Dreamfall Chapters Book Two: Rebels

 PC
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 75 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 54 out of 75
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 75
  3. Negative: 14 out of 75

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  1. 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'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.
  2. MrSpinkelstein
    Mar 24, 2015
    10
    Absolute 10/10

    This game trumps everything recently done by its contemporaries. Choice and consequence done right? Check. A deep, rich and explorable world? Check. Fantastic and memorably written characters and a gripping plot? Check! A worthy continuation to one of the most celebrated stories in videogaming? You're damn right. My biggest gripe with Telltale games and recently, Life    Absolute 10/10

    This game trumps everything recently done by its contemporaries. Choice and consequence done right? Check. A deep, rich and explorable world? Check. Fantastic and memorably written characters and a gripping plot? Check! A worthy continuation to one of the most celebrated stories in videogaming? You're damn right.

    My biggest gripe with Telltale games and recently, Life Is Strange, is that they provide highly streamlined experiences condensed into a world that the player is only allowed to guess at. Each player is cast into a tiny 'set' in which the narrative takes place largely without allowing the character to explore the world in greater depth. This robs both the players and the world the developers create as they never appear to have a life outside of the condensed experiences that they present. Life Is Strange admittedly learns from this, if only marginally.

    Instead of going down this route, Dreamfall Chapters thrusts the player across two different worlds (one of science and technology, and the other, a world of magic and chaos), with three main characters whose journeys eventually intersect and leaves you, the player, to explore it's world, interact with its denizens and decide how their journeys will play out.

    What the developers have done here is not only expand upon an existing template for storytelling in modern Adventure games, but have quite possibly redefined it by applying a choice-and-consequence system that avoids the superficial effects found in most modern-day adventure games. Couple this with an extremely well-written, immensely enjoyable cast and intricately crafted and detailed worlds, you have the perfect cocktail for an extremely satisfying story. If the current episodes are anything to go by, and judging by the developer's history in the medium, we may well be looking at a modern-day classic.

    Lastly, with only two of five episodes out so far, gameplay length in total ranges from 4-5 hours for the first episode, and 6-9 hours for the second. This is an amazing length for an episodic game.

    A must-buy for anyone wishing to experience something truly different and innovative in videogame storytelling.    … Expand
  3. Sarph
    Mar 17, 2015
    10
    I spent roughly 7 hours on my first play-through of Book 2, and I am happy to say that I did not encounter any noteworthy bugs or otherwise technical issues. There is still room for some performance optimization in Marcuria, specifically in terms of FPS, which I am sure will be addressed with the announced patch. Where Book 1 was perhaps a bit slow story-wise, Book 2 is really starting toI spent roughly 7 hours on my first play-through of Book 2, and I am happy to say that I did not encounter any noteworthy bugs or otherwise technical issues. There is still room for some performance optimization in Marcuria, specifically in terms of FPS, which I am sure will be addressed with the announced patch. Where Book 1 was perhaps a bit slow story-wise, Book 2 is really starting to kick off. Another noteworthy point of critique with Book 1 was the simplicity of the puzzles, and I am glad to report that Book 2 has stepped up the game remarkably in that regard as well. All in all a thoroughly enjoyable experience, and I can't wait to dig into the numerous pathways of choice and consequence, heavily intertwined with choices made in Book 1 already.

    The one thing that makes Dreamfall: Chapters what it is, is the story. Continuing the legacy of The Longest Journey and Dreamfall involves meeting quite a lot of expectations, and so far Ragnar Tørnquist and the rest of team Red Thread Games have delivered.    … Expand
  4. JustMy2
    May 13, 2015
    3
    Some things in life get an undeserved high score on metacritic just because they have a small clique of zealous supporters, while people with a more balanced opinion don't even review it, since the thing in question just isn't important enough to merit their attention.

    Dreamfall Chapters is such a thing - it's a fanboy magnet. I may have enjoyed the predecessor games a lot, and I may    Some things in life get an undeserved high score on metacritic just because they have a small clique of zealous supporters, while people with a more balanced opinion don't even review it, since the thing in question just isn't important enough to merit their attention.

