Dreamfall: The Longest Journey

Content review for this game:
Pertaining to the ESRB rating.


Content sum up: This has been rated "M" mostly for language, as this is full of it. The story is also a bit on the mature side, and to an extent, isn't appropriate for younger teens. So, I recommend this game for ages 17+.


Blood: There is no blood in gameplay. There is a bloodied handprint on a door in one area, and as you enter it, a trail of blood leads to a control panel with another bloody handprint—that's the extent of blood effects. Also, something that could be considered gross, is that one antagonist is a large, green, grotesque blob, who lightly resembles the human he once was, with cords and wires attached to several parts of his obese body. There is no option to turn (the light and pre-existing) blood off.


Strong language: There's over a dozen uses of hell, sh*t, God and the f-word (twelve of which are used by one character in one scene alone), under a dozen uses of d*mn, Jesus and Jesus Christ, two uses of p*ss, and one use of a** and bastard. You can en- able subtitles, which will show language uncensored, including the f-word. And while you can skip full lines of dialog at anytime, since the language is scattered throughout dialog, you would have to skip most of the important conversation, rendering its story useless—lastly, it is worth noting that all three of the playable characters never utter the f-word themselves. There is no option to turn language off.


Suggestive themes:

  • At the very beginning of the game, the main female character is introduced in a skimpy lowcut tank-top and panties, as she lounges in her room. She wears this for the first ten minutes before changing (which isn't seen) into something more suitable; although, once you do gain control of her, you can go to the closet and change immediately. Later in, she has a couple of playable visions, where she's wearing a white version of this outfit. The other females are clad in revealing or form fitting clothing; but the above outfit is the extent of immodest clothing.
  • As you explore the main female character's boyfriend's apartment, the bed can be inspect, causing her to say, "I've spent a lot of nights in that bed. It's comfy and...bouncy." Obviously meaning she's slept with him regularly in the past.
  • There is an antagonist who can experience other people's dreams, and tells the female protagonist how he saw her in her boyfriend's dream, "You where naked, writhing, alive. Sweating. Moaning. I enjoyed that. It made me haaa."
  • A brief scene shows a side character who is an immortal, glowing blue entity in the form of a naked man; you see the overall shape of his body, but there isn't any explicit detail (in other words, he has no visible private parts).

Violence: The story has an overall mystic/fantasy feel, with a twing of thriller/horror, and revolves around a young woman who doesn't know what to do with her life, until the decision is taken out of her hands, as some strange things start to happen, which soon wisks her into the unknown. It's first and foremost an adventure game, meaning you will mostly be spending your time conversing, exploring, and solving puzzles, not fighting. The combat that is present is not only set apart from the rest, but is very sc- ant (there are only six fighting portions in the entire 20+ hours, not counting the tuto- rial). There are three playable characters: the first uses a sword, the second (you will be playing as her the majority of this game) uses punches, blocks and kicks, and the third uses a bowstaff—combat is bloodless and very mild.


Alcohol reference: (The ESRB didn't mention this in their rating) Some dialog briefly mentions red wine, tequila, beer, and whiskey, and there is also a cocktail bar in one area of the game. At one point, the protagonist's boyfriend recalls how at one time he had to take her to a cheap hotel so she could recover from her drunkenness, and how she spent all night throwing up. The drug reference is light, and shows some druggies crashed out in an abandoned house—playable characters aren't invovled.


Content review posted: 05/17/2008


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