Dreamfall Chapters

 PC
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 374 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 261 out of 374
  2. Mixed: 46 out of 374
  3. Negative: 67 out of 374

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  1. Ryha2000
    Oct 28, 2014
    10
    While I haven't quite finished up the first chapter so far I have to say that the game has been fantastic. The wonderful story of The Longest Journey and Dreamfall are maintained, the graphical improvement is amazing and captures the beauty of the Storytime and Stark alike. The characters are as detailed and engaging as they have ever been and I feel more subtle and mature as well in a wayWhile I haven't quite finished up the first chapter so far I have to say that the game has been fantastic. The wonderful story of The Longest Journey and Dreamfall are maintained, the graphical improvement is amazing and captures the beauty of the Storytime and Stark alike. The characters are as detailed and engaging as they have ever been and I feel more subtle and mature as well in a way that reflects Ragnar's growth as a storyteller. The game is not perfect, the segment in Arcadia which was developed first is a little graphically rough, but not too distractingly so. Also this is the first episode and like the preceding games it's largely interested in grounding you in the life of the main character... so it IS a little slow. But for me that pace just gave me time to savor the world and drink in all of the loving detail.… Expand
  2. bookamp
    Feb 24, 2016
    10
    I would rate this game a 100, if I could. I can't believe it has been 16 years since I started this journey! The addition of choice and consequence has proved to be very interesting so far. Can't wait for Book 5!
  3. Neu-ro-man-cer
    Dec 11, 2014
    10
    I did not finish this game yet (though it is not too long), but I need to emphasize, how beautiful it is. The message, the story and all, not just the graphics. There is a heart beating within. A wonderful philosophy all around. ...and of course great atmosphere. Superb, and cruelly long-awaited sequel of TLJ. I'm glad that such deeply spiritual and original games still exist.
  4. Moxd
    Oct 23, 2014
    10
    Absolutely fantastic. The graphics look beautiful at 4k res with all the settings turned up, the story, interactivity, voiceacting and immersion is all 100% faithful to the game I fell in love with 8 years ago.

    What they've done with this game is literally 1:1 copy the Telltale formula (complete with "XXXXX will remember that" and decisions that will affect later episodes as they're    Absolutely fantastic. The graphics look beautiful at 4k res with all the settings turned up, the story, interactivity, voiceacting and immersion is all 100% faithful to the game I fell in love with 8 years ago.

    What they've done with this game is literally 1:1 copy the Telltale formula (complete with "XXXXX will remember that" and decisions that will affect later episodes as they're released, and it WORKS really well for this type of game. It's a little annoying that the game is episodic as my 10 could easily become a 2 depending on how the final episodes go as the game pans out, but as long as they can keep this standard, we're set for one of the best adventure games in years.