    Dreamfall Chapters is such a thing - it's a fanboy magnet.

    I may have enjoyed the predecessor games a lot, and I may have helped crowd funding Dreamfall Chapters hoping for an enjoyable continuation to the franchise. But I was let down. More than anything else, Chapters is a snorefest.

    It does take a long time to play, but that time is mostly spent running around endlessly in the same few dull environments. Sorry, I meant *walking* around, because the developer seems afraid we might hurt ourselves if we were allowed to move from point A to point B without watching our steps carefully. You can shift to a very leisurely jogging speed most of the time, but even this is denied in certain places.

    The environments are graphically pretty though. Sure the game is pretty in a two-generations-behind-the-curve kind of way, but that's not so bad. What's bad, is that there is so very little to *interact* with. There is practically nothing more than the bare minimum clickable content here. Even when you're solving puzzles, you sometimes just can't find ANYTHING nearby that even responds to your touch!

    Yes, the hardest part of the "puzzle solving" is walking around all over the map scanning the environment with your mouse cursor until you find an item that actually acknowledges its own existence in the game world and lets you interact with it. Grab that item, and you half solved the puzzle already. All that remains, is finding a spot where the item will do something. More walking around, and more random mouse exploration.

    A *good* puzzle solving game has entertaining and quirky puzzles that makes you use your creativity, and rewards you with a satisfying "of course, why didn't I think of that!" feeling when you finally figure it out. A good game also makes sure to keep you well entertained with quirky humor while you're futzing about trying to solve the puzzles.

    Dreamfall Chapters is not that kind of game - it is stiff and dull and unimaginative. If you want a *fun and enjoyable* puzzle solving adventure game, go play The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 or something.

    I just said Chapters is "unimaginative", and for a fantasy adventure game that's about the worst possible sin to commit. And yet it is true. Most of it is trivial, banal, and focused on just the kind of boring everyday minutia you play fantasy adventure games to get away from for a while. Where is the sense of *adventure*? Where is the sense of moving to another world that works by different rules?

    Even in the supposedly magical world of Arcadia, the "fantasy" is just a thin veneer for a carbon copy of our everyday world. It's a world of magic, but no-one seems to ever *use* magic. And it is steeped in the exact same ideological mold as our world today, in the most uninteresting way.

    Do you really want to travel to a magical land, only to be preached to about the evils of racism and prejudice? Isn't that experience available to you pretty much 24/7 in the real world just by turning on the TV or opening a random page of a newspaper? Isn't it kind of boring and lame to drag boring and lame crap like that into a fantasy setting?

    The game is *preachy*. It has a clear social justice warrior agenda, and never misses an opportunity to tell you what's The Right Way To Think. Just in case you didn't know, *pedophilia is bad*. This game makes sure to tell you, because it just can't leave depressing real-world issues like this alone and tell a compelling story about something fresh and inspiring. As a fantasy game should.

    Sorry, that's not "Arcadia". That's the modern PC-infested world anno 2015, where you can't swing a cat without hitting something that nags about how swinging a cat is animal cruelty, and somehow at the same time a blatant expression of White Male Privilege.

    And that's why you must play as a young Nazi who figures out being a Nazi is bad in this game. Sure, this is "fantasy", so they changed the name a little - "Nazi" became "Azadi". But it's still the same thing. You're a Nazi, and your task is to realize that Nazis are bad and you must make amends. That's the story.

    If you already figured out for yourself being a Nazi is bad, then this game leaves a sour taste. Preachiness is annoying even when you need to hear it, and it's even more annoying when you don't, so it's really not the way to go when you wish to spread your favorite religion. The first religion that figures this out will dominate the world! :-D

    My last pet peave is that the game yells *THIS WILL HAVE CONSEQUENCES!!!* in your face when you do stuff, and then it shouts *THIS WAS A CONSEQUENCE!!!* when something happens.

