
5/5
The Longest Journey, without going into too many spoilers, is a story about April Ryan, and her connection between the two worlds: Stark (the world of science and law) and Arcadia (the world of magic and chaos). Throughout the story, through April, you travel and experience the struggles of abuse, political censorship, and if war can ever truly be "just". You meet strange people, animals, and mystical creatures that help you along your journey to help reconnect the seperated worlds. Every character is so well thought-out and truly personal, it feels like you're properly meeting someone who has gone through so much in life, their skin moist with the sweat of real fears and missed dreams. Something personal to me that I really enjoyed was the crazy amount of strongly written female characters, ranging from our relatable but brave girl protag, to the realistic and openly accepted lesbian couple, to the old women whose tales we must trust more than our own self. I appreciate that the serious times of the game are allowed their moments, while also having many silly moments that know when to be separate. I went in expecting to hate Crow, as an example, but you don't see him too often for him to become annoying, and when you do see him, it feels like a breath of fresh air to hear his dumb, silly banter. The story is set up perfectly, and clearly had a lot of time and love put into it, with it being absolutely perfectly paced, and one of the better examples of using the Chekhov's Gun trope that I can think of.
My compliants are small, and just involve stuff that old point-and-clicks almost always do, such as having a couple confusing puzzles or actions to continue the story, but for a point-and-click as long and complicated as The Longest Journey I was pretty shocked how few "dead-ends" I ran into. The game also crashed a bit, but I guess it's to be expected when running an older PC game on a modern computer, and I mostly only really had issues with crashes when it didn't mix well with OBS.
The Longest Journey is $3 during the Steam sale - I've already bought and gifted it to 5 of my friends, begging them to put time aside and play this game. It's not going to be a game that touches everyone as emotionally as it touched me, but if you have $3 lying around and 25+ hours to spend, please please give it a chance...
This is the story of the Longest Journey, and I told it in my own words, as told to me by my teacher. As we will continue to tell for many, many years.
5/5
This game just amazes me. It's such a classic and the CGI, though dated by today's standard, is still impressive for the time it came out. It's an amazing point-and-click with a beautiful and flowing narrative.
I am amazed that it hasn't gotten more recognition over the years and not as well known as some of those classics like Monkey Island and Sam & Max.
My only real issue is that some parts are a little difficult, but the items glow if you have to use them on a certain object or person which can be a real life-saver. I also dislike the fact I had to disable the steam UI to have it work (though that was sometime ago and it might work ok now) so there aren't any chances to take screenshots to show friends some of the awesome scenes and enlightening words of wisdom that are often spoken in this game.
If you're a fan of point-and-click and you for some reason don't have this in your collection then I don't know why you haven't bought this yet. Especially for it's price and what you get.
I am amazed that it hasn't gotten more recognition over the years and not as well known as some of those classics like Monkey Island and Sam & Max.
My only real issue is that some parts are a little difficult, but the items glow if you have to use them on a certain object or person which can be a real life-saver. I also dislike the fact I had to disable the steam UI to have it work (though that was sometime ago and it might work ok now) so there aren't any chances to take screenshots to show friends some of the awesome scenes and enlightening words of wisdom that are often spoken in this game.
If you're a fan of point-and-click and you for some reason don't have this in your collection then I don't know why you haven't bought this yet. Especially for it's price and what you get.
masterpiece<3
This is THE point and click adventure of all times, in my opinion. Story, characters, world building... it's all top notch! I first played it when I was pretty young, around the time it came out and I've played it many times since. It has held up all these years. A true masterpiece.
(Played with The Longest Journey HD mod).
To me, the mark of a truly great 'chosen one' story is when it plays with the audience's expectations of one to such an extent that you're scarcely able to recognize that's what you're seeing unfold, regardless of how tired that trope may seem.
But of course, it also helps to have a rich world filled with dense lore and populated with interesting, compelling characters.
Those hallmarks are exactly what The Longest Journey achieved for me.
It throws a lot of jargon and lore of its world(s) at you throughout its <20 hour playtime, but it does so with a deft hand and forces the narrative focus through the eyes of April Ryan, an 18-year-old art student living in the slums of Neo Venice.
As April, you uncover ancient prophecies, sprawling conspiracies, and dabble in forces beyond rational understanding. All of this is delivered through some truly excellent character writing that all feels sharp and especially ahead of its time for 1999.
The narrative does begin to lose its luster during the final act of the game, ending in a somewhat ambiguous fashion and leaving several important questions unanswered. However, this is absolutely a case of the pros FAR outweighing the cons, as the rest of the story and world you unravel throughout The Longest Journey feel truly unique and special in so many ways.
The puzzles are mostly solid, with the odd case of moon logic here or there, resulting in a hints and tips guide being employed once or twice, but hey, what's a 90s adventure game without it?
The Longest Journey is one I've wanted to take for quite some time now, and I'm glad I finally got around to it and discovered its wonder and majesty for myself. Truly one of Norway's finest exports and I'm excited to explore the rest of the series next!
9/10
To me, the mark of a truly great 'chosen one' story is when it plays with the audience's expectations of one to such an extent that you're scarcely able to recognize that's what you're seeing unfold, regardless of how tired that trope may seem.
But of course, it also helps to have a rich world filled with dense lore and populated with interesting, compelling characters.
Those hallmarks are exactly what The Longest Journey achieved for me.
It throws a lot of jargon and lore of its world(s) at you throughout its <20 hour playtime, but it does so with a deft hand and forces the narrative focus through the eyes of April Ryan, an 18-year-old art student living in the slums of Neo Venice.
As April, you uncover ancient prophecies, sprawling conspiracies, and dabble in forces beyond rational understanding. All of this is delivered through some truly excellent character writing that all feels sharp and especially ahead of its time for 1999.
The narrative does begin to lose its luster during the final act of the game, ending in a somewhat ambiguous fashion and leaving several important questions unanswered. However, this is absolutely a case of the pros FAR outweighing the cons, as the rest of the story and world you unravel throughout The Longest Journey feel truly unique and special in so many ways.
The puzzles are mostly solid, with the odd case of moon logic here or there, resulting in a hints and tips guide being employed once or twice, but hey, what's a 90s adventure game without it?
The Longest Journey is one I've wanted to take for quite some time now, and I'm glad I finally got around to it and discovered its wonder and majesty for myself. Truly one of Norway's finest exports and I'm excited to explore the rest of the series next!
9/10
joya que debe jugarse
It's really long and one hell of a journey. No false advertising detected.
Simpatico juego, me gusto bastante el worldbuilding y el voice acting
A few wonkey puzzles asides. The rich atmosphere, voice acting, lore and story in this point and click adventure is totally worth checking out
Debería revisitarlo, pero lo recuerdo como una excelente experiencia en su día.
Quite simply, one of the best adventure games ever made.
i love this game. this is one of the best adventure games of all time, hands down. it really holds up even 20 years later. it's beautiful and fun and awe-inspiring. if you like adventure games 100% play this.