Dreamfall Chapters Book One: Reborn

If you like this kind of episodic game, it's a great choice. Decisions and some innovative features lead the way to the first chapter worth checking out.

Dreamfall Chapters – Episode 1 does an excellent job of laying the groundwork for what is to be sure to be a helluva journey.

Reborn is a promising start for the new entry in the Dreamfall saga. The story is as ambitious as it has always been in the series and Europolis is a gorgeous location to explore. Hopefully he remaining episodes will continue (and end!) the story in a satisfying way. [Dec 2014]

The opening chapter provides a strong foundation on which to build an engaging (and hopefully not too regressive) adventure game experience.

On the whole the team at Red Thread Games has done an incredible job updating The Longest Journey for the modern era.

I don’t like dividing the games into the episodes. But if there is no other way to get it funded let's take it as a necessary evil. The first part is a promise of the unique experience with well-written heroes. [Issue#247]

It’s a series of small, deliberate steps that efficiently clears the way for longer, more exciting strides.

AAA level writing, voice-acting and storytelling, Chapters was lovingly made for the Dreamers, the rabid fans awaiting for the continuation of Zoe's story ever since '06. In spite of the obvious limitations of the Unity engine, the game, much like it's predecessors, transcends the medium's limitations in order to deliver the next chapter in one of interactive fiction's most poignant sagas. The uninitiated will be completely mystified and off-put, but the original Dreamers, the ones who helped fund Chapters, are in for the ride of their lives.

The crux of the episode format escapes: I have no conception of how far-reaching the consequences of my decisions will be.

The cast is interesting and memorable and the various settings are well realized, but it feels that more can be done with all of these elements that will likely be presented in future releases, which I'm keen to play.

The first chapter offers a story beautifully written, a complex world and characters that feel human. In the end, however, nothing really happens, and true conflicts are only foreshadowed.

I'm confused about Dreamfall Chapters. The game has a very impressive story and strong characters. But... Is Dreamfall Chapters really an adventure game or, just a cinematic experience? Book Two needs more puzzles and adventure features.

The first episode's flat narrative structure may not be entirely satisfying, but Dreamfall Chapters' diverse and endearing cast, nuggets of political and personal tensions, and glimmers of the poignancy that made the previous Longest Journey games so memorable make me hopeful for the futures of Stark, Arcadia, and the Dreamtime, wherever those places might take me.

Book One is a tiny taste of what's coming. It's delectably delicious and I'd love to rate it higher, but at this point, it's hard to say whether Dreamfall Chapters will be filling and satisfying - or if it'll leave us feeling a little empty.

Frustrating interface and some instability aside, a return to these magical, and bleak, worlds is what we've been waiting for. [Dec 2014, p.60]

If anything, it may feel a little low-key in comparison to the epic fantasy and sci-fi that we know the series contains. It feels like it’s playing things a little safe and is here just to reacquaint us with the world(s), with minimal progression and a lot of scene setting. Your enjoyment will really depend on how invested you already are.

Red Thread Games obviously looks up to Telltale, but the first episode of Dreamfall Chapters lacks pace and excitement associated with The Walking Dead. [13/2014, p.78]

If you’re one of the eager fans who cannot wait to dive back into this world, the impression that this inaugural episode will appease your worries, rekindle an old flame, and inspire confidence in the game to come.

Reborn is a beautiful but short-lived experience that continues building this interesting universe while introducing more questions than it answers.

The beautiful design of the game and the interesting way that it handles characterisation and narrative has me looking forward to seeing Book Two with baited breath.

A good start for a new adventure, Book One: Reborn is good but will leave you just wanting for more and wondering if the subsequent chapters will live up to its good foundation.

Technically speaking Dreamfall Chapters: The Longest Journey is a sloppy product that is not episodic due to creative reasons, but because of the budget and the development team. Ragnar Tornquist is able to create worlds and characters in a brilliant, mature way. That brilliant writing is actually what saves this first chapter.

Judged on its own, Dreamfall Chapters - Book One: Reborn falls flat, and will confuse series newcomers.

There are preconditions for a great adventure, especially considering the environments, characters and great care in the dialogues, but for now we have to be satisfied with very little, and even a nice slimming to the graphics engine would be appreciated.

Phenomenal atmosphere but dull gameplay and confusing plot. That is the first episode of Dreamfall Chapters. It is impossible to restart such a grand saga in just five hours.

For now we have to settle for a first weak chapter, not without merits (dialogues, characters, settings) but even more full of flaws, including adventurous elements almost entirely absent, a bit of boredom and a confused and botched first part.

An impenetrable start for non-fans, but there’s enough potential here to hope that subsequent episodes make this a dream everyone can share in.