    Face. Palm.    … Expand
  5. shtomer
    Mar 17, 2015
    10
    I give this game 10/10. No, not because it's perfect: It still suffers from minor bugs, I could enjoy harder puzzles and top-notch animations, but.... the bottom line is that this game moves me in a way that only a few games ever did. It's atmospheric and believable, and it really does take you somewhere else, and you stay there long after you've finished the game. On the technical side,I give this game 10/10. No, not because it's perfect: It still suffers from minor bugs, I could enjoy harder puzzles and top-notch animations, but.... the bottom line is that this game moves me in a way that only a few games ever did. It's atmospheric and believable, and it really does take you somewhere else, and you stay there long after you've finished the game. On the technical side, it looks stunning, is written beautifully, and this book has even some nice puzzles (not something the Dreamfall saga is known for). It's a must.… Expand
  6. AKDM
    Mar 17, 2015
    10
    Story is starting to pull out big guns out of holster.
    Choices & consequences system already can give a vertigo. Single decision from Book One could bring a chain of repercussions in different places with different characters. A lot of drama.
    Speaking of characters, there are a bunch of new various personalities: cheery, naive, suspecting and suspicious, put on the edge, etc. Big return    Story is starting to pull out big guns out of holster.
    Choices & consequences system already can give a vertigo. Single decision from Book One could bring a chain of repercussions in different places with different characters. A lot of drama.
    Speaking of characters, there are a bunch of new various personalities: cheery, naive, suspecting and suspicious, put on the edge, etc. Big return of the certain character from original The Longest Journey should be mentioned, too.
    Marcuria is still beautiful even by night and under partial curfew state. And that cloudships in the sky are amazing.
    Puzzles getting better.

    So, I have to give 10 to this lovable piece of true art.    … Expand
  7. Vamphaery
    Mar 24, 2015
    8
    Just a bit over four months after its preceding installment, the eagerly anticipated second book of Dreamfall Chapters arrived. And I am pleased to say that it drastically improved upon my chief criticisms of Book One - duration and content. The same masterful storytelling, sound design, character design, dialogue, and world building are once again on full display (see my previous reviewJust a bit over four months after its preceding installment, the eagerly anticipated second book of Dreamfall Chapters arrived. And I am pleased to say that it drastically improved upon my chief criticisms of Book One - duration and content. The same masterful storytelling, sound design, character design, dialogue, and world building are once again on full display (see my previous review for Book One,) but this time, thankfully, there is far more of it.

    I easily spent 16 hours with this book, and was challenged by at least a couple of the puzzles to a far greater extent than I was in the first. More importantly, most of those 16 hours were spent immersed in a far better paced, characterization rich narrative that drew me in and held my attention the whole time. We also got to return to Arcadia (the magical counterpart of the cyberpunk, technological Stark, one of the two worlds in which DFC takes place,) with the city of Marcuria being opened up and explorable for the first time in DFC.

    As a fan of TLJ and Dreamfall, my chief focus in this series has always been April and to a lesser extent Zoe. Zoe feels like a natural extension for the series, and it maintains a central female protagonist - something there is far too little of in gaming in my view. As such, my interest in the other playable character - Kian Alvane - was admittedly hard won. But in this chapter, win said interest Red Thread Games have done, and with aplomb.

    Here we not only spend far more time with Kian than in Book One, but I finally feel that we find compelling reasons to empathize with, care about, and invest in his tale. This is critical, as it seems likely that he will play an increasingly pivotal role in the overarching TLJ mythos going forward. I no longer felt impatient for the game to skip back to Zoe's portions this time around, and that's a very good thing.

    Kian's bits also introduce us to several new and interesting characters, one of whom you can particularly tell Ragnar Tornquist (and he has said as much on the forums) relished writing for. It's apparent, and immediately endearing, as is everything about the character herself. I won't spoil things by naming her, but you'll no doubt find out in due course and join the rest of us in our collective "Aww/giggle" response.

    It's hard to create supporting characters that really resonate and end up being memorable for years - characters such as Crow from the previous games. The lady in question is such a character, and RTG are to be commended.

