Game of the Month #74 (March 2021) - Journey

Enter the world of Journey, the third game from acclaimed indie developers thatgamecompany and presented by SCEA Santa Monica Studio. Featuring stunning visuals, haunting music, and innovative online gameplay, Journey delivers an innovative interactive game experience like no other.

It would be interesting if a lot of us played this at the same time. What are the odds that we might run into each other?

It would be interesting if a lot of us played this at the same time. What are the odds that we might run into each other?

I thought of this also. I don't know if it's crossplatform tho... it is available on PS3, PS4, iOS and PC now. And PS5 I guess ? But even of we do, there is no way to tell who is who...

I thought of this also. I don't know if it's crossplatform tho... it is available on PS3, PS4, iOS and PC now. And PS5 I guess ? But even of we do, there is no way to tell who is who...

Sadly not... it seems that PS5 connects to PS4, PS Now connects to PS3. Unless someone will recognize their handle after... ah well. It was a nice idea.

I've played their newest title (Sky: Children of the Light) before and thought it had a very interesting idea. I only retired it because I didn't like the mobile version much.
So yeah, I'm excited to finally play Journey. Plus, it was free on PS4 about a year ago and has been sitting in my backlog ever since.

Oh man, this game has been on my wishlist for a while now but every time sales rolled around I had something else at a higher priority. But with the next Steam sale likely not happening anytime soon I'm very tempted to make an exception and just buy it full price. I'm a sucker for athmospheric games.

I decided to pick this game up straightaway. I started it once two years ago. Back then I played 10 minutes and because nothing made any sense I decided to put it down again. Since it won, I decided to give it another try.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. There's a lot more story than meets the eye and the landscapes and scenes you pass through make for a fluid and beautiful journey. I didn't pay a lot of attention to side content if there even was any. I picked up some glowey things, but I don't know if that's part of the main story or side content. Does anyone know?

What I actually loved as well were the other people I met on the way. I noticed that some of them waited for me when I got stuck and I decided to help them as well. It made the story even more fulfilling.

What a fun little game! :-)

8/10

I may have been more interested in replaying this had I not just gotten my 2 hour long artsy game fix last week playing ABZU, whoops 🤦‍♂️. I might decide later this month to play it again though maybe.

I really enjoyed it the first time around. It was a gorgeous looking game and a fun experience for an evening. I absolutely loved the music too.

Had the first of many play sessions of journey:

I reached the snowy ascent of the mountain I believe

The games is rather beautiful and serene and it really is like a work of art. I feel the introduction of your companion really works well when you reach the open ended area and then slowly try and talk to them about making progress.

I'm not sure if just my partner just left the game at this point or it was designed this way but once I reached underneath the watery tower I was alone and had to deal with the eels myself which was really made me feel like the loss of my partner and the joy of there return at the ascent of the snowy peak. Which I had to cut short Unfornately

Had the first of many play sessions of journey:

I reached the snowy ascent of the mountain I believe

The games is rather beautiful and serene and it really is like a work of art. I feel the introduction of your companion really works well when you reach the open ended area and then slowly try and talk to them about making progress.

I'm not sure if just my partner just left the game at this point or it was designed this way but once I reached underneath the watery tower I was alone and had to deal with the eels myself which was really made me feel like the loss of my partner and the joy of there return at the ascent of the snowy peak. Which I had to cut short Unfornately

You might already know this (but I'm going to post it anyway for others who might not know about this), but your companion is actually someone else playing the game at the same time as you. If your companion left, it's because the player left the game (maybe to have dinner or go to bed, who knows).

That's the beauty of this game, you randomly meet other real life gamers along to way. During the ending credits, you will get a list of those who helped you out during your journey. I think I had 4 or 5 different people joining me at some point during my playthrough a few years ago.

This is a cool feature of that game.

This game is pretty good. It has some brilliant "Show don't Tell"

Ahh Journey - such a bittersweet game for me. Finished it a few days after I got married (the sweet) but also when a personal disaster occurred (the bitter). It was fitting game for me to play at the time, it gave me some peace and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'll revisit this one with you guys this month.

