I remember some years ago I was perusing the Gamestop site for new games and saw a cover of a pink dressed girl and a weird title that got my attention. The review was positive enough so I decided to give it a go. Some 10 hours and I was hooked. "Dreamfall: The Longest Journey" introduced me to a vivid and complicated universe of parallel worlds united by dreams, elaborate plots to destroy them and very emotional scenes that I remember to this day. It also presented me with a truncated open ending that left me wanting for more. I fell in love with Zoë, liked April but didn't understand a lot of her story, and was mildly ambivalent about Kian.

Shortly thereafter, I realised that this was the second entry of the story so I decided to play the first one. The confusingly named "The Longest Journey" was an old school point and click adventure game with pre-rendered cutscenes and low polygon characters. I was also hooked and loved learning the background of April Ryan, Crow and more about Arcadia (the world of magic) and Stark (the world of science). However, the puzzles become somewhat annoying and I didn't finished it, even though I did get trough a more than decent chunk. After finishing this latest instalment, I really lament that.

After about 10 years of waiting, I get to continue the story to a satisfying if not a little clunky finale. The once again confusingly called "Dreamfall: Chapters" is an episodic story-driven adventure with puzzle elements. As with the previous game, you play alternatively as Zoë Castillo and Kian Alvane trying to save the world from impending doom. There's actually a lot to the story with a lot of depth, but basically, in both Arcadia and Stark there some forces that want to bring about the end of magic, the unification of the worlds and, of course, total control over reality.

Almost every aspect of the story is impressively deep. From the complex mythos of creation and of balance between light and darkness in Arcadia, to the intense political climate in Stark. Both worlds are fleshed out with gruesome detail and feel lived in. There are people on the streets that chick chat about current events and even street performers that add color to the bleak atmosphere. I don't want to spoil anything but there's an argument to be made that by the end, much of it was inconsequential. But this adds to the idea that this is a complex and real world that is not just defined by the plot affecting the main characters. A point brought home in the epilogue, where you get a small glimpse into an even greater universe.

Now, if Dreamfall taught me anything is that everything lives in the balance. Where there's light there must also be darkness. And so in this game, where there's impressive world-building there's also an uneven paced plot and whole sections that don't advance the narrative. The first 3 of the 5 chapters are almost solely about scene setting and barely anything happens. The ending, on the other hand, feels rushed, with lots of exposition delivered via flashbacks and some final moment resolution that strained my suspension of disbelief.

It's also a game struggling against it's budget; technical difficulties abound. Whether be it characters' lips stop moving while they are still talking or some serious framerate drops, there were many points in which the immersion was lost. I also encounter a nasty bug that prevented me to continue the story until it magically went away. The stiffness of the animation is also apparent, and very often action sequences occur off screen while only showing reaction shots --an obvious ploy to hide the lack of resources to do them right. Add to it that facial expressions are less than stellar and you've got yourself a lot of strange and uncomfortable scenes.

But all of that is more than compensated by the great voice acting. Barring some notable --and probably intentional-- exceptions, every character is incredible well acted. Europolis stands out in particular; the different accents and vernacular mixed from various European languages really work to give the sense that you are walking in a true melting pot.

Regarding the gameplay, it's the standard adventure game stuff. You walk around and look or interact with things to ostensibly solve puzzles, which most of the time are glorified fetchquests. The difficulty is minimal, although there are too many instances of pixelhunting for my liking. But the real important game mechanic is the dialogue. When you decide how to react to people, you get the now usual simplified sentences or words, but you also hear your character's thoughts when you hover over them. Sometimes selecting different response doesn't change much of what you say, but they can define how you actually feel. Again, that speaks to the complexity of the world and characters that this game actually pulls off.

Overall this is an excellent game. If you want to play it and have the ~30 hours to spare, I recommend first playing the first two, since no only there are many nods to the prequels but also some parts that are only solvable if you have a basic understating of previous events or sheer guessing. I don't know if it will eclipse The Longest Journey for hardcore fans of the series but it delivers in it's promise of a rich and deep story with a satisfying ending.