The Journey Down: Chapter Three Reviews

The Journey Down: Chapter Three concludes the story of The Journey Down, when Bwana and friends reach the mysterious Underland at last and have their final showdown with the Armando Power Company. Bwana, Lina and Kito finally make it to the Underland, although they don't stay there for long, as the power company's plan is finally coming to a head. Bwana and Kito return to St. Armando to stop them, with the help of some new friends they meet along the way. We actually get to play as Lina for a section of this game, as she stays in the Underland to help take out the Power Company from that end. This chapter felt more fast-paced than the previous two, and relied more on cutscenes to tell the story. The characters continued to be funny and likeable, and we got to revisit a few from the previous chapters. The puzzles were the most straightforward of the series. I definitely had to think about a couple of them, but unlike the other two chapters, I never had to consult a guide. The ending scene with Bwana, Lina, and Kito was a nice send-off to the characters. Considering how much build up it got in the first two chapters, the Underland ends up being a little underwhelming. The city settings in the rest of the games feel lived in and full of atmosphere, and the Underland seems like it should be lush and vibrant, but it ends up feeling kinda empty and underdeveloped. We just don't get to spend a lot of time there, as most the game ends up being set back in St Armando. In a cast of interesting, funny and colorful characters, the villain, the head of the Armando Power Company, stands out as being bland. We never learn his name or what exactly he wants in all of this. There was what I guess was supposed to be a bit of a twist at the end, but it just left me feeling confused about what our bad guy was trying to accomplish in the first place and how his plans fit together, which made the ending a little unsatisfying for me. I would have liked the game more if the final setting and the final villain that were teased in the other chapters were more fleshed out and worth the wait. Overall, The Journey Down taken as a whole added up to a pretty good adventure game series. The characters were fun, the setting and story were interesting, and the puzzles were consistently pretty logical. Chapter Three was definitely the weakest of the three chapters, but was a decent conclusion to the series as a whole. 7/10