    Only thing I have to say is that you NEED to play The Longest Journey, or you'll be totally lost. This is NOT standalone, it is a sequel through-and-through and as such requires knowledge of what happened before. Not exactly a bad thing though, TLJ is available digital on Steam and still holds up to this day (go buy it, you won't regret it)    … Expand
  5. Cometer
    Oct 22, 2014
    10
    Once upon a time adventure games were the main genre in video games. Nowadays it´s hard to find any big publisher willing to invest on a AAA adventure game.
    So why is this relevant? You can find some great low budget adventure games, but they don't attract a mass audience like they once did because they lack the quality of high budget productions.
    And that's where Dreamfall Chapters    Once upon a time adventure games were the main genre in video games. Nowadays it´s hard to find any big publisher willing to invest on a AAA adventure game.
    So why is this relevant? You can find some great low budget adventure games, but they don't attract a mass audience like they once did because they lack the quality of high budget productions.
    And that's where Dreamfall Chapters comes in. It´s not up to the quality of $40 Million AAA titles, but it is a much bigger production then other recent adventure games.
    Great music, great voice acting. Nice visuals that can take advantage of newer tech. A cinematic look that reminds you of the time when big companies invested in adventure games. And above all, great storytelling. Yes, characters could be a bit more detailed. Facial capture could be better. But these are the few areas that remind you that this game was limited by budget. I can only imagine what the developer would be able to do if they had the budget of major AAA titles.
    I admit. I was skeptic. But once I started playing the game, I quickly felt immersed in the world. And that only happens when you´re playing a great game.
    Dreamfall Chapters continues the story of the previous games and it reminds you once again why you loved them.
    Buy this game. You won´t regret it.    … Expand
  6. partyintheback
    Oct 26, 2014
    10
    For those who have endured the long journey (I just did that...) from Dreamfall to what would become Dreamfall Chapters, I can only tell you that the wait was well worth it. As someone who loved The Longest Journey and Dreamfall, I was hoping that the series would one day continue, and here we are. Not only is this exactly what a fan of the series would want, it improves on Dreamfall. IFor those who have endured the long journey (I just did that...) from Dreamfall to what would become Dreamfall Chapters, I can only tell you that the wait was well worth it. As someone who loved The Longest Journey and Dreamfall, I was hoping that the series would one day continue, and here we are. Not only is this exactly what a fan of the series would want, it improves on Dreamfall. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for this wonderful series.… Expand
  7. expellite
    Oct 21, 2014
    10
    Beautiful game. Beautiful world. Beautiful characters. It's got a heart inside of it which beats constantly and stops never. I haven't played the previous titles but this one looks good enough to impress me when there haven't been too many beautiful games (mostly craps) since 2014. You gotta give it a try and it'll take you down, deep deep down, into its heart. I wish the upcoming versionsBeautiful game. Beautiful world. Beautiful characters. It's got a heart inside of it which beats constantly and stops never. I haven't played the previous titles but this one looks good enough to impress me when there haven't been too many beautiful games (mostly craps) since 2014. You gotta give it a try and it'll take you down, deep deep down, into its heart. I wish the upcoming versions were as good as this one or even better.… Expand
  8. Stuntman312
    Apr 2, 2017
    10
    Great game, great characters, great story and… mediocre technical realization. Still this game is an outstanding masterpiece! Thanks to the people who made this possible.
  9. Sjalka
    Oct 22, 2014
    10
    Not much of a review, because i am too biased.

    The longest journey is the best adventure i played, Dreamfall is my favourite storybased game, and chapters just continues. To be more objective - it is less a "game" and more a "story" - or lets say - game elements won t get in the way of the story too much. TLJ was a better "game" than Dreamfall for sure. - Chapters tries to mix it up    Not much of a review, because i am too biased.

    The longest journey is the best adventure i played, Dreamfall is my favourite storybased game, and chapters just continues.

    To be more objective - it is less a "game" and more a "story" - or lets say - game elements won t get in the way of the story too much. TLJ was a better "game" than Dreamfall for sure. - Chapters tries to mix it up a little bit - offering more gameplay than "go from A to B and watch the next cutscene".

