Some of the last generation's more artsy games have helped the industry further establish games as a medium for storytelling, but games haveSome of the last generation's more artsy games have helped the industry further establish games as a medium for storytelling, but games have been telling amazing stories for decades. The 1999 adventure game The Longest Journey (Funcom) has long been viewed as one of the finest examples of storytelling in a game, but many modern players haven’t had the chance to experience this PC classic. It was recently released for iOS with a pinch of bonus content, and here are our thoughts on how April Ryan’s journey has held up through the years.
The new iOS version has a special introduction narrated by the game’s designer and writer, Ragnar Tornquist, as well as a post-game commentary. Fans who have followed The Longest Journey and its sequels will enjoy reminiscing with the creator about the long-lived impact of this tale. New players who are just meeting the game's heroine, the aforementioned April Ryan, for the first time will begin their journey with the knowledge that they’re in for a special adventure that will hopefully stay with them for longer than the other games on their phones or tablets.
Although it has a new introduction and has been optimized for iOS this is not an HD remake. The graphics still look like a late-90s adventure game, with blocky 3D character models. Even though the graphics are dated, everything else is extraordinary. The writing and performances remain some of the best the game industry has ever seen.
The overall story is a masterful use of the Hero’s Journey format: April Ryan is a young woman who lives in the 23rd Century, but she’s still an ordinary girl, with ordinary problems. She’s broke, struggles with her studies at art school, lives in a tiny room at a boarding house, and has a boss who pays her a pittance. At least that’s who she is for the first few hours of the story...
Soon, April discovers that her science-fiction world is actually just one half of a fragile balance between science and magic, and that there is another world where magic is commonplace while technology doesn’t exist. April is among the very few who can move between them, but she is otherwise a normal person who has no special abilities, so she has to solve her problems with a combination of intelligence, charm, and resourcefulness.
An enigmatic danger threatens both worlds, and April is the only one who can save them. Even as she embarks on this fantastical adventure, she also takes a more personal, emotional journey of her own, and players will grow to love her over the course of this game.
True to its name, The Longest Journey is an epic tale. Most players will take about 45 hours to guide April to the conclusion of her quest. Along the way, she meets fascinating new people at every turn. Many of these characters only appear in a single scene or puzzle, but that didn’t prevent the designers from making them engrossing and/or hilarious. The dialog is filled with wit and characterization. This isn’t a game to be played just to see what happens at the end; it’s a game to be savored from scene to scene as April explores two worlds that are crammed with memorable characters.
The portable nature of iOS will make it tempting to play The Longest Journey with the sound off, using subtitles. This would be a crime as the game is fully voiced by an extraordinary cast. Sarah Hamilton's voice is a major part of what makes April such a captivating heroine, and the game is full of great performances from the supporting cast.
The mechanics are from the heyday of classic adventure games, back when designers took pride in crafting devious puzzles that challenged players to combine objects in unintuitive ways. The standard tactic in the late 90s was to have players thoroughly search every inch of every location, then pick up everything they can and carry it all around for hours, because “surely this inflatable duck will come in handy eventually”.
Players who’ve been through the game before will no doubt remember these torments fondly, but modern players are likely to find it frustrating to encounter puzzles that can only be solved with the help of some object hidden in the background of a little room on the other side of town. With the new iOS adaptation, this problem is made worse due to the tiny screens of older iPhones (although iPads and larger phones won’t have as much trouble).
Although the graphics and certain mechanics are outdated, every other aspect of The Longest Journey has held up exceptionally well. It is highly recommended for all players. Those who enjoy it will have to continue the Journey on their PCs with the sequel, Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, and the currently-running episodic game Dreamfall Chapters.
(Reviewed by: Charles Battersby - AUTOMATON.am)… Expand
