Journey - A tale of Strangers, Sands and Scarves

[WTF]

Reserved for OT

[WTF]

Disclaimer: There might be a few spoilery type things. But not entirely. You see the game is an individual experience and while there is a story, the experience varies. I'm not going to try and spoil it for those who want to experience it entirely by themselves so read at your own discretion.

 

Journey is probably one of the better game experiences (dare I say best?) that I’ve come across this year. Just like most of TGC’s games it begins in a very minimalist fashion, in fact when you get into the Beta – the email literally tells you the controls. This is because at the very beginning all the game does is ask you to press start and you’re treated to a slow intro where you find yourself waiting for a bit before the game actually begins. There are no real control prompts until later in the game. It carries the same minimalist feel that you normally find in a Team Ico game and does it very well indeed.

 

At first you do not feel that it’s a game but you’re just exploring the world and trying to get the feel of what’s out there. It does initially feel vastly empty as if you’re in a desert on your own. The narrative is not forced, it’s there for you to discover. The protagonist or rather the character you play is as oblivious to the world around it just like you are and there’s almost a naiveté in the way they try to discover about the world - going about collecting pieces for your scarf (it begins off really small and you collect bits and let it grow), activating dead/inert scarves and releasing small scarf pieces (which form a game mechanic of floating) and scarf creatures who seem to be benign and just fly around guiding you to different locations.

 

The game is definitely about discovery and the desert is very reminiscent of the deserts of Dune or Lawrence of Arabia. You can tell that there are several cultural influences in the game that give it an interesting aesthetic. The game while in Beta seems to be divided into zones that you explore and while I don’t know/think that you can go back, I really hope you can. The O button functions as a cry, call button which activates/interacts with things in the world and also helps you find a friend if you are lucky enough to find one and are able to co-op. Unfortunately I’ve not really come across anyone and it does seem strangely poignant that your character just ‘cries’ out to the emptiness not to get many cries back. Maybe it’s just me projecting an idea onto a character, but there was something sad about that.

 

There’s definitely a game here. The game part feels quite like dungeon-zone explorer type of game where you solve smallish puzzles and proceed into the next area. Each time you progress, a higher being greets you and guides the player to the next area. The player is shown a pictorial story of what had happened in the society/civilization before you had arrived there. You are also ‘marked’ or rather a design pattern forms on your long flowing skirt. There are scarf bits (non-collectible) that just help in a floating jump and there are luminous bits that unlock your scarf length.

 

One area seemed to be filled with ruins, while it’s not necessary to explore all of them to proceed, I would recommend doing so because not only is it fun, but it’s also nice to see how far you can go and where you’re prevented from going because of sandstorms. The game definitely explores the concepts of the heroes’ journey, exploration and the whole stranger in a strange land bit.

 

I played the game for about 90 minutes and then it set me back to the start. The game stops at a part that looks ominous. The brighter world darkens and we’re facing a huge tower unlike the ones we had come across before. In a sense, it’s to be expected since the melancholia in the game is quite strong.

 

 

 

A few things I can note from playing the game are:

 

· Man I wanted to play more and just like with flower – Day 1

 

· Those damn flying scarves don’t want to wait for me. I feel like a kid trying to chase after adults or a pet and they’re just too busy trying to tell me what to do and me just dragging along slowly.

 

· Sliding down a dune is fun

 

· Sandstorms are not because it doesn’t let you get where you want -.-

 

· Floating/flying is a lot of fun when you get to do it.

 

· I wanted more dammit. But it’s just the Beta.

 

· They need to give the Beta to a few more people. I didn’t come across anyone so far though I felt like I almost did once.

 

· It conveys the feeling that it’s a vast empty world very well thanks to the environmental effects, though you can see through it I suppose.

 

· It controls quite easily, I didn’t find any ‘floaty’ bits but then again I didn’t quite feel that with LBP either.

 

 

 

Just like flower, unless you’ve got extreme OCD of collecting everything this game is highly soothing and I’d definitely recommend playing it before heading to bed. All said and done, it is quite a beautiful and perhaps a touching game. I can’t wait to see what the real game is like.

 

Edit: The world that it creates - the closest I could feel in a game were the desert kingdom in Nier and SoTC in general.

Edited July 12, 2011 by WTF

[Connorrrr]

Man, I can't put into words how badly I want to try this game out. It's also going to be a day one purchase for me, I love thatgamecompany.

 

Thanks for telling us your thoughts. It sounds like it's going to be great.

[indyit]

I really really REALLY want to play this game. Having revisited Flower the other day to test out the game on my new tv, the 5 of us who were in the room were simply stumped and ended up playing two levels for the sake of it. Didn't read your entire writeup because I'd like certain details to be unknown, but it sounds a lot like what I want it to be.

[FredEffinChopin]

Thanks for the review, well done. I'm even more certain that I'm in this one on the first day now. It's a small desert, I'm sure I'll bump into some of you in my travels =)

[Connorrrr]

I got some hands-on time recently at a gaming festival! Read my preview here: http://pressxordie.com/2011/10/31/preview-journey/

 

In short, it's pretty neat!

[WTF]

Journey is beautiful. Short but it really feels beautiful.

A good way to describe it would be the feeling you've had when you were a child and you watched fantasy adventure films except this time you can do it as an adult.

Also it's obvious Chen is a film school graduate with his heavy emphasis on show and don't tell. After playing it, I got reminded of Chris Marker's La Jettee in a way (that's a film with audio told through a narrative in stills).

 

I played through a portion of it and ran through other travellers. I could post a review for those interested on tuesday/wednesday. It requires multiple playthroughs for trophies and for the experience.

