The Longest Journey

"A beautiful, yet enthralling journey..."

The Longest Journey was released in 1999 to Europeans and eventually came over to the US in 2000. Yet, it has been 8-9 years since its release before I stumbled upon this masterpiece. Looking over the numerous titles that Steam has made available on the Steam Store, I was immediately drawn towards this game.

The Longest Journey is a point and click adventure game with challenging puzzles and unique scenarios. If you are ready to embark on a journey full of surprises and an intense storyline, look no further. This classic has everything you need to enjoy a good story.


Main Character - You play as April Ryan, an 18 year old art student who is struggling to get by on her own. She begins to experience these dreams that make no sense and is curious why she continues to have these dreams day after day. As she leaves her apartment, a mysterious man by the name of Cortez approaches her, yearning for her cooperation to solve the mystery to her dreams. Unaware that these dreams are important, April Ryan begins to discover that she has entangled herself in a mess that could possibly endanger not only her world, but two worlds. Gamers cannot help but root for April Ryan as she journeys into two worlds of uncertainty with a single focus to save the world.

Side Characters - Although April Ryan is the main protagonist, gamers will have little trouble not liking the other characters that help April on her quest.

Cortez - Cortez is a mysterious character with a shady past. While Cortez is extremely intelligent, he does not let on much and tries to guide April along her journey in a passive way. He is also the character that talks to April about her dreams and explains that she is troubled and needs to understand them.

Crow - Everyone can enjoy Crow's sarcastic comments and being a ladies "bird". April's true sidekick, gamers will soon realize how important Crow is to this game as he plays an important part to continuing April's story. While interacting with Crow, expect many humorous moments and get an in depth view of a birds imagination. You won't be disappointed.

Story - While I certainly won't ruin the most crucial moments of this fantastic story, there are certain tidbits to help persuade gamers to take a venture at this game. April Ryan has nothing in her life except her desire to do something in the art field. While living in her boarding house, she experiences these nightmares/dreams that have little to do with logic and reasoning which is the basis of her world in Stark. Magic and imagination are practically extinct in Stark and April Ryan has a hard time discussing her weird symptoms.

Long and behold, Cortez is waiting for her one day outside the boarding house and it is here that April is introduced to her new destiny. While she is reluctant to trust Cortez, she eventually decides to hear him out and discovers on her own a new and magical world where the abnormal, or magic, exists. She explores Arcadia, the world of magic and discovers that she holds the power to help stop the World of Balance from falling apart. While she meets many new people and friends, she learns to trust only those close to her, as many secrets are waiting left to be uncovered.


Gameplay - The Longest Journey looks like a simple point and click adventure game, but compelling puzzles and challenges are everywhere. As you explore the worlds of Stark, a world filled with logic and reasoning, and Arcadia, a world full of magic, gamers will get to control April Ryan to explore these two worlds to its fullest. By collecting items to help solve puzzles to engaging with over 50 characters in intense dialogue, you will be addicted to this game very fast.

All these puzzles range from easy to some of the trickiest and difficult puzzles up to date. Some puzzles require illogical thinking and there are many clues to guide the average gamer through this game. You have three basic commands available to you when you click on an item or a person.

Gamers have the "hand, speak or eat, and see" action open to most items. While you engage in this environment, it is good to note that April Ryan can never die and there is no such thing as a game over. On that note, the game requires gamers to think and combine items with the knowledge they receive from the townspeople to help April along her journey.

Graphics/Sound - The graphics can obviously not compare to modern graphics as this game was created in 1999. The background is a simple wallpaper that changes when April moves to different environments. April's character model could use some work, but a 3D rendered model back in 1999 is a good feat on its own.

However, the music and voice acting is phenomenal. The intricate music changes during the different backgrounds and the voice acting is great. Enjoy many lengthy conversions and a detailed world of magic and reason. Characters are so diverse in this game that you will get a chuckle out of many conversations. The voice acting really wins over many of this games fan base. The voice actors did a tremendous job on April Ryan, Crow, and Cortez. With good enunciation and dialect, gamers will enjoy the unusual comments of April Ryan and her humorous adventures.

On a side note, while the voice acting is great, there are numerous times where characters curse, hence the M rating. I urge many gamers to look past the graphics and M rating to give this game a chance. Do not let graphics be a turn off for you as some of the greatest games and storylines were created pre-Xbox, Wii, PS3 generation such as FF7!

Play Time/Replayability - Expect to enjoy from 30-50 hours of relaxed game play as you explore the two worlds. Depending on how long it takes for gamers to solve the puzzles, there is a little amount of replayability. Choose different dialogue through your second play through to hear different responses from some of the most memorable characters. Although your choices don't change the end result, people will enjoy the replay value as well as the beautiful story mixed in it. This game is incredibly long and will occupy a lot of your time as it is hard to put this game down until you complete April's quest!

Gamers that do not want to spend time on this game a second time through will be happy to know that Dreamfall: The Longest Journey came out a couple years ago which is the sequel to this masterpiece.

Conclusion - This game is defiantly worth a look if you are into adventure type games. The storyline will have you clamoring for more and gamers can only wonder what adventures April Ryan will have in store. Explore the world of Arcadia and Stark at your own pace while unveiling certain mysteries that link these two worlds together. While I am sure there are future sequels (Dreamfall is already out), gamers need to enjoy this classic game to understand what an adventure game is all about.

Story 10/10
Graphics 9/10 (in regards to when it was released)
Sound/Voice acting 10/10
Characters 10/10
Gameplay 10/10
Play Time 10/10
Replayability 6/10 (well if you devote some time to replay this game and get the most out of it, expect a good 30+ hours but in my opinion I would have no doubt to replay it so 10/10 for me)

OVERALL Score 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/11/08

Game Release: The Longest Journey (US, 11/16/00)