    One thing both Kian and Zoe's tales share in common by Book Two, is the overwhelming sense that choices really do matter in this game. Many of the choices made in Book One felt a tad underwhelming because their consequences were not generally revealed. Coupled with the brevity of that episode, things fell a bit flatter than they really were, I felt. In Book Two, we not only get to see the consequences of those choices, but those consequences cause the stories being told to become increasingly divergent, with ramifications both subtle and profound.

    The smallest choice truly can send the story careening off the rails we thought it was headed down, and that made Book Two a substantially more satisfying game experience for me. These characters have agency, and thus we too have agency. This is important (in ways I lack room to elaborate on here,) and it is very welcome in an industry which so often promises choice and consequence only to deliver superficial or token change.

    All in all, more than ever I now feel that DFC will be a truly worthwhile interactive story, resplendent with choice, personality, genuinely mature themes (and language,) emotion, and surprise. If that's enough for you, then at this point I feel it's more than worth it to buy the season pass and begin experiencing this game (or at least picking it up once all five books are finally out later - we are told - this year.)

    The game is not without issues.

    The worlds (now truly plural at least) remain beautiful and atmospheric, but largely empty beyond the very spread out interactive elements. This makes for a lot of getting lost and backtracking, with little to interact with along the way between those points. It's a sight to see, but there's nothing to do within those sights at times.

    There are at this stage also still some visual glitches, pop-in, and other oddities to report. And at least one puzzle requires some extremely unintuitive tinkering, which left me (and others I'm sure) feeling completely stuck at one point... and not in the good, challenging way. In the "this makes no sense, what do I do?" sense.

    Those gripes aside, DFC Book Two improves on Book One in virtually every way, and if you crave a great yarn more than intricate hands on gameplay mechanics, I now feel much more comfortable recommending the entire game as it progresses. You can get it on Steam or DRM free on GoG. (Coming to PS4 and other platforms - potentially - in the future.)    … Expand
  8. aprilRyan
    Mar 18, 2015
    10
    After roughly 8 hours of play-through I can honestly say this game is finally taking off. Most may have found Book 1 to be short but Book 2 is considerably longer and though it provides more questions than answers, you can see just how well the choices in Book 1 affect Book 2. Yes there are bugs here and there and puzzles can be improved, but you get fully immersed in a world that youAfter roughly 8 hours of play-through I can honestly say this game is finally taking off. Most may have found Book 1 to be short but Book 2 is considerably longer and though it provides more questions than answers, you can see just how well the choices in Book 1 affect Book 2. Yes there are bugs here and there and puzzles can be improved, but you get fully immersed in a world that you never want to leave and it keeps making you want more. Thank you RTG for continuing to tell a wonderful story in the best way possible.… Expand
  9. Fuz
    Mar 23, 2015
    1
    I'll just copypaste what was valid for chapter 1:
    "I'll start saying that The Longest Journey is one of my favourite adventure games ever. Beautful game.
    I also enjoyed quite a lot the first Dreamfall. So, why this low score? Easy said: shoulder camera. It's sort of a new trend in gaming that I can't tolerate. It makes me feel unbalanced and ill, I have problems moving around and going    I'll just copypaste what was valid for chapter 1:
    "I'll start saying that The Longest Journey is one of my favourite adventure games ever. Beautful game.
    I also enjoyed quite a lot the first Dreamfall.
    So, why this low score? Easy said: shoulder camera. It's sort of a new trend in gaming that I can't tolerate. It makes me feel unbalanced and ill, I have problems moving around and going straight with it. Even zooming out, the camera stays (although less) on the side of the character... and it often gets back to a more zoomed in position, adding the annoyance of zooming it out again quite often.
    The first Dreamfall had a perfectly fine and functional centered camera. I wish developers would have just sticked with that (or at least gave us the option to choose). It would have worked way better. "    … Expand
  10. AuldWolf
    Jun 1, 2015
    0
    I feel sometimes that pseudointellectuality gets the best of me. And this is coming from a left wing transhumanist. There are many, many people out there who aren't nearly as bright as they think they are, in fact, they aren't bright at all. So what they do is they join 'we are bright' echo chambers to reinforce this, and they herald clumsy, poorly written, overly obvious works as beingI feel sometimes that pseudointellectuality gets the best of me. And this is coming from a left wing transhumanist. There are many, many people out there who aren't nearly as bright as they think they are, in fact, they aren't bright at all. So what they do is they join 'we are bright' echo chambers to reinforce this, and they herald clumsy, poorly written, overly obvious works as being somehow clever.

