Journey Review

I can't help but think that while creating Journey the designers had the quote “Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” by George Anderson in their head as it was in my head too. Journey is all about what you see, what you feel, and who you meet on the way. 

Journey is beautiful. It's hard to find another word for it since everything just clicks. Visually it just jumps off the screen creating a whole world making the players eager to explore. Even as the tone changes between levels it still comes together as a whole world, from the large expanses of the dessert, to the underground ruins, and finally the snowy mountain top. The accompanying music sets the mood and changes ever so slightly when the player goes to new places or does something different adding an air of mysticism and wonder that underlines the whole experience. Nothing pushes the hardware to its limits but it doesn't need to, and it doesn't want to. 

This is a game where I think it would have been just as good with or without the story. Not that I'm saying that the story is unnecessary or bad, but that right at the beginning of the game players are set with a single goal and while the story gives players context I think the visual direction gives players more than enough urgency to play. Even though I think that I did like the story and how it was told. It does add an aura fantasy to the world but also makes the world lose some of its mysterious qualities explaining the history of the mysterious ruins and graves that litter the landscape.

The heart of Journey is it's gameplay which is surprisingly simple. Move, look, jump and whistle are the only things players must learn to do and it's as simple as possible. Players are tasked to reach the summit of a large mountain in the distance right at the beginning of the adventure and everything they do is to reach complete it. The jumping mechanic is limited to a bar of sorts located on the players scarf and as they continue in the game they can find upgrades to increase the length of the scarf thus giving them larger jumps. These upgrades are completely unnecessary so its alright to miss them and it's all up to the player to look around and find them. Whistling is used to activate items in the environment and can be charged up to activate more items around the player.

Where Journey really shines is in it's multiplayer. As players play the game they will run across of there players. There is no game lobby or name tags over other players head. It is completely random and a fantastic experience. Players can spend time or ignore each other. The only way to communicate is with the whistling mechanic which tests players ability to connect. It works amazingly well showing that we can co-operate without the need to yell over headsets or to send texts. During my first play through I met someone on the second level and we played the whole game the rest of the way together. We bonded over racing down the desert slopes, and avoiding the large guardians in the ruins and at the games climax and conclusion I was as invested with their journeyer as my own.

Just go and play it. No review will be able to express how good this game is. While the price might seem steep for a such a short game it is definitely worth it. If there was any game that could be qualified as an experience this is it.