Dreamfall Chapters Book One: Reborn

 PC
Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 29 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 29
  3. Negative: 0 out of 29
  1. Multiplayer.it
    Mar 22, 2015
    73
    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.
  2. Merlin'in Kazanı (Turkey)
    Mar 22, 2015
    72
    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.
  3. GameSpot
    Mar 22, 2015
    70
    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.
  5. IncGamers
    Mar 22, 2015
    70
    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.
  6. PC PowerPlay
    Mar 22, 2015
    70
    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]
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  7. The Digital Fix
    Mar 22, 2015
    70
    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.
  8. CD-Action
    Mar 22, 2015
    70
    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]
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  9. CGMagazine
    Mar 22, 2015
    70
    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.
  10. DarkStation
    Mar 22, 2015
    70
    Reborn is a beautiful but short-lived experience that continues building this interesting universe while introducing more questions than it answers.
  11. Digitally Downloaded
    Mar 22, 2015
    70
    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.
  12. Eurogamer Italy
    Mar 22, 2015
    70
    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.
  13. InsideGamer.nl
    Mar 22, 2015
    67
    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.
  14. IGN
    Mar 22, 2015
    65
    Judged on its own, Dreamfall Chapters - Book One: Reborn falls flat, and will confuse series newcomers.
  15. SpazioGames
    Mar 22, 2015
    65
    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.
  16. Games.cz
    Mar 22, 2015
    60
    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.
  17. IGN Italia
    Mar 22, 2015
    60
    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.
  18. Metro GameCentral
    Mar 22, 2015
    60
    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.
  19. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Mar 22, 2015
    60
    Of course, as with any episodic game, it is difficult to predict where do plot twists lead or how will we perceive this adventure once we’ve seen it in its entirety. But right now it’s very difficult to believe that this is Dreamfall we’ve been looking forward to for the last eight years. [Dec 2014, p.72]
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User Reviews

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User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 60 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 39 out of 60
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 60
  3. Negative: 13 out of 60
  1. JAGUAR10
    Jun 13, 2015
    1
    Do not believe all the 10's this game was given. They are mostly from 'Kool-aid' drinking fans who are basing their rating on so desperatelyDo not believe all the 10's this game was given. They are mostly from 'Kool-aid' drinking fans who are basing their rating on so desperately wanting this game to be good but they are not living in reality. I'm wondering how much they were paid to give it 10's? I was leery of this game from the start due to my admitted grudge against Ragnar Tornquist for not making a sequel to Dreamfall in a timely manner, his constant egotism, his dropping enticing hints over the last 9 years, his making The Lost World before starting on Dreamfall Chapters, etc. etc. etc. When Chapters came out I refused to buy it - instead I watched a famous You Tube player play it first to see if it was any good (it's pretty bad when you can get just as much out a game by watching someone else play it). I was bored to death - it was way too political, socialistic, communistic and anti-American (they've turned Crow into a ridiculous, rootin-tootin' cowboy advertisement). The joy of TLJ was it's humor and humorous situations and characters - I did not laugh once watching this chapter being played. Dreamfall combined humor with a dark and suspenseful story and then left us hanging for 9 years. If the rest of Chapters is anything like the first one it's doomed to failure. Tornquist has not lived up to his fomer glory and has left it too late. He has also turned way too political which is off-putting in an International game. Extremely disappointed but expected.… Full Review »
  2. starckar
    Jun 19, 2015
    4
    Sadly, the developer is encouraging fans to post preferably positive reviews in order to boost up sales. I loved the prequels as much as I'mSadly, the developer is encouraging fans to post preferably positive reviews in order to boost up sales. I loved the prequels as much as I'm dissapointed with what this game has become. For the game itself, the development process, *the developer's attitude*, the change of publishing format from what was originally stated in the kickstarter, and I can go on, and on, and on.… Full Review »
  3. Vamphaery
    Mar 22, 2015
    7
    I won’t elaborate upon the various ways in which the original The Longest Journey touched my life such that it wormed its way into aI won’t elaborate upon the various ways in which the original The Longest Journey touched my life such that it wormed its way into a permanent, rare part of my heart I reserve for very few games. Or how its followup, Dreamfall, left me hanging on the edge of a cliff with one of my favorite video game characters of all time (April Ryan) at the conclusion of its equally memorable tale.

