An amazing adventure game that does almost everything right!
The Longest Journey is just one of those games that, even after playing for a short period of time, you know will stand the test of time. While it may not be one of the most heard of titles, it is by far and away one of the greatest adventures you will ever play.
Graphics 7/10:
Sadly, this is the only place the game falls down. Whilst the graphics are still very nice and the rendered cut-scenes are great, the general graphics in the game leave a bit to be desired. This is most obvious in the character models where they all look a bit blocky and the animation can be quite rigid at times. Don't get me wrong though, there is still plenty of beauty in this game. For one thing, the backgrounds and objects you come across in the game look truly wonderful and set the scene and feel very well.
Gamplay 10/10:
The Longest Journey is a typical point-and-click adventure game. What that means is you click to move the character to a certain spot, move between various areas and pick up items you have to figure out how to use correctly t progress through the game. TLJ does this very well and keeps a high level of challenge in the game, possibly too hard sometimes. There is a lot of really great puzzles to figure out that will keep you guessing and entertained. There are also a large number of different places you will travel to in the game each providing their own unique puzzles.
Sound 10/10:
The sound has been done beautifully. Background music suits each environment really well and has been chosen very appropriately. The sound effects are all great as well, everything from bubbling potions to cars racing buy are all very effective. The best sound in TLJ though is the voice acting. Each voice really suits the character well and it flows very nicely without some of those weird pauses you get in other games.
Value 9/10:
TLJ will probably take you about 20 to 30 hours to beat depending on how much you use a walkthrough. It is a highly challenging game, so you may find yourself stuck at points, but this does much to expand the life of the game. After beating it there is no reason to go back though, except for the pure joy of playing it again.
Outro 9.4/10:
TLJ is a truly great adventure game that features everything you could possibly want out of one. Its also so cheap now that you'd be denying yourself if you didn't go buy it! So what are you still doing reading this review? Go and buy it now!