As for the density of the episode, I think there’s a distinct possibility that it’s doing too much. There’s foreboding and prefiguring, there’s relationship drama (although it’s admirably and credibly undramatic), there are the seeds of a political thriller, and there is humour. There’s also the not insignificant matter of multiple worlds and the relationships between those worlds – how do they influence their neighbours, and are they neighbours at all or nested dreams and constructs. The game plays with these ideas, while also pointing to the connection that writers have with their own worlds and the words that make them.
That’s a lot of ground to cover in a short period of time. As the game unfolds, all of these things may intertwine, focused on characters and their decisions, but there are tonal shifts in this compact first episode that could cause whiplash. One scene has already sparked heated discussion, and I’m not convinced that it works myself. I think the intent, as Tornquist describes in
a forum thread(slight spoilers) and did in conversation when I spoke to him about it, is solid and even admirable. I think the execution sells that intent short and that’s occasionally true of the game as a whole, which doesn’t seem entirely comfortable with what adventure game baggage remains.
The fault isn’t with the script, it’s in that density of ideas, and sometimes uneven performance and direction. Perhaps the episodic nature is to blame as well, to a degree. We have to wait if we’re to see how Mira and Wit develop, and can only judge on what we’ve seen. At the moment, there’s an uncomfortable slice of life that will be lacking context for a while longer.
I see my fidgeting during that scene, and my smiles and sadness during others, as evidence that the game has the ability to get under my skin and into my memories, just as its predecessors did. Whether I’ll still believe that to be the case when Dreamfall Chapters reaches its conclusions (I’m sure there will be several endings, literal and otherwise) is impossible to say, but there are characters and situations here that I want to know more about. There are worlds I want to revisit.
Chapters is positioned somewhere between a more traditional adventure game and the consequence dramas that Telltale have become known for. There are few inventory puzzles and important decisions are marked as such in a way that seems to mimic Telltale a little too closely (THIS CHARACTER WILL REMEMBER THAT), but I’m already fretting about a couple of decisions and how they’re likely to break my resolve further down the line. I particularly enjoy the vague hints as to how and when resolution will arrive.
Most importantly, the story still has intricacies and a powerful emotional core, and after a decade and a half, I’m still happy to wait for an ending, even if this one was a little abrupt. Whatever levity and controversy occurs between now and then, I don’t expect a dry eye in the house when that ending comes because I’m becoming convinced that this is a story about letting go – of life and of creations – and the inevitable consequence of growing up and coming of age.