The Long Journey Home

The Long Journey Home
Studio	Daedalic Studio West
Publisher	Daedalic Entertainment
Senior Developer	Andreas Suika
composer	Kai Rosenkranz
Erstveröffent- lichung	May 2017
platform	Mac OS , Microsoft Windows , PS4 , XOne , Nintendo Switch
Game engine	Unreal Engine 4
genre	Strategy game , roguelike
Game mode	Single player
control	Keyboard & mouse , game controller
medium	Download
language	German English
Age rating	USK PEGI

The Long Journey Home is a space exploration simulation with roguelike elements from Daedalic Entertainment for Windows , Mac OS , PlayStation 4 and Xbox One . It is the first published game by Daedalics Studio West in Düsseldorf and was first launched in May 2017.

action

The player controls the fortunes of a spaceship with a crew of four, which is set off on a research trip with the experimental Alcubierre jump drive in 2067 as part of the KNOSSOS research project. Instead of the actual target, the Alpha Centauri system , the ship is stranded 36,000 parsecs from Earth in unknown areas of the galaxy. The team's goal is to find the way back home. On the journey through the new procedurally generated universe with each new game, the crew encounters extraterrestrial races who give them quests and ends up on planets to search for raw materials.

Gameplay

At the beginning the player chooses his aircraft from three types of ships and three landing units. These differ in terms of properties such as loading capacity, jumping range, tank volume and technical equipment. The four-person crew is selected from a pool of ten given characters. The physicist Dr. Miri Wagner (focus: applied physics), businessman Simon Castillo (vice-president of the Schiaparelli Mining Group), Professor Nikolay Lebedev (inventor of the jump drive), the physicist Benoit Verdier (focus: theoretical physics), the astronaut Kirsten Barrasso, the archaeologist Dr . Siobhan Hartigan, the botanist Dr. Ashwin Malhotra, engineer Alessandra Iacovelli, student and blogger Zoe Creed, and test pilot Malcom Winters. Each character has unique abilities that open up additional options for action in the course of the game. This and similar variation options are intended to increase the replay value .

The ship only has forward thrust, which is why the entire ship must always be turned to maneuver and brake in order to generate the appropriate counter-thrust. Otherwise, it will hit obstacles in its trajectory and be destroyed. This creates a challenge, for example during landing maneuvers on planets that require a corresponding speed and entry angle into the orbit (so-called swing-by or gravity deflection). The subsequent landing using the landing module is also designed as a mini-game of skill and can lead to the loss of the landing pilot and the landing module. The repeated failure and restart of the journey in a new universe are part of the game principle. The ship's fuel supply is limited and has to be replenished regularly, for example by extracting collected resources. Other dangers include a broken hull or the death of all crew members. In exchange with the ten implemented alien races, the player can collect information about the surrounding system or equip his ship and the landing module with helpful extensions, such as stabilizers or heat shields.

Fights against enemy spaceships are carried out in a similar way to sea battles by exchanging broadsides. The player has to use his weapon systems effectively through skillful navigation and assessment of angle and speed, while at the same time he has to watch out for his protective screens.

After the initial release, Daedalic implemented a simplified story mode that significantly reduces the difficulty of the game: the player encounters fewer enemy spaceships, exploration and navigation are simplified, there are more resources, the planets are less dangerous, the landing module requires less fuel and is more resilient and if the mission fails, there is now a turn back time function that calls up an automatically created earlier score.

development

The Long Journey Home was the first development project of Daedalic's Daedalic Studio West branch in Düsseldorf . It was announced in August 2015 as a mixture of game elements of the titles Starflight and Star Control 2 with characteristics of the roguelikes . The TV series Firefly and Farscape were named as further influences . The game uses the Unreal Engine 4. The author Richard Cobbett (including Sunless Sea , Sunless Sky ) was hired for the quest descriptions . The music and the sound were composed by Kai Rosenkranz , who was friends with Creative Director Andreas Suika. Suika contacted Rosenkranz when he asked his fans after a long break from composing via crowdfunding for financial support for a new album called Journey Home . The coincidental overlap in the choice of name and Rosenkranz's desire to return to composition work led to the collaboration. The PC versions appeared in May 2017, the console versions for PS4 and Xbox One appeared in November 2017.

After the PC release, Daedalic added a so-called story mode via update in June, which significantly reduced the difficulty in favor of the player in order to focus on the narrative. Another update in August 2018 brought a new tutorial, a revision of the user interface and new content in the form of a revision of the medical system and a new quest. The console ports already included the updates of the PC versions, such as the adventure mode.

reception

reviews publication Rating PS4 Nintendo Switch Windows Xbox One 4players 78% 75% GamePro 85% 85% GameStar 85% IGN 6.4 / 10 PC Gamer US 68% Polygon 5.5 / 10 Meta-ratings Metacritic 58% 68%

The game received mixed reviews (Metacritic: 68%, Windows).