    chapters looks great, has a great soundtrack and feels very good. If you loved Dreamfall, i am sure you love chapters, too.    … Expand
  10. Stargax
    Oct 21, 2014
    10
    Lets start this review by saying the story of the first 2 games influenced me both professionally and spiritually.. it opened my eyes on how to view science fiction and fantasy story telling, the atmosphere perfect, the soundtrack perfect.. both the games did a wonderful job at developing and engrossing you in the story.
    Dreamfall Chapters is exactly the same, it is THE best Scifi Fantasy    Lets start this review by saying the story of the first 2 games influenced me both professionally and spiritually.. it opened my eyes on how to view science fiction and fantasy story telling, the atmosphere perfect, the soundtrack perfect.. both the games did a wonderful job at developing and engrossing you in the story.
    Dreamfall Chapters is exactly the same, it is THE best Scifi Fantasy ever conceived.. it has better atmosphere even than Mass Effect or Half Life.. this game is a masterpiece in my book!    … Expand
  11. Brogmar
    Oct 22, 2014
    10
    Beautiful, mature game, so deep, and so overwhelming of its beauty. I'm in love, and truly happy, that it's even better than 1st one. Reminds me art made by Tale of Tales studio.
  12. doughnutsfan
    Oct 22, 2014
    10
    Dreamfall is back in all it's adventure - exploration glory, the game dropped the unnecessary stealth and combat mechanics of it's predecessor and turned into something truly magical and exciting. Characters are great and charming, and, like always, are infinitely quotable, but of course most praise goes to Zoe Castillo: it's hard to find more alive, sincere, flawed, real human being inDreamfall is back in all it's adventure - exploration glory, the game dropped the unnecessary stealth and combat mechanics of it's predecessor and turned into something truly magical and exciting. Characters are great and charming, and, like always, are infinitely quotable, but of course most praise goes to Zoe Castillo: it's hard to find more alive, sincere, flawed, real human being in video games (apart from her franchise colleague April Ryan), and the new voice actress does an amazing job in delivering the depth of her character, The world of The Longest Journey have never been more awe-inspiring, and I can't wait for the second Book.… Expand
  13. Alice_Liddel
    Oct 22, 2014
    10
    RedThread has continued their tradition of great storytelling with this long awaited third game. The story is deep and rich in a way that so many triple A games from big name studios are not. Dreamfall and TLJ clearly inspired Funcom's The Secret World MMO. If you enjoy classic Action Adventure games than this it but don't start at chapters. Get The Longest Journey and play theRedThread has continued their tradition of great storytelling with this long awaited third game. The story is deep and rich in a way that so many triple A games from big name studios are not. Dreamfall and TLJ clearly inspired Funcom's The Secret World MMO. If you enjoy classic Action Adventure games than this it but don't start at chapters. Get The Longest Journey and play the entire storyline.… Expand
  14. kozelet
    Oct 23, 2014
    10
    The developers should be commended, just because of the scope they are aiming for. Sure, because they are aiming so high, there are some technical issues - occasional stiff animations, lip-synching issues and performance problems, especially on higher graphical settings (which Red Thread have already promised to fix in future updates).

    But these are all because of the no-compromise    The developers should be commended, just because of the scope they are aiming for. Sure, because they are aiming so high, there are some technical issues - occasional stiff animations, lip-synching issues and performance problems, especially on higher graphical settings (which Red Thread have already promised to fix in future updates).

    But these are all because of the no-compromise approach they have to immersing you in a real, breathing environment you can relate to and freely roam in - full with actual people, stories, and events. Finally a story-heavy game which tells its narrative through live, interesting and meticulously scripted conversations in a living, breathing world. I'm tired of the supposedly "story-heavy" indies that feature nothing but an empty world and a set of letters to read, or ones that feature only closed underground corridors, just to have good performance. Sure, these other games' approach is cheap and "technically perfect", but misses out so much on the potential of the gaming medium.

    So if you, like me, have been waiting on a game that strives to fully immerse you in its world, and makes no compromise in representing that actual living world, inhabited by actual relatable people, just to look superficially perfect, you can totally look beyond issues like imperfect lip-synching and admire the good time you'll actually spend discovering Europolis's locations, characters and secrets - and they're all pretty admirable in their own right and are so obviously a work of love and passion.

    Now, if you're not familiar with the Dreamfall/Longest Journey universe, does Book One work as a good introduction to the series? Probably not, I'd advise either starting at one of the previous full-length games or waiting for the full 5 episodes to be available. While Dreamfall Chapters is setting out to look like it will be a fully self-contained package in the end, just one episode (regardless of it being relatively long in running time for an episode) is just too small of a dip in this complex and highly political universe to be able to fully appreciate it on its own.    … Expand
  15. TheMightyZan
    Oct 23, 2014
    10
    I have been waiting 8 years for this game, and I was not disappointed. While I don't love that I have to wait for each book, I can't discount how much I loved this first part, and I would rather wait then get something that isn't wonderful. The story did a good job of pulling me back in, and the world "felt" the same as it did in the other games.

    I can't wait for the rest of the books    I have been waiting 8 years for this game, and I was not disappointed. While I don't love that I have to wait for each book, I can't discount how much I loved this first part, and I would rather wait then get something that isn't wonderful. The story did a good job of pulling me back in, and the world "felt" the same as it did in the other games.

