Dreamfall Chapters Book One: Reborn
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Critic Reviews for Dreamfall Chapters Book One: Reborn
Judged on its own, Dreamfall Chapters - Book One: Reborn falls flat, and will confuse series newcomers.
An impenetrable start for non-fans, but there's enough potential here to hope that subsequent episodes make this a dream everyone can share in.
Dreamfall Chapters' first entry isn't wholly satisfying on its own, but it lays a great and characterful foundation for the episodes to come.
It's a series of small, deliberate steps that efficiently clears the way for longer, more exciting strides.
There are only a few real puzzles to gate your progress (almost all in Kian's section of the game) and although that's consistent with the series as a whole, the interactions between Zoë and other characters leave much to be desired. The cast is interesting and memorable and the various settings are well realized, but it feels that more can be done with all of these elements that will likely be presented in future releases, which I'm keen to play.
On the whole the team at Red Thread Games has done an incredible job updating The Longest Journey for the modern era. With graphical fidelity to match any AAA game and a strong aesthetic sense informing its visual direction, Dreamfall Chapters is one of the few games this year that I'd call beautiful. But underneath those modern trappings lies the same foundation of smart, profound storytelling that made the series so great in the first place. Unfortunately, this first episode ends a little prematurely, and it feels like we've yet to reach the real meat of the experience.
Dreamfall Chapters is a strong adventure game, held back only by the required knowledge base for entry. A fascinating game with interwoven tales, beautiful set pieces and believeable protagonists, Dreamfall is going strong and only getting started.
Dreamfall Chapters – Episode 1 does an excellent job of laying the groundwork for what is to be sure to be a helluva journey.