“For impatient players who need quick success and simple controls, who want to be taken by the hand instead of taking their own steps - The Long Journey Home is nothing for them. But if you like to wallow in a game, practice, learn, sometimes fail (and then again and again until it always works better) - the space game is made for you. "

- Martin Deppe : Gamestar

“The Long Journey Home is an exciting adventure - but it's not always fair and it is very random. If you want a nice cruise through space, you won't be happy with the game. But if you are looking for a challenge and consider yourself very, very resistant to frustration - the game shows you the truth here! - will be delighted. "

- Markus Grundmann : Eurogamer

With the launch of the game, Daedalic posted positive sales figures for the first quarter of the 2017 financial year, which made the title a success for the publisher. Despite the failure of Daedalics' large-scale production Die Säulen der Erde , the German publisher was able to increase its sales by 40% by the end of the 2017 financial year, for which The Long Journey Home was named as the main reason alongside Shadow Tactics .

The game was nominated in seven categories for the German Developer Award in 2017, including the best German game, but it went empty-handed at the award ceremony. At the German Computer Game Award, the title won the award for best production in 2018. In addition, it was nominated as the best German game, but was subject to the title Witch It, also published by Daedalic, in this category .

Web links

• Publisher's product page
• The Long Journey Home at MobyGames (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Elene Schulz: Project Daedalus - competition for No Man's Sky from Germany. In: GameStar. August 5, 2015, accessed December 31, 2018 . 
2. ↑ Marcel Kleffmann: The Long Journey Home: Presentation of the ten-person spaceship crew. In: 4Players. July 25, 2016, accessed December 31, 2018 . 
3. ^ Peter Steinlechner: The Long Journey Home: Survival in the procedurally generated. In: Golem.de. April 20, 2016, accessed December 31, 2018 (German). 
4. ^ Adam Smith: Wot I Think: The Long Journey Home. In: Rock Paper Shotgun. May 30, 2017. Retrieved December 31, 2018 (American English). 
5. ↑ Gameswirtschaft: Kai Rosenkranz: “There is no turning back.” In: GamesWirtschaft.de. October 12, 2016, accessed on December 31, 2018 (German). 
6. ↑ Jan Wöbbeking: The Long Journey Home: Tricky Space Exploration by Daedalic published. In: 4Players. May 31, 2017, accessed December 31, 2018 . 
7. ↑ Marcel Kleffmann: The Long Journey Home: The journey begins on November 14th on PS4 and Xbox One. In: 4Players. October 25, 2018, accessed December 31, 2018 . 
8. ↑ Marcel Kleffmann: The Long Journey Home: Update with a simpler story mode for download. In: 4Players. June 3, 2017, accessed December 31, 2018 . 
9. ↑ Marcel Kleffmann: The Long Journey Home: Big update: flight training, improved interface and overhaul of the medical system. In: 4Players. August 9, 2017, accessed December 31, 2018 . 
10. ^ ^{A b} Jan Wöbbeking: The Long Journey Home - Test, Simulation. In: 4Players. November 14, 2018, accessed December 31, 2018 . 
11. ↑ ^{a b} Martin Deppe: The Long Journey Home in the test - Lust in Space. In: GameStar . May 30, 2017, accessed July 8, 2020 . 
12. ↑ Leif Johnson: The Long Journey Home Review - Never tell me the odds. In: IGN Entertainment . June 1, 2017, accessed July 8, 2020 . 
13. ^ Matt Elliott: The Long Journey Home review. In: PC Gamer . May 31, 2017, accessed July 8, 2020 . 
14. ↑ Jan Wöbbeking: Test: The Long Journey Home - Merciless struggle for survival in space. In: 4Players . June 1, 2017, accessed July 8, 2020 . 
15. ↑ ^{a b} Markus Schwerdtel, Martin Deppe: The Long Journey Home in the test - Lust in Space. In: GamePro . November 12, 2018, accessed July 8, 2020 . 
16. ^ Noah Caldwell-Gervais: The Long Journey Home review. In: polygon . May 29, 2017, accessed July 8, 2020 . 
17. ↑ ^{a b} The Long Journey Home for PC Reviews. In: Metacritic . Accessed December 31, 2018 . 
18. ^ The Long Journey Home for Switch Reviews. Retrieved July 8, 2020 . 
19. ↑ https://www.eurogamer.de/articles/2017-06-08-the-long-journey-home-test
20. ↑ Games economy: Daedalic Entertainment: "The Long Journey Home" ensures a jump in sales. In: GamesWirtschaft.de. September 7, 2017, accessed on December 31, 2018 (German). 
21. ↑ Games economy: Bastei Lübbe: Daedalic parent company deep in the red. In: GamesWirtschaft.de. June 18, 2018, accessed December 31, 2018 (German). 
22. ↑ Gameswirtschaft: German Developer Award 2017 Winner: “The Surge” is the best German game. In: GamesWirtschaft.de. December 7, 2017, accessed on December 31, 2018 (German). 
23. ↑ Robin Rüther: German Computer Game Award 2018 - These are the winners. In: GameStar. April 11, 2018, accessed December 31, 2018 . 
24. ↑ Gameswirtschaft: Computer Game Award 2018: "Witch It" nominated four times. In: GamesWirtschaft.de. March 6, 2018, accessed December 31, 2018 (German).