15. The Longest Journey (1999) – PC
This is by far one of the most elaborate, epic, detailed graphic adventure that I have ever experienced. The Longest Journey was released in 1999 with some modest controversy: some of the content that was cleared for the Great Britain release (the game was developed by a Norwegian company) was censored before the North American release. Oh how times have changed. Most of this censored material is language. The script isn’t particularly profane, but the material within is very mature. Heavy, real-world issues are addressed throughout the gameworld, including genocide, sexual violence, and homosexuality. The Longest Journey never tries to shock you or offend you; it’s not very graphic. But the characters are not afraid to confront problems of a serious nature and it is up to you to respond to them how you see fit.
We are first introduced to April in the world known as Stark. The city looks very much like how you would imagine Los Angeles to look thirty years from now. It doesn’t have the Blade Runner permanent smog layer, but everything about how this civilization lives is just a touch more advanced than it is now. The depicted world is very conceivable, nothing is too far-fetched or absurd and everything is grounded in science and technology. This is important because April is having nightmares where she exists in a much different world, where science is not taken very seriously, and magic reigns as the dominant force uniting the peoples of this world. We find out that this world actually does exist in a parallel universe: many years ago these two worlds were one, but split to separate the followers of magic from the followers of science. Eventually both worlds forgot about each other. April learns that the line between the two worlds is growing thin, causing seepage (thank you Stephen King) from one world to the other. This, of course, causes great chaos as elements of magic leak into Stark and advanced machinery begins to appear in Arcadia (the magic world). April, able to shift between the worlds, is tasked with restoring the balance.
There are so many beautiful landscapes to explore in Arcadia, and your journey into this pristine natural environment implicitly criticises the much uglier world of Stark, which we see as ourselves, and it forces us to ask questions about faith and science, and the sacrifices that we make for one or the other. Where should the line be drawn? Are we forgetting something about ourselves in our quest for ultimate knowledge and reason? And couldn’t we all use a little magic in our lives?
This is by far one of the most elaborate, epic, detailed graphic adventure that I have ever experienced. The Longest Journey was released in 1999 with some modest controversy: some of the content that was cleared for the Great Britain release (the game was developed by a Norwegian company) was censored before the North American release. Oh how times have changed. Most of this censored material is language. The script isn’t particularly profane, but the material within is very mature. Heavy, real-world issues are addressed throughout the gameworld, including genocide, sexual violence, and homosexuality. The Longest Journey never tries to shock you or offend you; it’s not very graphic. But the characters are not afraid to confront problems of a serious nature and it is up to you to respond to them how you see fit.
We are first introduced to April in the world known as Stark. The city looks very much like how you would imagine Los Angeles to look thirty years from now. It doesn’t have the Blade Runner permanent smog layer, but everything about how this civilization lives is just a touch more advanced than it is now. The depicted world is very conceivable, nothing is too far-fetched or absurd and everything is grounded in science and technology. This is important because April is having nightmares where she exists in a much different world, where science is not taken very seriously, and magic reigns as the dominant force uniting the peoples of this world. We find out that this world actually does exist in a parallel universe: many years ago these two worlds were one, but split to separate the followers of magic from the followers of science. Eventually both worlds forgot about each other. April learns that the line between the two worlds is growing thin, causing seepage (thank you Stephen King) from one world to the other. This, of course, causes great chaos as elements of magic leak into Stark and advanced machinery begins to appear in Arcadia (the magic world). April, able to shift between the worlds, is tasked with restoring the balance.
There are so many beautiful landscapes to explore in Arcadia, and your journey into this pristine natural environment implicitly criticises the much uglier world of Stark, which we see as ourselves, and it forces us to ask questions about faith and science, and the sacrifices that we make for one or the other. Where should the line be drawn? Are we forgetting something about ourselves in our quest for ultimate knowledge and reason? And couldn’t we all use a little magic in our lives?
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