Dreamfall Chapters: Book 3 Review
Dreamfall Chapters: Book 3
Publisher: Red Thread Games
Developer: Red Thread Games
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PEGI: N/A
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Dreamfall Chapters: Book 3 Review
Now roughly halfway through the Dreamfall Chapters book releases, fans are undoubtedly starting to feel a mixture of excitement and, of course, sadness. While the storyline is finally nearing its climax and larger series-arcing plots are starting to be resolved and giving players answers, at the same time we near the end of the Longest Journey tale with each release.
The most recent book release, titled Realms, came out June 25th and truly got the ball rolling fast on the end of the tale, but the excitement still overpowers the sadness, as the next two books are sure to be filled to the brim with story and explanation.
The Story Continued
Like the second chapter, this chapter starts with an unexplained scene of the most mysterious character in the franchise since Cortez of The Longest Journey. This character, a young adorable blonde child named Saga, continues to have fans scratching their heads trying to figure out her origin, purpose, and possible relationships to the main characters. After an especially cool fan-service puzzle in which the player puts Saga’s drawings of the events of the first game in chronological order (may be harder than you think!), the game gets started.
We first catch up with a now-bearded Kian Alvane, who has fully joined the resistance effort in Marcuria. Believing that the pipes that run through the city are the key to the mysteries the Azadi and Kian’s old masters and friends are hiding, he sets out to uncover what they hold. After breaking into a strange laboratory/factory and discovering an Azadi-appointed scientist, Kian starts to uncover some of the truth but it only gets denser and more confusing the more he learns.
Meanwhile, after the events at the end of Book 2, Zoe Castillo finds herself in a city under Martial Law. Locked down and watched constantly, but with a stylish new hairstyle, after almost dying in a vicious attack on the city, Zoe finds herself alone and in danger. After meeting up with Queenie, who is about to flee the city like most others are doing, Zoe learns that Hannah, the leader of the street gang she met in the last book may hold a bigger part in things than she believed. Using a dreamer for the first time since the events of Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, Zoe is finally able to recover her memories and travel back to the magical land of Arcadia and meet up with a very familiar face (or, should I say beak?).
Gameplay and Graphics
As has come to be expected from the Longest Journey franchise, again in Book 3 puzzles play a huge part in gameplay. While the story takes some strong leaps forward in this installment, truthfully the puzzles feel a tad easier and less thought out than in previous releases. The gameplay controlling Saga proves to be one of the harder puzzles, and is featured at the front of the game, making all subsequent gameplay feel a little too easy. This book also somehow feels the shortest of the three, despite having the most storyline covered. The design and ideas set forward in this book however, are the most creative and interesting so far. Playing as Zoe we finally get to explore the area of Marcuria that we have come to know and see it now for a third time in a better quality. Moments like this are truly the most enjoyable for long-time fans, while other developments such as Zoe’s new outfits and Kian’s beard are really just for aesthetic appeal.
Looking to the Next Book
The anticipation for Book 4’s release is stronger than any other besides perhaps the first. Things should certainly start to get more serious and more resolved as the books continue, and I anticipate an even greater departure than in Book 3 from actual gameplay in order to focus more on story. There are still many loose ends that need to be tied up for long-time fans to be satisfied, although mastermind Tørnquist always seems to know what the fans want to see and hear and does a better job than many game creators of meeting their desires. There is a lot to look forward to with the currently unnamed Book 4, and at the same time we must start preparing for what will likely be the end of the franchise. Hopefully, Tørnquist gets to end things the way he always planned to and fans can leave Book 5 feeling at peace.