 

However I will say this, if you were going to play it and not in that mood you probably wouldn't like it. Currently £9.99 and only available for plus users till next week.

Edited March 8, 2012 by WTF

[Thursday Next]

I loved it. Played through a Journey and met 4 other people (one at a time, not sure if it's possible to have more than one companion). It's interesting how different players will react differently. Some will be constantly pinging you, others will only do so on occasion (I noticed after a while that the ping regenerates your flight ability so it's definitely worth sticking together. Some will stick close to you at all times while others will go off and complete objectives while you do the same, working in tandem. Some will just go their own way.

 

It's strange playing alongside a person and not knowing who they are. Trying to communicate with only the minimum of input.

[FredEffinChopin]

What an experience.

 

There is certainly quite a bit of Flower present here, which I didn't really expect. It's mainly in two respects; The search/release nature of most of the level progression, and the dramatic pacing of the narrative. Neither are bad things, and both are more satisfying here than they were in Flower.

 

While the game is gorgeous and the exploration is a lot of fun, the unique style of anonymous co-op is definitely what had me most intrigued. It's an interesting dynamic, one that I'm sure can potentially work against it at times, though I've had nothing but a good time with everyone so far. There is something to be said for having nothing but the other person's behavior and their patterns of circle-pressing to go on when working as a team. Not even a name to send a PSN message to. I feel like it served to create a perfect atmosphere of intimacy for a game that has you exploring vast and empty areas as a team. Each person I had played with was attentive in a slightly different way, but everyone was attentive. As Thursday mentioned, some people will watch where you move and fork out to cover the maximum area in minimum time, whereas other stick close. Sometimes my partner and I were close together the whole time and so totally in tune with each other that we spent most of the time in the air, recharging each-other as we flew around. One of my favorite pairings (that unfortunately had to end before we got to finish the entire journey due to me having to leave the house) was with a player who shared my desire for exploration. After we saw each other tentatively taking little steps towards various corners of the maps, we got the hint and started getting in every crevice we could. At some point (in the area where you're dodging the giant dragon-ish thing) we hit some areas that didn't even seem like they could be reached until we really started making the effort, and timing our leap-frogging correctly.

 

Anyway, I think I'm rambling. I love the game. I had fun, it made me think and explore, I worked as a team with different personalities... and the smile this thing brought to my face on several occasions was something that few games have achieved. In particular

the last two sections did it. The snow stage that has you struggling with your partner to make slow progress has that feeling of a last, futile attempt that can't possibly work, but that neither of you will give up on... And then, you're both airborne, high-fiving each-other with shouts as you burst into flight again and take the final gorgeous trail together.

*sigh* Good times. Bravo.

[deanb]

So yeah I didn't realise this game

a - had an ending

b - 2 hours in.

 

le bum

[SomTervo]

Yeah, it's stunningly short, but pretty stunning in itself.

 

However, when I passed it to my flatmate (after completing it) to let him have a go, I made sure we checked the trophies. As I expected, the game's designed for quite a few playthroughs. The trophies are good, and have very Uncharted/ Ico/ SotC things like "Find the hidden monster in the caves" and such, so you really have to explore the levels (like you did, Chopin).

 

Will hopefully write a little review up over the next couple of days.

[FredEffinChopin]

http://n4g.com/channel/journey_ps3/userreview/515546

 

This is why I don't talk to people.

[Thursday Next]

Because you only play Journey and it has no VoIP? Do you sit in your room "pinging" whenever someone approaches?

[Mister Jack]

[Thorgi Duke of Frisbee]

Played through it yesterday. Such a fantastic game.

[Thursday Next]

I've got one trophy left to collect. But it means not playing Journey for a whole week.

[deanb]

http://www.hejibits.com/comics/pictoral-pilgrimage/

[Mister Jack]

Part of me definitely wants to play this but fifteen bucks for two hours is really hard for me to swallow.

[CorgiShinobi]

This game was worth the $15, and I've only done one journey.

 

This is a fantastic and true artistic game! It is something that I would want to show others that have doubts about games being a medium for art. Just the first area alone was stunning. I tried my best to collect all the glowing artifacts, but part of me didn't want to ruin the experience by treating this like a fetch quest.

 

I didn't know if you could die in this game, and in fact there feels like there are a few unknowns, but it is a journey. I actually had moments of tension from this game, and the ending really got to me. Like, all of it! Supposedly I met seven companions, though I only noticed/played with three people. Definitely some different play styles. My first companion, we were partners. My second must have been on some odd number of journeys already, or he was really impatient with the small scarf he had. The third was a mix of the two, but considering we were at the ending, it's understandable if him or I were ahead or one another.

 

We both made it, pinging as if singing.

 

Absolutely brilliant! 10/10!

Edited March 24, 2012 by Atomsk88

[Thursday Next]

Aha! It's been more than a week since I played. Gonna collect that trophy tonight. Look out for a white cloak if you're online, it could be me!

[TheMightyEthan]

How did you get a white cloak?

[Thursday Next]

Spoiler tagged in case people want to discover for themselves.

Collect all the glowing symbols.

[Strangelove]

I just finished it. It was so goddamn amazing. Im sure semen came out of my ears at least once. It made my mind orgasm.

And the last 10 minutes are so amazing...im sure I saw God or something.

[SomTervo]

That's really cool about the white cloak thing.

 

It's easy to brush the game off as 'simple', but as I thought (considering they took hints from Team Ico games), ThatGameCompany have put a fair amount of work in to make many things to discover in the background of the game.

Edited March 27, 2012 by kenshi_ryden

[TheFlyingGerbil]

seems like the price hasn't held it back. It's the fastest ever selling game on PSN, Quite a nice (and short!) blog post about it