I've already played this but I guess I can talk about my experiences with it. I mainly picked it up due to loving ABZU and I heard Journey is basically the desert version of that game. BOY. I was blown away by it. It's the third game I've given that I can consider a "Perfect" Score meaning no cons were found at all. This game nearly brought me to tears and it was one of the most soul crushing emotional games I've ever played. It just goes to show how powerful gaming can be as an art form. I think the game's look is brilliant and the story and the emotions are powerful. I've talked a bit about this but in my mind, it's a game showcasing a romantic relationship from falling in love with someone, going through all the obstacles in a relationship and then dying together at an old age and going to heaven. I love this game and it's probably one of my all time favorites I have ever played. I picked it up last year and was so blown away by it. The coop in this game is groundbreaking and so unique from anything I have ever played before. I wish I could play it all over again, just like ABZU.

I'm glad this got chosen as the Game of the Month. I don't usually participate in these since I usually am busy with other games but I'm glad Journey is going to be played more this month because of this. Hell, I might even play it again this month because of this.

I will play journey

I first played this around a year and a halfish ago. I do want to replay it sometime, but I don't know if I'll get to it yet or not. It was a beautiful experience and I hope those playing it new or just replaying it enjoy themselves!

For anyone interested - you can tell who you're playing with by either identifying their unique symbols - the shapes that appear when you "talk" in-game

or - no spoilers - but in the end usernames will appear as well

I for one plan to play a number of runs in Journey over the month, in the hope of running into some HLTB folk. Will mostly focus on the PS4 version, but also have the PS3 version if anyone needs a companion on there (for trophies etc).

I'll be one of those travellers with a white robe and a massive scarf - I love helping out in Journey so if you ever see my username pop up (same as here) give me a shout!! =)

Journey is...pretty to look at, even on the PS3 version. But I don't think it's as good as people said it is. I wouldn't say it's not a game, but as a game it wasn't great. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Journey is a tech demo for the PS3. It's something that should have been free to PS3 owners to showcase the graphics and physics capabilities of the console. Think of it as something like Astro's Playroom, but with no substance. Oh, sure, it's fun to flow around for a bit. The game creates a great sense of motion. But it's a far worse game compared to something like, say, Gris, which had fun gameplay. Journey's gameplay was...mostly some bad stealth sections. Not the worst stealth sections in a game (I have to admit, Journey has Life is Strange beat on that), but still, doesn't lend a great impression.

And there's no story. I know people try to say it's an emotional game or there's some theme of cycles and going back to the beginning. But it's not. It's a tech demo that repeats itself because there's no story to tell. It's all flash. People are in their rights to have an emotional response to anything - I, myself, have been known to have intense emotional responses to things that others don't - but to me it's like crying at a Bob Ross painting. Which I'm sure some people would do, but to me I have to question your life experiences if you think a Bob Ross painting is the most beautiful, heart-provoking thing you've ever seen. No judgement, just questions.

Oh, and I'll think you're pretentious. No offense, but you're pretty pretentious if you ascribe some deeper meaning to this tech demo. Sure, it's not Dear Esther fan levels of pretentious - my God, Dear Esther is pretentious all on its own - but still makes you sound like a pretentious art snob who thinks a toilet in a modern art museum makes a profound statement. And as everyone knows, I hate pretension.

As for the "multiplayer" aspect. Again, it's cool to show off PSN, but I don't think it's used to any greatly interesting effect. Oxenfree did it better. Other players, to me, served little if any role in the game. It may as well have been offline and wouldn't have made a difference. Oh, I did see a couple people, but they seemed like idiots. Don't all people in a multiplayer game look like idiots at face value? I digress. Elder Scrolls Online has fun multiplayer interactions. You know what's a fun interaction? Telling someone to "meet me outside Vivec, I'm the lesbian elf on a green lizard." Or busking for gold on the side of the road. Or giving valuable items to some rando just because he helped you kill one boss. Compared to any of that, Journey is...nothing. Journey is dreadfully dull with multiplayer, it adds nothing, and I'd much rather play ESO for my ephemeral relationships.

