The Longest Journey

The Longest Journey is a cross between a traditional point-and-click adventure game and a computer-animated novel. Story, character and environment are much more important than you'd expect, and it's here that most of the innovation is to be found - the puzzles are quite old-fashioned and occasionally a bit silly, and the technology doesn't push any envelopes.

Ragnar Tornquist's script, though, is hugely ambitious, and mostly successful; it has a superb premise - essentially a pair of worlds, one futuristic, the other a place of post-Tolkeinish fantasy, and with a heroine (April Ryan) who finds herself shifting, at first unwillingly, between the two. There are some problems - a few too many genre clichés, and the script is needlessly verbose in places where less would have been more. Most of the vocal performances are excellent, however, especially from the lead characters, and visually the design, especially of the environments through which April moves, is superbly evocative. This gives TLJ a narrative range and emotional resonance that's very rarely found in games - if you have the patience to operate at its meditative pace. Even if there'll never be a mass market for this kind of thing, I hope it is another step along the way to the development of the computer game as a genuine art form.

This game is proof that games, like movies and books, can be considered works of art. The characters are amazing. Each and every one of them seems real. There are so many of them. They are all unique. The settings are so imaginative. The story is compelling. I've never played a game where I really cared about what was happening, until I played this. Played is too unflattering of a word. Experienced would be better. The voice acting is incredible. It's an epic game. The Wizard of Oz of games. The game has been around for over a year now. It should be available really cheap. I highly recommend tracking it down. You won't be sorry.

This game is a true gem -- gorgeous graphics, extremely engaging and entrancing story. The puzzles are not too difficult, but are fun and fit well into the story. I'd encourage EVERYONE to play this game -- yeah, I'm talking to YOU! There's philosophy and humor, excitement and mystery, and most of all -- well, ADVENTURE. It's fun. It's interesting. You'll love it.

I just finished The Longest Journey, and if your looking for Video Game of the Year look somewhere else! This is Video Game of the Decade! Everything from the Music, Graphics, Characters, to Story is Excellent. The main character April Ryan, played by Sarah Hamilton, is the key to 'the balance' between two worlds. You will be emerged in a different time and world playing this astonishing game from FUNCOM. It's no wonder that it is a best seller around the world. Go check it out!

Above and beyond the great writing is this amazing soundtrack that I'm still listening to 20 years on