    But sufficed to say, when I learned that this series was receiving the sequel treatment from a team including the original creators funded by Kickstarter, I leapt at the chance to support the survival of a story I didn’t want to see vanish into the ether of gaming history.

    Does the game live up to the legacy of the first two cult classics? Is it the triumphant return of the well written, endearing characters we know and love? Well... for the most part, I have to say yes. Yes it does, and yes it is. But, alas, it’s not an unequivocal affirmative.

    Like Dreamfall before it, DFC is a third person, story-driven adventure with puzzle elements, albeit sans the action segments this time around. (Thankfully. I never liked them personally.) As promised during development, it does strike an interesting balance between the adventure sensibility of Dreamfall, and the point and click feel of The Longest Journey.

    The visuals range from beautiful and dream-like, to confusingly lit. (Especially in Europolis. Talk about overdoing the lens flares. Wow.) But it all contributes to a wonderful feel that is immediately evocative of Stark in The Longest Journey. Characters are pleasingly detailed, shiny, and stylized.

    Sound design is effective, though there are some instances of a distant sound cutting off sooner than it seems like it should, rather than gently fading out with distance. The music, however, is goose bump inducingly fantastic. Moving and atmospheric in the extreme, I was perhaps most impressed with this aspect of the game’s production. Poole et al have done a riveting job of scoring this world and its story.

    Gameplay consists of using the aforementioned context sensitive icon interactions to solve puzzles, traverse environments, and advance the story. Longtime fans of the series will be pleased to know I found the writing and characterization to be extremely true to the tones and complexities of the previous entries. Zoë and Kian, if anything, feel even more human, vulnerable, and conflicted than in Dreamfall.

    The puzzles you must solve to advance through these areas and progress through the part of the story told in this book are deceptively simple once solved, but I got stuck more than once experimenting with multiple avenues before succeeding. This pads out the duration somewhat, and also feels a lot like The Longest Journey, which I definitely like.

    All of this combined to make me feel secure in the belief that the story, once complete, will be both true to the original games’ legacies, and engaging enough to take me to interesting territory psychologically and thematically.

    This brings me to the sole major criticism I have of Book One: its insubstantial content. There are a grand total of four truly distinct areas in the game, with only one of them being large and fully explorable. You spend very little time in all but one of said locales. My first playthrough took me 6 hours. Not horrible, considering that there are AAA games which last that long. No, the problem is not the price, or the value. The issue is how brief and empty that 6 hours felt, subjectively.

    I can honestly attest that the majority of those hours were spent walking, backtracking, and stumped by one or two particularly inscrutable puzzles. Were the beautiful façade that is the world of DFC as interactive as it is atmospheric, I might not have minded. As it stands though, beyond the key characters and hot spots, there's not much to see and do in Europolis. It's beautiful, big, and well... quite empty feeling.

    Worse still, very little of the story is advanced. Just when I was beginning to become truly intrigued and immersed... that was it. To Be Continued. The cut off point felt quite unnatural and poorly paced in my opinion as well. Less of a self contained beginning-middle-end cycle and more of a "beginning, middle, and... uh... that's it?"

    Despite these criticisms, in actuality I love the game. It is a return to a world and to characters that I have loved, and missed. It oozes mood, charm, and humor. Characters have inner worlds and are multifaceted, nuanced, fully developed people for the most part. Something I have bitterly missed since the first two games, and something far too rare even today in digital narratives. The music is spine tingling. The tone and general direction of the story feels in every way like it will fit into the larger mythos and texture of the saga, and it is in many ways like coming home.

    That's worth some shortcomings and growing pains if you're a TLJ/DF fan.

    Balance be with you.    … Full Review »
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