2005-08-04

### The Longest Journey [![Icon-Permalink.png](/Icon-Permalink.png)](#)

[![house](/space/the_longest_journey_house.jpg)](http://longestjourney.com/)[![/space/the_longest_journey_box.jpg](/space/the_longest_journey_box.jpg)](http://longestjourney.com/)[![dragon](/space/the_longest_journey_dragon.jpg)](http://longestjourney.com/)

I've been meaning to play [The Longest Journey](http://longestjourney.com/)
([reviews](http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/198973.asp)), for a long time,
and I finally got around to it. It was great. If you're a fan of adventure
games, I'd recommend it without reservation.

Similar to [Beyond Good & Evil](/space/2004-11-11), The Longest Journey's main
selling point isn't its gameplay, but its story, world, and characters. The
story is stronger than most good movies and novels I read, and the world is
richer and the characters more believable. Despite the unusual settings and
fantastic premise, it was surprisingly easy to suspend disbelief.

The [art direction](http://longestjourney.com/screenshots/arcadia/) is
beautiful, consistent, and perfectly matched to the world. The dialogue is
believable and compelling, and the voice acting, often a weak point, is
unusually good. The [music](http://longestjourney.com/download/music/) is
breathtaking.

As for gameplay, it's a traditional inventory-based point-and-click adventure
game. I grew up on the old-school LucasArts and Sierra games, so I loved it. The
puzzles are well designed, and _always_ fit with the world. No ridiculous
combine-cell-phone-with-potted-plant puzzles here. It's also fairly long, which
could be good or bad, depending on your perspective.

Regardless, if you like adventure games, you should definitely [try the
demo](http://www.longestjourney.com/download/demo/). Even if you don't, try it
anyway. You might be surprised!

P.S. If you're on Windows XP and you notice performance problems, see my [The
Longest Journey slow on Windows XP](/space/The Longest Journey slow on Windows XP) page.