Journey (2012)

What a relaxing, pallet cleanser of a game. I wasn’t ready to dive into something heavier right now so being able to enjoy this visual and auditory snack of a game was absolutely a hit for me.

The game tells you almost nothing and that works so well as the game just wants you to enjoy the moments. No worries about loadouts or pressure to find collectibles or anything else. Fantastic.

This is another of those games where I get the hype and all, but in the end I just find it a nice little experience and move on. In Journey you control a cloaked figure who can float up in the air if you have the magic-energy to do so. (Your scarf will glow when you've got juice.) Extremely simple and short game that has you trudging through the desert, exploring some ruins, and finally climbing up a snowy mountain. I think the game takes about an hour, but if you want to go back and collect all the hidden glyphs and whatnot then you might want to play through it another time or two. The main gimmick of the game is that another online player can appear in your game, and you can help each other out by giving each other energy for the speedy float-jump ability. Honestly not that much to get excited about, and it's always possible the other player will want to just go off looking for collectibles or do trophy tasks or what have you.

Where the game shines brightest is in its presentation. The game is absolutely gorgeous, with a vibrant art style that to its benefit doesn't go for the realistic approach. It really feels like you're in a work of art, a grand painting of an entire world brought to life. Really bright lighting, really dark shadows -- it all looks brilliant in motion. Adding to all this is a majestic orchestral score and what I'll call great "cinematography." Journey tells an incredibly basic story ("protagonist goes on a journey to a place") but the presentation elevates it, makes it feel epic.

But that all said, I feel the game is just fine (which is fine). It didn't really "move" me like it did a lot of other people, but perhaps that's because this sort of short "experience" type of game is surely a lot more common now than it was back when Journey first released. I also feel the 2-player aspect of the game is half-baked, but I get they probably just wanted to keep things as simple as possible.

This is pretty, abstract, and minimalist. If you don't like the latter two qualities then you won't like this game.

I was disappointed in the game overall but there were moments that I liked. I vaguely recall this game being widely praised in the past but otherwise I had completely forgotten all details that I may have known. I didn't know this requires less than 2 hours to complete. Had I known, I may have endured and played it in one sitting. But I played it in two or three sittings. I definitely stopped after I think the first two areas because nothing interesting happened. I suspect it may be better to play this game in one sitting.

The art and music are good and they feel like they are in harmony together. It is not super detailed but doesn't feel like it is lacking in detail. It manages to be visually striking even though it's mostly just using different shades of orange for most of the game where you're walking in sand dunes.

The character also moves in a sensible way, trudging along in sand. You can't jump freely and you can't run. Sometimes walking feels painfully slow as you may wish you could traverse those empty spaces more quickly to find a structure of significance. But this is intentional design as there are parts of the game where you aren't meant to rush through. There are only two possible actions, making a sound and jumping/flying. The latter of which is not available at the beginning of the game because it's activated by the environment. You can make different sounds by holding the button longer. The jumping and flying can be fun to traverse the different areas. It has mostly a nice flow to it. There isn't much depth but the controls work well and what little gameplay there is does compliment the overall atmosphere. Could deeper gameplay have made for a more engaging game? Maybe but it would need to have been very well thought out and implemented because I can imagine a poorly added mechanic could really distract from what is currently present in this game. Again the word harmony comes to mind.

I didn't realize it at the time but playing online allows for the possibility of other players appearing in your game. I only ever saw one other player in the same area as me at a time. I'm not sure if that's the limit of if there can be more than two players in the same area. The other player character will look identical to your own except for possibly scarf length. In my first playthrough I apparently interacted with three different players. I had no idea and just thought it was a random aspect of the game. It didn't feel like it affected my experience of the game significantly. It was just something that happened. Knowing that other players could be part of the game, it made me think that I could use the sound making ability to communicate via morse code (if I actually knew morse code).

This is a short game but it's as long as it needs to be. There are some collectibles and secrets to find but you can complete the game without finding many of them. There is a vague story or history behind the world that is gradually unveiled in abstract pictorials that are engraved or displayed in light on walls. I was personally not too intrigued by them. They looked interesting but they didn't really spark my imagination. Others may be more inclined to spend time trying to interpret them and piece together a story.

Overall, Journey is a well-constructed game. However, it is again minimalist, which is going to be divisive. There isn't much to do and little is told to the player about the story or the world. Part of the game is to try to discover the story and the world. Another part of it is simply to enjoy the experience of traveling through a world where you don't know or understand everything and to appreciate the beauty that can be seen and heard.

I don't feel like there is anything missing in Journey but I also don't feel like the sum ends up being greater than its parts. Of course, there are those who disagree. For me, the world that was presented to me was not so interesting that it inspired me to think about its potential mystery beyond its tangible aspects. For sure this is not a game where the gameplay is supposed to be the main aspect of engagement but as a whole, I just didn't find there were enough details for me to become immersed. It looked nice, it sounded nice but it wasn't an emotional experience for me at all. Personally, I find the way the game ends is a common and almost predictable trope that requires the journey to be something really special for one to actually find that sort of ending to be satisfying.

I don't think the game is shallow but I think it does lack depth. That's probably why it didn't resonate me. It wasn't a waste of time to play but having played it, I don't feel like I would've been missing out if I had never played it.

A feast for the eyes. Some of the best sunshine reflections I've seen in any game.

For what it is, I thought it was a tad bit too long. Maybe up to two hours would have been good. But either way, it's amazing that it keeps you glued until the end. Many movies try hard to achieve the same, and this game doesn't even have any dialogue, or even an obvious plot / meaning. It's a minimalistic, unchallenging experience with a nice soundtrack.