Journey

By Mr. Tropnevad
Summary

Your character wakes up alone and surrounded by miles of desert and you soon discover a mountaintop is your goal. Your passage through the desert will not be an easy one. You will travel through ruins, caves, and environmental challenges.


Expectations going in

Like everyone else that pays attention to video games there is a chance you heard about this game from a friend or an online site. I knew it was created by thatgamecompany (TGC) and I know people praised Flower so I was unsure of what to expect here. It sounded like a different game and TGC is known for making games look like art. I will admit I had no idea if I was going to enjoy a game like this. This isn't something I would normally play.


The Bad

I don't have anything negative to say about this game.

The Good

There is only one goal to the game and that is to travel to a mountain in the distance. There are no stats or lives. You might come across other players within the game, but you cannot speak to them. You can work together and try to find the route needing to be traveled or you can venture off from one another.

I went into this not knowing anything other than what the game looked like and the premise of the game. You can make a noise to have creatures of magic cloth persuasion give you the ability to jump in the air and a boost to reach other platforms. Normally I complain about not being able to jump, but you really don’t know what your character is so there is no reason to complain about the lack of jumping without magic. You are completely clothed and have no arms. Think of a Jawa that is tall and lacking arms.

The graphics look amazing for a downloadable game. I was amazed at how smooth everything looked and how the sand reacted to your movements. The physics in the sand are amazing and I think that this is the best looking sand in any game. Yes, even better than Uncharted 3.

Another aspect of this game that made me play it was the music. I kept hearing from other game developers at how much they loved the music and found themselves listening to it for hours at a time while making their own games. After playing the game I, too, found myself liking the music more than most other games. A few days later I downloaded the soundtrack and found that I enjoyed it even more.

Being able to play with another random player I found enjoyable. I didn’t have to listen to some twelve year old with his name calling or calling the game a derogatory name. I was glad that there was no voice to this and that most players I randomly played with actually wanted to play through the game and wanted to help reach the end. Then there was one player who just wouldn’t quit following behind me at every moment. He wasn’t playing the game just following me step by step. I paused for a minute and most players when I would pause would continue without me, but not this guy. He ran in circles around me until I got up. So even without voice some players are still annoying.

I never died in the game but there is a giant dragon or snake monster that does attack you and slow you down. You will have to overcome this creature and other challenges such as the environment. The wind will blow you backwards and the sand will slow you down or speed you up. In certain areas the sand will help you by letting you slide down hills and in one section I call the surfing stage you travel down a hill and jump dunes and surf through archways.

Journey is completely different than any game most people have ever played on a console. It tells a story, but you need to be able to pay attention to understand what is going on. The visuals are amazing and that alone should entice some people to play this. Some people who have time and are into the game might find themselves going back and trying to obtain some of the trophies to make the game longer.

Overall Thoughts

Most people will not be able to enjoy Journey or even want to try and play it. Another issue will be the fifteen dollar price tag. We have another game that takes less than two hours to beat and I am not going to repeat myself again and again about price like I have been doing in other reviews. Downloadable games on consoles are becoming shorter, but are looking better and being more original than most AAA titles. My suggestion isn't for everyone. I enjoyed this and I think it is worth the money. Then there will be people that will say it's not worth fifteen dollars. Let me point a few things out at least and that is it is cheap, replayable, and fifteen dollars will not break your bank account. If the fifteen dollars is too much for you then why are you buying games in the first place. Anyway, one more thing and while I don't approve of drug use, if you are into drugs this would be a game to play while high.

Overall-Buy