    This is the case with Dreamfall Chapters. Frankly, the user JustMy2 has the right of it. It's bloody awful is what it is. It tries to be edgy by casting you as a Nazi, it tries to be edgy by using ableist slurs, it tries to be edgy by coming over as an angsty teen, and it does absolutely not a bloody thing for the plot that began with The Longest Journey, which it leaves cold and dead.

    "Ooh. Me am Azadi, me am learn being Azadi is am bad. Like Nazi! Game is clever!"

    No. No it isn't. It's ham-fised, it's painful, and a lot of the time it's just uninspired and dreadfully dull. In some countries it might even constitute a form of torture were a genuinely intelligent person forced to play it. Yes, it's that bad. There's an echo chamber out there that'll be collectively planning to send me death threats like the nasty little GamerGate-ish extroverts they are. I don't care.

    If you don't want to be called on making horrible excuses for games with piss poor writing... then don't make horrible excuses for games with piss poor writing. This should never have seen its way to release, and it's why some indie teams desperately, desperately need a quality assurance (QA) division.

    Developers should have more respect for their consumers than this. And consumers should have enough dignity and self respect to not to put a pile of steaming cack on a pedestal.    … Expand
  11. kraenk
    Mar 29, 2015
    9
    I liked Book 2 even better than Book 1. Your choices really seem to have consequences and the graphics and atmosphere are as beautiful as ever. Playtime is longer than Book 1 even though the last bit seems a bit tedious since you already know Propast as environment. The storytelling, sounddesign and voiceacting are great. The animations still leave alot to be desired.
  12. espadana
    Jun 12, 2015
    10
    Dreamfall Chapters is a new episodic instalment on the TLJ series, and a direct sequel to Dreamfall: The Longest Journey.
    The game is wonderfully written - great story, great characters, excellent dialogue and voice acting - and beautifully designed. Book 2 is a huge episode, and is superior in all aspects to the previous book (which was already very good). With two books out, Dreamfall    Dreamfall Chapters is a new episodic instalment on the TLJ series, and a direct sequel to Dreamfall: The Longest Journey.
    The game is wonderfully written - great story, great characters, excellent dialogue and voice acting - and beautifully designed. Book 2 is a huge episode, and is superior in all aspects to the previous book (which was already very good). With two books out, Dreamfall Chapters is already earning its place as one of the most interesting games of 2015.
    Highly recommended.    … Expand
  13. runner
    Apr 17, 2015
    8
    Despite being a huge TLJ-universe fan, I'm starting to realise that every game in this series is good for its story and setting and *not* for the actual 'game' that it is.
    Gameplay-wise DFC is far from perfect, and it suffers from some more minor problems regarding its development values.
    It could be amazing with a little more challanging and intense gameplay, and a little more cinematic    Despite being a huge TLJ-universe fan, I'm starting to realise that every game in this series is good for its story and setting and *not* for the actual 'game' that it is.
    Gameplay-wise DFC is far from perfect, and it suffers from some more minor problems regarding its development values.
    It could be amazing with a little more challanging and intense gameplay, and a little more cinematic feeling (with better animation,music etc..)

    BUT, and it's a big but, for a reason, this game touches my heart like no other video game ever did, and that's what counts.
    A story I would probably love to experience more than once, as I did with TLJ and Dreamfall TLJ.
    Fortunately for DFC and its developers, the story, the setting and the characters are so good that I don't mind its several and many other people don't mind them as well.    … Expand
  14. veroFRuk
    Jun 12, 2015
    10
    I've been enchanted by the first two books of DFC, smiling and eyes wide open when discovering the worlds :)
    It's a very immersive experience, the environments are made with great attention to details and the art is beautiful. I can wander for hours finding new stuff in these 3D places, it's a great trip to an alternate reality.
    But DFC is also an intricate and well woven story that is    I've been enchanted by the first two books of DFC, smiling and eyes wide open when discovering the worlds :)
    It's a very immersive experience, the environments are made with great attention to details and the art is beautiful. I can wander for hours finding new stuff in these 3D places, it's a great trip to an alternate reality.