    I can't wait for the rest of the books so I can continue playing!    … Expand
  16. technofan21
    Jul 28, 2015
    10
    Dreamfall: Chapters is undoubtedly everything I expected it to be. As a lover of the TLJ franchise, a lot of questions made in the previous games have gone on unanswered. This will be the conclusion of the story and the answer to all the unsolved riddles. The talking animations, as per usual in the TLJ franchise, need a little bit of work. In my opinion, solving the lip animations is theDreamfall: Chapters is undoubtedly everything I expected it to be. As a lover of the TLJ franchise, a lot of questions made in the previous games have gone on unanswered. This will be the conclusion of the story and the answer to all the unsolved riddles. The talking animations, as per usual in the TLJ franchise, need a little bit of work. In my opinion, solving the lip animations is the biggest problem. However, I seem to have been blinded by the previous games so much so that I almost expect (and therefore do not notice) it in this game.

    The graphical quality in this game is astounding yet I'm having a bit of trouble getting this game to run at an appropriate frame rate. Granted, my computer's GPU is a year and a half behind its' time, yet running this game at a lower quality does not produce at least 60 fps. This is a problem as I know this game is capable of doing that. Other than that, I enjoy the fresh new take on Stark and Arcadia... including the shoulder cam. If you have problems operating this view (after the first two hours of play), you have some issues.

    The puzzle solving is intuitive (what other reviewers here call "childish"), more intuitive than the other TLJ franchise games which helps a little bit because I am not decimated to literally sniffing out every possibility. There are some of those annoying "get all these things in this area" parts, but after the acquisition of the items, the puzzles follow sound logic (not video game logic, which for the most part doesn't make a whole lot of sense).

    Story wise, well, it's The F*%@$^ Longest Journey! What did you expect? Some sort of "Ramirez Do Everything" plot? Also, mayhaps some of the early reviews (I'm looking at you, people who wrote before the third book release, and Kotaku) forgot one important thing about this franchise: it leads you in with a few hours of build and exposition before it slaps you in the face with development. THIS IS WHAT MAKES THIS SERIES SO GOOD. Not just because of what the twist was (WatiCorp was weird as hell in Dreamfall), but because of how satisfying the twists were. Now that I know that all our questions will be answered, it only makes me wonder more what that body-jarring reveal is going to be.

    I've addressed the haters a couple times in this review, but now I speak to them directly:

    Look, I understand that you are not pleased with parts of the game. Yes the game can be buggy, yes the saves don't exactly work right and are unhelpful in overcoming glitches. Yes, this game has some graphical issues, and yes these changes might be just a little bit much for some TLJ fans. However, think about what you are saying for a moment... you are judging this game as if it were a AAA title. However, it most certainly is not. It's an indie game that has been funded by its' fans, and combined with a donation from the Norwegian Film Institute, Red Thread Games only has 1.25 million dollars to fund this game. Compare this to Triple-A game developers such as Warner Brothers and their recent Batman game which they couldn't even port to the PC properly. Not only are Arkham's problems worse than Dreamfall's, Arkham had a budget of tens of millions of dollars. Saying that you are judging them on the same scale as a Triple-A game developer is proof enough that this game is more than just an Indie Title, it's a piece of art and a huge step forward in populace-controlled culture. If you can't appreciate that, if you aren't patient enough to wait for a solid release and a promise of a quality product at the finish line, then you obviously just don't understand: this game was not made for you. This game was made for people who want to make a difference in the poisoned and weak video game industry and to open their hearts to something new. Fitting as well, seeing that this is one of the main underlying principles in the games: the fact that people as a whole are not willing to put up with something different.

    As for the episodic releases, well, everyone who's a fan of TLJ wanted to know that it was at least happening, right? It was in limbo for such a long period of time, it's pretty much been The Longest Journey waiting for this frickin game! But it's here, and I personally prefer the episodic releases as I just want to ensure that there are other real people on the other end and that they do care about their fans. Finally, someone actually cares.

