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.

Journey is a beautiful experience and I will remember moments of my playthrough for a very long time. Without telling too much about the unique way how the game introduces one of it's core catches I have to say it really got me in awe. The sensation of questioning whether something is happening as intended, questioning your own theory and slowly realizing the beauty of all what you're seeing is unforgettable.

The game is short and the length of it is perfectly aligned with the experience. One of the best, if not the best game to play on a nice evening when you want to fully immerse yourself with a beautiful game world and surprising gameplay.

Journey got itself on 6th place in my top 10 of 2021.

Not gonna lie. I was playing this while distracted for the first hour or so and that was a huge mistake because the soundtrack makes this game. When I finally settled down properly and played with the music up and my headphones on it all suddenly made sense.

What a journey. Or, well, y'know once it got going. Those early bits were a drag.

And I still don't know what my motivation really was for climbing that mountain. There could have been a McDonald's up there for all I knew. Those glowing light being nothing but the glow of the golden arches...

For a game with no text or speaking though, man I got the feels. Atmospheric. Beautifully crafted, even when your situation is looking bleak.

I'll probably give this a replay at some point, when things are quiet and I can properly get lose in it. It's only a couple of hours long afterall.

I encourage everyone to go on this Journey.

Critics' Score:

Metacritic: 92/100

Game Informer: 9/10

EDGE: 9.5/10

Gamespot: 10/10

Eurogamer: 9/10

IGN: 9/10

I recently posted here an opinion article/ review -the game in question was The Last of Us Part II- on "Games as Art". In there, I tried to make the point that game development -like anything- is first and foremost a craft, and with it some create what I consider, one of the most powerful pieces of art ever made. To define "art", one would need to use the word "experience"; you can't play and win at art, you can only experience it, experience what the piece has to say to you. Therefore, you don't play Disco Elysium, you experience it; you don't play Death Stranding, you experience it; you don't play Vampire Masquerade: Bloodlines, you experience it; you don't play Dark Souls, you experience it; you don't play The Last of Us Part II, you experience it; and you absolutely don't play Journey, you experience it... Specially Journey.

To say I have never played a game like it, would be an understatement. Never have I been awed like this in a game, in fact, this feeling I had while going through the dunes of Journey, is the same I have when watching movies like Fantasia or any Miyazaki-Ghibli picture. It just radiates beauty, goodness and hope. I cannot describe the game, or how it's beautiful and intuitive design made this, an actual personal "journey", for as I have said before, the only way is to experience it. But what I can say is that life, the bonds we make through it, the lows, the warm and the cold, all of them are a journey, a cycle. "Journey" is about that, is about life. Well, perhaps after all I can describe it to you, it's "life in a video-game".

Score: 97/100

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.

I'm glad this finally came to PC because it looked interesting but I don't have any modern era consoles. I love minimalist games and this one is very elegant with it's design.

I played this solo and I saw people mention its so much more fun with a friend but meh, it's so short as is and straightforward enough. The real draw of this game is the way the scenery and such sweeps you in such an engrossing way.

In the same way when you take a walk out in the woods alone you feel a closer bond with your environment than if you went in a walk in the woods with a person, this game seems to bring that out so I definitely don't feel like I miss out playing it solo.

The game made me think of ICO with it's minimalist design, but also like an amped-up Firewatch of all things due to the way it is both short and more or less just a walking simulator (albeit with a bit more sense of agency)

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.

I loved playing this short game. You won't take long to experience the whole thing and who you do experience is concise and complete. This game is known for one reason and one reason only, it is beautiful. The graphics are pushed to the limit on this one and the artistry is breathtaking. Gameplay although not that massive or out of the box is still fun and simple enough to not take away from the main focus of visual stimulation. This game gave birth to all those pretty games you barely have to move buttons to play genre where they focus on visuals and music to connect with players while avoiding any dialogue or story (mostly). Not the biggest fan of that style, but I still like to marvel at its achievements. Get it if you like beautiful games that won't ask for too much of your time.