And did I mention it's boring? It's like 2 hours long, and I took a break halfway because I was bored. You know what kept me hooked the entire time? Donut County, a fun, non-pretentious casual puzzle-but-not game. My God, is Donut County fun! I should have nominated that instead of Skyrim and replayed it.

I...think that's all the insults I wanted to hurl at the game. It's not a bad game, it's just an hour too long and feels like a tech demo. Glad I played it though; makes for great fun to discuss :)

You might already know this (but I'm going to post it anyway for others who might not know about this), but your companion is actually someone else playing the game at the same time as you. If your companion left, it's because the player left the game (maybe to have dinner or go to bed, who knows).

That's the beauty of this game, you randomly meet other real life gamers along to way. During the ending credits, you will get a list of those who helped you out during your journey. I think I had 4 or 5 different people joining me at some point during my playthrough a few years ago.

This is a cool feature of that game.

Yeah I know of that but I was wondering if there parts in the game where you don't get a companion as I had no companion during the more frightfully sections. It felt more tense going through those areas on my own

Yeah I know of that but I was wondering if there parts in the game where you don't get a companion as I had no companion during the more frightfully sections. It felt more tense going through those areas on my own

That's a good question. I don't know if the game was designed to have compagnions anytime or just in specific areas...

Yeah I know of that but I was wondering if there parts in the game where you don't get a companion as I had no companion during the more frightfully sections. It felt more tense going through those areas on my own

I think I've read some experiences from people who did stick with someone the entire way. I've never seen any indication that there are solo-only areas anyway

I really liked Journey when I played it. The soundtrack and the visuals are beautiful, but, at least for me, it lacked something a bit more exciting. I understand this wasn't the game's main premise, so that's just a personal preference.

Well this is a rather short game as I finished in1 and 1/2 sessions. I have to say I enjoyed it quite a bit. As I mentioned yesterday it was a rather serene game but surprised with the enemies who due to my luck I dealt with by myself. The way it uses the camera to set the mood was fantastic and how it told a decent story with no dialogue. The game unfortunately I felt was way too short, I'm not expecting a long game but I would thought it would be at least 2-4 hours long not 1 and 1/2.

People have mentioned the game is based around the hero's journey and I think that statement is correct:
1. Ordinary World: The start of the game
2.The Call to adventure: the foreboding Mountain which you see from the start
3. Refusal of the Call: the first part of the game does not keep the mountain in sight line in the first area
4. Meeting the Mentor: The first image of the white caped person
5. Crossing the Threshold: Reaching the bridge and building it to the next side
6. Test, Allies, Enemies: This is a bit bigger but it's the electric tower you first reach where you release the carpets which are the test and the allies and then electric eels enemies in the underwater section and they appear as the main antagonist for the rest of the game
7. Approach to the inmost cave: This is where the white cape shows you what will happen in the next section where you collapse in the snow.
8. Ordeal: This is the cold ascent and collapse up the mountain
9. Reward (Seizing the Sword): This being given the cape which allows the flight at the end
10. The Road Back: Credit scene with the star returning to the starting point
11. Resurrection: new Game
12. Return with the Elixir: You now have the knowledge of your trip up the mountain

I'll Write a review at some point but I think it's 8/10 atm

I played this on PS3 a few years back - given its length and that I have it on PS4 I'll find the time to replay it again this month.

I agree, to varying degrees, with both the positive and negative takes on this game. It is poetry in motion, incredibly pretty with evocative audio and visual 'set pieces', and the way it handles multiplayer is neat. It is also very thin in terms of gameplay, thinks it has more of a story than it actually does, and somehow manages to feel padded out despite such a short runtime. It is both over-hyped and over-criticised in my view. Ultimately it's great, but by no means a masterpiece.