    9/10 only because of some minor issues. With issues resolved, 10/10.    … Expand
  17. dbsoft
    Jan 5, 2015
    10
    Awesome continuation of the story that I fell in love with. Thirsting for the rest of the story, only complaint is it was too short... but I guess that is why there are more books on the way.
  18. shtomer
    Jan 31, 2015
    10
    Can't think of anything else ever since finishing episode 1. If the game is going to be as good as the first episode lets you believe it will, then the game will be absolutely grandiose, I'm sure of it.
  19. saiconze
    Mar 14, 2015
    10
    Book one it's cool but second book is a piece of art. The graphical quality is amazing and the history really deep and your decisions are really important
  20. 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. With two books out, Dreamfall Chapters is quickly earning its place as one of the most interesting games of 2015.
    Highly recommended.
  21. saga77
    Jul 2, 2016
    10
    The Gameplay is medicore (7/10) but fun.
    Artdesign and story are amazing 10/10 (especially book 4,5).
    Since Story and Characters are the most importent thing for me in this Game(Saga), the game is
    even with a disapointing gameplay a 10!
  22. Kunray
    Apr 28, 2022
    10
    The story is so great!
    Thank you for giving me this experience.
    I'd recommend playing this game for lovers of story dominating games.
  23. Kadirov
    Mar 10, 2020
    10
    I am shocked by how low rating this game has. But i understand why - most of people are shallow FIFA fans who can not appreciate this deep masterpiece.
    The game has not flaws, it is a a perferct masterpiece, it has extremely complex and global plot, great graphics, deep emotional moments, and creative game design approaches.
    The game is not linear and has multiple endings, all choices    I am shocked by how low rating this game has. But i understand why - most of people are shallow FIFA fans who can not appreciate this deep masterpiece.
    The game has not flaws, it is a a perferct masterpiece, it has extremely complex and global plot, great graphics, deep emotional moments, and creative game design approaches.
    The game is not linear and has multiple endings, all choices affect the plot in extremely unexpected ways. The game managed to combine sci-fi anti utopia and with fantasy. Creation of world and its destruction. The game is massive and it is a shame it is not that known.
    There is a deep lore, many interesting and unique races, great adult humor.
    The game is like Witcher 3 but without stupid repetitive fights. One of the best games on 2010s    … Expand
  24. Penix
    Sep 18, 2019
    10
    Not sure why everyone here hates the story. To be fair, I haven't played the previous installments of the series, so I can't say anything about disappointment due to the expectations for this as a sequel to the other games. But for me, seeing this game as a standalone game, I just loved the story. The characters were well written and the environment was pretty believable and immersive.
  25. HarpreetChhabra
    Apr 24, 2020
    10
    Best StoryTelling Sci Fi Game.. indulgingly storyline Beautifully Created World.. just need to understand Two games ( The Longest Journey & Dreamfall Longet Journey) before playing this Game.. thats quick n short summery available on the net.
  26. alona
    Jan 22, 2021
    10
    I hate point and click, but totally love this game. It's amazing. Probably best of whole three parts of the series.
  27. Klewer
    Jul 16, 2017
    9
    This is a game that you have to have played the earlier games in the series to truly enjoy. It is slightly clunky and game play is limited, but the story and characters really pull you through. A fantastic end to a series well wroth playing.
  28. runner
    Aug 2, 2016
    9
    Short review:
    Short summary:
    +Long awaited continuation of the long-running saga +Story is well crafted and of high quality +Good voice acting +Good world, atmosphere, graphics, old locations revisited and new ones are wonderfully presented +Good soundtrack +You're choices affect the storyline +Powerful conclusion +/- Game might not really fit to players which are not fans of    Short review:
    Short summary:
    +Long awaited continuation of the long-running saga
    +Story is well crafted and of high quality
    +Good voice acting
    +Good world, atmosphere, graphics, old locations revisited and new ones are wonderfully presented
    +Good soundtrack
    +You're choices affect the storyline
    +Powerful conclusion

    +/- Game might not really fit to players which are not fans of the series and haven't played the now very old previous installments
    +/- Music is a bit recycled throughout the game
    +/- A good conclusion to Dreamfall, and to the entire saga, but not a very good one to its own story

    - Story, although good, feels half-baked at times, and doesn't get to the peaks and levels of depth that TLJ and DF managed to get to.
    - Supporting characters are simply not as good or as significant as in the past
    - Your choices affect some stuff, but in the end 'story is already written and we can't change it'

    I've written a longer (much longer) review on Steam and wanted to post it here as well but I simply wrote too much!