    But DFC is also an intricate and well woven story that is very addictive. To advance in the game you have to focus on what you are doing but the puzzles are not too hard. However there are some tough decisions to make ! :)    … Expand
  15. i1u2smile
    Jun 12, 2015
    10
    Book 2 really gets you into the story... I admit that book 1 had a somewhat slow start but book 2 is longer and more interesting. So far I think it is a worthy conclusion to the "Longest Journey" saga and I can't wait for book 3!
  16. geekslayer
    Nov 12, 2020
    7
    Плюсы:
    - продолжительность. На Rebels придется потратить все 4, а то и 5 часов, что выгодно отличает Dreamfall Chapters от других «эпизодических» игр. С другой стороны, такая продолжительность достигается за счет того, что мы наматываем бешеный километраж в рамках одних и тех же локаций, чего не позволяет себе та же Life is Strange.
    - невероятно красивые локации с парящими в небе    Плюсы:
    - продолжительность. На Rebels придется потратить все 4, а то и 5 часов, что выгодно отличает Dreamfall Chapters от других «эпизодических» игр. С другой стороны, такая продолжительность достигается за счет того, что мы наматываем бешеный километраж в рамках одних и тех же локаций, чего не позволяет себе та же Life is Strange.
    - невероятно красивые локации с парящими в небе каменными глыбами, чем-то отдаленно напоминающие кэмероновский «Аватар».

    Минусы:
    - в Норвегии о таком слове, как «оптимизация», видимо, даже и не слышали. И если первый кусок игры держался еще хоть на каком-то приемлемом уровне, то второй эпизод умудряется проседать на неплохой системе до 7-9 кадров на открытых локациях! При таком раскладе геймплей, графика и все остальные составляющие отходят на второй план. Ни о какой комфортной игре и речи быть не может, когда на экране творится натуральное слайд-шоу. Что самое смешное, даже если выставить все настройки на минимум, то ничего не поменяется.
    - никуда не испарились проблемы с «рассинхроном» речи, некоторыми анимациями, редкими провалами в текстуры и прочими неаккуратностями.
    - система поступков, которые влияют на дальнейшее прохождение, вроде как и работает, но за весь второй эпизод я наткнулся лишь на одну отсылку к своим предыдущим действиям. Сбегая из тюрьмы, один из умирающих заключенных попросил рассказать его жене, что же с ним случилось. И я нашел ее. И даже рассказал. Но в ответ получил лишь: «Угу, понятненько. А теперь вали отсюда». Мдя...

    Итог: второй эпизод Dreamfall Chapters получился неплохим, а местами он так и вовсе интригует и будоражит. Но в противовес всему этому встает хреновищная оптимизация, способная вызвать нервный тик. Порой игра начинает напоминать бенчмарк, который сошел с ума и решил взорвать твой компьютер.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. Multiplayer.it
    Aug 11, 2015
    80
    What makes Dreamfall Chapters an adventure better than most is its huge world. A world we can explore beyond the physical boundaries of the game thanks to its deep and vigorous storytelling.
    Read full review
  2. Game World Navigator Magazine
    May 14, 2015
    60
    First episode of Chapters turned out to be a huge prologue, aiming to introduce new players to setting and characters, while story stood almost still. There was a hope that Book Two will change pace, and it partially came to be: there are some surprising developments, but Dreamfall still fails to truly engage players. [June 2015, p.78]
  3. games(TM)
    May 2, 2015
    70
    Sure, Chapters might be technically temperamental and occasionally get itself tangled in the threads of the series’ narrative, but it is also intelligent, crafts its world skilfully and has an admirable commitment to themes and design principles that make it stand out. We’re left eager to see where it goes next.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »