Having previously played Dreamfall, which I consider one of my favorite games, I recently decided to give The Longest Journey a shot. Now, having finished the game, I can say that this game surpasses Dreamfall and is without doubt one of the best game I have ever played. This game is a masterpiece in storytelling and has some of the most believable and likeable characters I've experienced in a video game. The writing and voice acting is top notch. The graphics are dated but there is some nice looking world design and set pieces. The puzzles are varied and fun however some are downright illogical (I'm looking at you, rubber ducky). This is a long game, and it's worth every second.

Adventure games are not for everyone. They have little replay value unless you enjoy the story so much that after the first playthrough you want to experience it again.

What's interesting about The Longest Journey is that it appeared during a time when adventure games had largely fallen out of favor. The odds of it becoming a success were slim.

However, writer Ragnar Tørnquist knows how to assemble a compelling, quirky and funny story that captures the hearts and minds of many gamers. For this reason, TLJ has become one of the best adventure games of all time.

Female characters in video games don't always have complexity, but April Ryan is one of the most interesting characters I have ever encountered. It is a joy to observe her grow as a person as I play, from a woman unsure of her future and place in the world to a savior of the people.

Also, I love how Tørnquist successfully blends both cyberpunk and fantasy elements together to create a unique narrative.

I don't recall encountering a nonsensical puzzle, either, which is a flaw that some adventure games have.

Dreamfall: Chapters is coming out very soon, which is why I recommend checking out the game that started it all first!

The best story in a game i ever played

I'm very much a fan of "modern", more narrative-focused adventure games (The Walking Dead, Wolf Among Us, Kentucky Route Zero, etc). I saw the trailers for Dreamfall Chapters and wanted to play the first games to get caught up on the story.

The Longest Journey is definitely a "classic" adventure game. It has all the pixel hunting, item combining, and obscure puzzles that are the hallmark of the genre. I admit I don't particularly enjoy this aspect of adventure games, and am glad to see it mostly absent from more modern adventures. GameFAQs was my constant companion while playing this game, and thankfully kept it from becoming frustrating. The graphics are very... 640x480, and while I can usually look past dated graphics in older games, there were points where it was difficult to tell what an object was, or what was going on in a scene, simply from lack of resolution/polygons.

I don't want to sound too hard on the game, because I actually loved it. Definitely the strongest point of the game (and why I think it's remembered so fondly) is the fantastic writing and memorable characters. April Ryan feels like a *real* person, and talks like a real person would. I loved talking to Burns Flipper or Captain Nebevay or Crow just to hear what they had to say. Admittedly sometimes people can be long-winded or launch into overlong explanations, but it never really detracted from the game. The story too, while at times dropping into fantasy cliches and being the Chosen One (TM) who can save the world, was still really interesting and mostly unique.

The Longest Journey is still a great game despite its technical/gameplay flaws, and if you're looking to get into the Longest Journey/Dreamfall series like I was, it's definitely worth playing.

There has been a time, around 2000, everybody was thinking that maybe graphic adventures were doomed. After the commercial failure of Grim Fandango the future seemed obscure, and The Longest Journey was a shining light. Maybe I am too melodramatic, but I like to think that TLJ saved this genre, because it showed to everyone that it was still possible to make extraordinary point and click games.

I won't tell you anything about the story, if not that it has a strong sci-fi/paranormal vibe, because I really want you to discover it entirely. The setting is futuristic, and you'll help the main character, April Ryan, discover the truth about herself and the world she lives in. The characters are deep and very well written, the story manages to be funny and allegoric at the same time, and the puzzles can be really challenging. Old School. Awesome. In the end FunCom and its lead writer at that time, Ragnar Tørnquist created a world that feels alive, characters you really care for, and a story that will make you think about our role in modern society. Even the smallest details are perfectly integrated in the main narrative arc. The Longest Journey is a must have for any graphic adventure fan, and a great game in general.

Sadly, as many early 3D games, if played now feels (graphically speaking) very outdated, but I assure you it won't be an issue as soon as you enter this fantastic world. But yeah, a resolution patch would be awesome ;-)

I recently played through TLJ again in anticipation for the Dreamfall Chapters and wow, this game is so great! I remember playing it many years ago and I was blown away by the amazing story, graphics and characters. Well, the graphics are aged but still you're swept of your feet and thrown into worlds of science and magic. Few games make me laugh out loud or can actually make me sad but TLJ manages to get my emotions going in every step that April takes. The sheer wonder of exploring an unknown world is breathtaking and nothing seems impossible.

I would, without a doubt, call this a timeless classic that will forever place in my top three favorite games of all time.

To anyone who has never played this game and is thinking about it; think no more. TLJ is a masterpiece in storytelling and is surpassed by few.

This is one of the last games from the Golden Age of adventure games, the genre created by the titles published by Sierra and Lucas Arts. Unfortunately, it does show its age compared to some of the other adventure games, which was the problem for the early 3D games that weren't extremely stylized like Grim Fandango or The Neverhood (both worth checking out).

However, once you can get past the low poly characters and the resolution being what it is, it's very easy to become fully immeresed in the game. That's when the voice acting and story quickly come to the forefront, and you will realize that this game is easily on par with many of the modern games. It's rating is completely is justified.

For only 10$, this game is a steal.

Point and click adventure games are usually synonymous with LucasArts in most people's minds. However, although LucasArts certainly perfected the genre, and gave the world the SCUMM system, they by no means make the only good games.

All the way back to the Atari ST with games like Erebus, or Obitus, there have been some intriguing and wonderful games. Even "Scoop" back on the Archimedes was fascinating in its own way. But technology has moved on. Branching story lines, throwaway disk space, FMV, voiceovers, you name it. The main thing which more modern computers allows is for a variety of backgrounds, sounds and models. This allows the game creators to generate a less homogenous world, giving you more of a sense of adventure. How many old PaC games have spent their entire time wandering around the same desert island, or the same metallic city?

The Longest Journey isn't made by a mainstream distributor, like EA or LucasArts. It snuck under the radar, and has sat on shelves in stores, or on Steam for a long time, with an unattractive, amateurish-looking advert. the postive reviews, however, show that underneath a game that outwardly looks decidedly second or third-tier (like some of the "hidden object" games, is a compelling, almost-first-tier game.

The game starts off strange, and remains delightfully off-kilter all the way through. It really leverages the universe that it's set in, to allow fast, interesting scene changes. The artwork is luscious, and the voice acting is both hilarious, and excellent. The music's pretty good too. It's very satisfying to solve puzzles, and you get a genuine flow of story. Solving a puzzle doesn't leave you thinking "now what?". The in-game journal provides an amazing amount of back-story and hints.

So, why do I say it's only "almost" a first-tier game? Well, it has a few kinks. Although it plays perfectly well on a Windows-7 PC, it is ageing. The FMV is older-style "3DSMax" rendering, with high compression (Think Tomb Raider 2 FMV). Also, it's short. Don't let my playtime fool you, I had the game minimized for a lot of the time. I actually finished it in about 6 or 7 hours. But the length, and the slightly "B-grade" FMV isn't what knocks it off the top spot, it's the habit that the game has, of breaking its own rules. I'll explain:-

The game is a series of "compartments", You finish everything that's within one compartment, using everything that's in that area, and then you move through to the next one. This is pretty standard PaC fare, actually. Early in the game, you get access to the "Metro", which allows simultaneous access to the the next compartment, while allowing access to previous ones. 9/10 times, re-visiting those older areas does you no good at all, you just go to the next 'opened up area'.

However, there are a few times in the game where you hit a brick wall. You're trying to "use everything-on-everything" (uEoE) in the usual PaC way, but nothing's helping. The only thing to do it backtrack to an earlier area, and do the uEoE approach again, in the hope that you get a different outcome. Sometimes it makes a kind of sense... often you scratch your head and think "uhh.. that makes NO sense, I could have easily done that THIS way, if the game had let me".

To attempt to reduce the futility, the game flashes objects when you hover them over each other, to show that it's a valid response to uEoE, but you're still dragging, clicking and right-clicking for literally HOURS until you find that (for example- changing the objects, but not the logic), using the "PEPPER SPRAY" (obtained in area 5) on the "DUCK" (in area 3), will cause a door to open in Area 7. Why? Because eventually, after going through the door, you need to go back to where the duck was sitting to get the next piece of dialog, which is dependent on going through the door in area 5. This is just after you have used the "BREAD" on the "DUCK", and have had a piece of dialog that says "Ok, I better leave him alone then". Hmmm. Why go back and bother the duck, when the game just told me not to.

So, I had to resort to the walkthrough a few times because i'd spent too long uEoE and the combinatorial complexity was teeing me off. There is another puzzle where the hint just isn't good enough to let you know how to solve it, and the combinatorial complexity is something like 4x6x6x6x6 to just get it "randomly" right.. A futher hint which doesn't ruin the puzzle completely reduces this to just 2x2x2 (telephone puzzle).

Despite this, I had a wonderful time exploring the interesting world. For a "indie", this is amazingly well made. The outtakes at the end are great too.

I totally recommend playing it if you like PaC games which focus a little more on the cyberpunk / fantasy / sci-fi realm. It's not "Blade Runner" or "The Dig", but you'll really enjoy its humour and setting. Very well recommended, but keep one tab open on a walkthrough page! ;)

So this game is not for everyone obviously, it is a quite old Point & Click'er so the graphics are very very outdated.
How ever the reason i bought this game in the first place is because i did a researxh about what are the most stroy rich games out there, and i very frequently dcame across this game. So i bought this game for the story it provides not for graphics. i played it the first 2 chapters than forgot about it and put it aside.

So yesterday i can upon "Dreamfall:Chapters" again searching for a game with heavy story telling, like "Bioshock infinite" but without the FPS, and i was ready to buy on sale Blackfrieday. But after a reaserch i made i found out that its an awsome game but if you havn't played "The longest journy" you'll be lost, and wont know whats it about.

So i remembered i had the game already, and started palying it from scratch, this time paying atention more closely to the story telling.

The actual review:
So the game has a very very rich story telling, The chracters in this game each have its own uniqe personality and history, which is manifested in very rich dialogs between the characters, the vocie acting is Holywood worthy, top notch voice acting. You get really sucked in to the story and conversations. the chracters really show personality, with their own humor, dilemas, downfalls and positives. This game is all about story telling.
The gameplay is very simple, and you have some very cool and excelently written puzzles which includes everything from solving "code" sequances, to manipulating people with object to, for example, go away from a place, or give you something. you also have dialog pussles where you have to make the right dialog to get something.
But it shines in story telling. everything is connected, and you actually find yourself rimembering parts of the story and understanding what is happening in the story. There is a clear line of story trouggout the game.

Should you buy it?
If you want to buy Dreamfall:Chapters, this is than a MUST. since Chpaters builds uppon the first game.
If you would buy an Indie pixalated game for a few bucks, and you dont accept action but logics, than you should buy this game. It may have old graphics, but so do many indie games today and those are on purpose.
And the main thing about this game, the story, the chracters and the voice acting, these all make you forget your playing a pixalated game (the game also has sound fx which really contribute to the atmosphere).
If your a fan of cyberpunk themes in games than you should also buy this game.

For an old game, this game deserves a very high score, since its really the 90's equivalent of "Bioshock:infinite" or "Last of us", that is story whise. So on my scale this game is a 9.5/10.
even today its highly playable, and enjoyable and a must if you want Dreamfall:chapters.

I hadn't played The Longest Journey until now. I had read about it from the PC magazines in 1999/2000 when it came out and I've always found it quite interesting. Why it took so long for me to finally play the game? I don't know. But I'm really really glad I finally did play it!

The Longest Journey is a point-and-click adventure game in which the player takes control of an 18-year-old fine arts student April Ryan. The events of the game take place in the year 2209 and the futuristic city of Newport is quite believable. April suffers from strange nightmares and is stressed out to finish her artwork for an upcoming exhibition. Soon she is pulled into a dangerous adventure of fantasy and magic, and all her former petty teenager problems turn pretty meaningless, as a far larger destiny is waiting for her to be fulfilled. I don't want to give away too much the story — less you know, more enjoyable it is.

April's is a likeable character. Luckily she's quite a mature gal for a 18-year-old! She can be a bit whiny and sarcastic sometimes, but mostly she's great and well-written. The pre-millenial 3D graphics don't add much for the character, but the voice-acting is superb. Sarah Hamilton does an outstanding performance as April. There are also many other memorable characters.

As mentioned, the 3D graphics haven't aged that well. Don't get me wrong, the game's still charming looking and all, but especially the 3D character models and some of the cutscenes are quite cringeworthy. They have the "late nineties awkward 3D graphics look". The voice-acting and overall sound are great.

Controls are basic point-and-click stuff and you cannot die or screw up — just the way I like my point-and-click adventure games. Some of the puzzles are kinda strange and ”out there”. I had to check out a walkthrough a few times. It took me about 13 hours to beat the game.

The detail of the story and all the small things are quite baffling. April keeps a journal throughout the game's story and it really feels like it's written by a young girl. The journal is not necessary at all, but adds detail to this masterpiece and a lost player can find some clues while reading it.

Tl;dr: A fine quality point-and-click classic with a compelling story, a highly detailed world and great characters. The graphics are a bit dated. Some of the puzzles are ♥♥♥. Highly recommended!

One of the best point and click adventure game! I love the story and the characters in this game. And if you going to buy Dreamfall: The Longest Journey or Dreamfall Chapters you should buy this just so you can start beginning of the story.

Great point and click adventure game. Sure it a bit outdated, but the basic foundations are still there and it has a solid GREAT story behind the game. Well worth playing even after all this time.

Story = Great;
Characters/Building = Good
World: Outdated, but still good
Navigation: Good (Esc to speed up)

If you're into games with rich stories this is a must play.

This is an amazing game! It is gorgeously presented and the puzzles are logical. I adored every moment of playing this game. You forget, as you play, that the graphics are not the best... it simply doesnt matter. Thick with story and great characters it was so great to play it.

If you can look past the outdated graphics, this is a great game with an amazing story and characters.

There is A LOT of dialogue which can be a pain if you're used to more action packed games, but still very much worth it. At the end of the game I found myself wanting more even though I was sometimes frustrated by all the dialogue. Puzzles aren't too hard, but provides enough of a challenge. Characters are relateable and humorous.

This game is the best game I've played this year. 10/10

One of the best point 'n click games I've played. The Longest Journey is a thoroughly detailed, immersive, clever and funny game. It has a great heroine, complex and engaging story, fantastic voice acting and challenging puzzles.

On the downside the ending may disappoint a little and some of the puzzles require plot-logic to complete.

Reccomended.

Must play game with a fantastic story

A brilliant point and click adventure/fantasy game, thoroughly enjoyed playing it; unlike a lot of point and clicks the solutions aren't completely far fetched and you can actually work stuff out xD

Would highly recommend to any fan of the point and click genre, a game that's good fun and has a good storyline - Not exactly a long game but a decent length for a point and click compared to a lot lately that are way too short!

Look forward to purchasing and playing the rest of the series in the near future ^^ If I had the money right now i'd be buying the next game and carrying on xD

<3 Crow

It's starts out veeeery slow (say, first 2-3 chapters?), but the more you play, the more awesome it gets. Especially once you figure out the shortcuts (like how to run, time skip, quick select items from inventory, etc)

It's enjoyable, culturally rich, conceptually rich and fun. The important part is that it's fun!
The puzzles aren't that hard to figure out either so it's not one of those frustrating puzzle games.

In regards to characters... I only like 3 characters, including the main character, April. The other characters aren't as endearing or impactful, I suppose.

The ending was a bit lackluster and didn't offer much closure, so I can't wait to play the sequel.
8/10 would recommend you playing this game though!

I have to say...The Longest Journey is one of my favorite games and I really recommend it to those who love good stories.
It makes me feel something really special, I cannot stop thinking and daydreaming awesome stuff thanks to this game. It also has cool soundtracks to enjoy.
Actually it is hard for me to explain how great The Longest Journey is...you better play it and see by yourself.
I thank the creator/producer, Ragnar Tørnquist for making this masterpiece full of good emotions and memories.

What a phenomenal ,fantastic experience it is .
The only regret about this game is that I have played it recently after all these years.This game has very unique artistic touch.You can feel the spirit and the work given to this piece of art on each detail.Games back then succeeded in both keeping the pace serious and the humor sense intact.
They also managed to give some references from classical writers,books and even fairy tales.What I mostly enjoyed was the philosophical,metaphysical and spiritual background of the game.It was not just doing the job for just sake of doing it, not ; it is a process of believing in whole story, it completeness and presenting in most mesmerizing way.This game had everything in it ;cognitive dissonance states describing sociological and psychological states of characters as well as their choices (free will).Astral projections could not be done as perfectly as was presented in this game , it was just a perfect fit.
This a progressive game which requires patience at the start but as it develops and story goes the gameplay experience enhances.