I'll also echo GamerAim's point that if all you're looking for is a great short game you can do far better, and if short games are what you're after then there is a great youtube channel called First Five who exclusively covers short (usually sub-5h) games. A couple of personal short game recommendations:

-A Short Hike
-Deadbolt
-Inside
-Subsurface Circular // Quarantine Circular
-The Swapper

Journey is...pretty to look at, even on the PS3 version. But I don't think it's as good as people said it is. I wouldn't say it's not a game, but as a game it wasn't great. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Journey is a tech demo for the PS3. It's something that should have been free to PS3 owners to showcase the graphics and physics capabilities of the console. Think of it as something like Astro's Playroom, but with no substance. Oh, sure, it's fun to flow around for a bit. The game creates a great sense of motion. But it's a far worse game compared to something like, say, Gris, which had fun gameplay. Journey's gameplay was...mostly some bad stealth sections. Not the worst stealth sections in a game (I have to admit, Journey has Life is Strange beat on that), but still, doesn't lend a great impression.

And there's no story. I know people try to say it's an emotional game or there's some theme of cycles and going back to the beginning. But it's not. It's a tech demo that repeats itself because there's no story to tell. It's all flash. People are in their rights to have an emotional response to anything - I, myself, have been known to have intense emotional responses to things that others don't - but to me it's like crying at a Bob Ross painting. Which I'm sure some people would do, but to me I have to question your life experiences if you think a Bob Ross painting is the most beautiful, heart-provoking thing you've ever seen. No judgement, just questions.

Oh, and I'll think you're pretentious. No offense, but you're pretty pretentious if you ascribe some deeper meaning to this tech demo. Sure, it's not Dear Esther fan levels of pretentious - my God, Dear Esther is pretentious all on its own - but still makes you sound like a pretentious art snob who thinks a toilet in a modern art museum makes a profound statement. And as everyone knows, I hate pretension.

As for the "multiplayer" aspect. Again, it's cool to show off PSN, but I don't think it's used to any greatly interesting effect. Oxenfree did it better. Other players, to me, served little if any role in the game. It may as well have been offline and wouldn't have made a difference. Oh, I did see a couple people, but they seemed like idiots. Don't all people in a multiplayer game look like idiots at face value? I digress. Elder Scrolls Online has fun multiplayer interactions. You know what's a fun interaction? Telling someone to "meet me outside Vivec, I'm the lesbian elf on a green lizard." Or busking for gold on the side of the road. Or giving valuable items to some rando just because he helped you kill one boss. Compared to any of that, Journey is...nothing. Journey is dreadfully dull with multiplayer, it adds nothing, and I'd much rather play ESO for my ephemeral relationships.

And did I mention it's boring? It's like 2 hours long, and I took a break halfway because I was bored. You know what kept me hooked the entire time? Donut County, a fun, non-pretentious casual puzzle-but-not game. My God, is Donut County fun! I should have nominated that instead of Skyrim and replayed it.

I...think that's all the insults I wanted to hurl at the game. It's not a bad game, it's just an hour too long and feels like a tech demo. Glad I played it though; makes for great fun to discuss :)

I agree with everything GameAim said. Except there is a very moving story. As far as I can tell, you're trying to enjoy a nice relaxing day of sunbathing, and then the wind comes and blows your towel away and you end up chasing it up a mountain (because it was a high-quality towel that you bought on sale at Kohl's. It was $799.49 regular price, but it was on sale for 80% off, and you had a coupon for 75% off, plus another coupon for 55% off, and then you got an additional 50% off because it was a clearance item). Your day of relaxation is ruined. That's what I took away from it, anyway. Too artsy fartsy for its own good.

Yeah I know of that but I was wondering if there parts in the game where you don't get a companion as I had no companion during the more frightfully sections. It felt more tense going through those areas on my own

There's a trophy for finishing the majority of the game with the same companion and returning to the beginning with them, so I think you probably just didn't have one for those portions.