    Although I do have some complaints and hard feelings towards chapters, It is a honorable closure to Dreamfall and The Longest Journey.
    It simply didn't feel to me as good as those previous games, but the ending really made up for it, at least for me, and was really moving and powerful.

    If you're a fan of the series you should play it, for the very least to learn and get the answers for the questions from the last game.    … Expand
  29. zamtin00
    Oct 23, 2014
    9
    Absolutely fantastic follow-up to Dreamfall and TLJ. If it were up to narrative, imagination, character, and heart alone this is an easy 10.

    To be fair, this game SORELY lacks a tutorial (not speaking for myself so much, but I can't let it slide when it will alienate many new or old players). Next, it's too bad the frame rate drops are present on my admittedly PS3 Era machine in most of    Absolutely fantastic follow-up to Dreamfall and TLJ. If it were up to narrative, imagination, character, and heart alone this is an easy 10.

    To be fair, this game SORELY lacks a tutorial (not speaking for myself so much, but I can't let it slide when it will alienate many new or old players). Next, it's too bad the frame rate drops are present on my admittedly PS3 Era machine in most of Propast, but the rest of the game ran flawlessly and what was there was gorgeous and imaginative.

    What gets me about this game, is just how good these guys are and how sad it is that story, characters, and narratives have taken a back seat to spectacle and outside of games that really try to do both like most Bioware games, the AAA adventure and console RPG have died a slow death.

    I'm bias and this game is near my heart, but if you can overlook these flaws, run, don't walk to grab a copy. The developers DESERVE it and I have confidence the full arc will be satisfying. It is too bad this one is episodic, but we've all waited so long for more Stark and Arcadia that I can deal with it.

    This is easily my favorite kickstarter. I was a sucker for Tex, because I love him, but this is a different beast. This could truly be a good modern game that isn't just for the fans. I guess it's time to hope and wait.

    Thanks kickstarter. I'm compelled to replay Dreamfall on my week off now to remember every little detail.    … Expand
  30. Dunge
    Nov 13, 2014
    8
    First point&click adventure game I see realizing graphical quality near the top AAA-games out there. Very nice for this niche genre. Animations are nice, controls are fluid, no apparent bugs. Maps are filled with details and objects interaction are plenty. The story is still good and continue in the genre of TLJ with having tons of good lengthy dialogs. Voices acting is quite good too.First point&click adventure game I see realizing graphical quality near the top AAA-games out there. Very nice for this niche genre. Animations are nice, controls are fluid, no apparent bugs. Maps are filled with details and objects interaction are plenty. The story is still good and continue in the genre of TLJ with having tons of good lengthy dialogs. Voices acting is quite good too.

    Now for the bad parts. Optimization is not as good as other AAA games, but based on the fact they used Unity, just managing to get this quality out of that crappy engine is very good. The part I liked the less are the choices offered. Unlike the previous games, this time NONE of the choices represented what I would have said. Zoe passed from a logical thinking being to a girl with crazy (stupid) thoughts. Also did not like that "choice have consequence" aspect stolen from The Walking Dead, especially when it prevent you from seeing everything the game have to offers in one playthrough. Now you have to play the game twice to see all zones.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

52
#52 Most Discussed PC Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. Meristation
    May 7, 2017
    75
    The characters, along with the story, are the strong point of the title, returning many of the classics we could see being a jumble of pixels in 2D so many years ago.
    Read full review
  2. Pelit (Finland)
    Sep 28, 2016
    73
    Dreamfall Chapters is a mess of a game, with both story and gameplay segments varying wildly in quality. That said, it is still a must-play for all fans of the series. There are very few games that attempt to weave such an ambitious narrative. [Aug 2016]
  3. CD-Action
    Sep 17, 2016
    70
    Dreamfall Chapters is a satisfactory successor to The Longest Journey and Dreamfall, but not a good enough game in its own right. [09/2016, p.46]
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