A long Journey Home – PS4 Game Review

Review by Ethan Baron

Taking a break from the Nuclear Wasteland of Appalachia, I decided to jump into outer space with a game released back in May 2017, A Long Journey Home seemed to fit that role but, maybe I should have kept my feet firmly planted on earth.

A Long Journey Home, made by Daedalic Entertainment, is a vast space exploration game in which you and your crew of 4 set off for mankind’s first experimental Jump but, of course, it goes wrong. You and your crew end up lost in space on the wrong side of the galaxy and you need to get home. The game has 10 different characters to choose from for your crew, each one lists very meticulously the different personalities and traits, I must have spent a good 15 mins reading through wondering why I would want someone who brings a potted plant or a crystal skull over an engineer, and how it would affect me.There are also 3 different ships to choose from each with its own statistics tailoredfor how you would want to play the game.

The most beautiful thing about A Long Journey Home will always be the soundtrack. Everything you do in the game from the simple dialogue between crew, exploration, meeting new species and even interacting with them is accompanied by music that makes it seem important, relatable, tense and it fits every single emotion you may feel in each scene you see before you. It’s not very often game developers succeed with that kind of theme, but Daedalic have done that, and they have done it incredibly well.

When you first pick up and play, expect to be confused. The tutorial is long tedious and leaves out a huge chunk of things which you need to know as you explore the many worlds. Even when you start coming to terms with it, there’s a huge learning curve to master it. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, sometimes playing a tactically challenging game is more rewarding than it sounds. First planning your route, then manoeuvring your ship successfully to orbit a new planet and be able to land. To gather those greatly needed resources can and will make you feel accomplished and proud. There are a whole host of aliens to encounter throughout the galaxy and factions you can join, trade with or fight against. Each new species you discover adds a new depth and immersion into the game. Characters and crew members will also talk to each other making it even more personal when they die because of your actions.

The issues lie as you make your way through A Long Journey Home. The controls which are very difficult to master get repetitive, the gameplay exceedingly long, especially with some jumps between planets. While there are planets to explore, sometimes you would rather continue to the next destination. After a solid day of playing, and dying (a lot) I might add, the characters are well thought out and the alien species you will discover are interesting and genuinely make the world feel alive, the quests that they give can be only be described as dull, and mixing this with repetitive time-consuming gameplay just doesn’t do it the justice it deserves. The only redeeming quality I personally found with this game was the soundtrack, which was magnificent.

Overall Score 5.5/10

                                                                                                                                            I would recommend having a try of A Long Journey Home for the soundtrack and very well-designed crew members and aliens, and if you can grab it while on sale even better however,the downfalls of the gameplay does mean it isn’t one I’ll likely be picking upagain anytime soon.

Badger

Life long gamer and Geek, Considered by most to be of doubtable sanity. never seen without my trusty Stetson

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