Journey
Developer: thatgamecompany
Publisher: Sony
Release Date: 14/03/12
Format: PSN
What sort of game is only a couple of hours long and that you can do nothing but jump and fly, you can’t fight, shoot guns, or even speak (just chime a note)? In Journey’s case, a magnificent and unique experience.
You play a mysterious nomad in an even more mysterious land, and the only major landmark is a shining light on top of a mountain far in the distance - that’s your only beacon and reference to go to, so off you travel. In the first few stages you’re in the desert, first wondering through a Graveyard, then arriving at a mysterious (are you getting a theme here lol) place that acts as your hub for the other stages. Something happened to your world and your people, and maybe you, and your only inhabitants are floating pieces of cloth, that can power you by lengthening your scarf and give you a brief power of flight, the longer your scarf the longer you can fly. It may read like What the F but in practice, like rest of the game it’s graceful and beautiful. You don’t always get sand in your boots, as you’re in a dark land and then in the snow as you travel ever nearer to the mountain, the only threat beast/s the roam the world and the few times it bursts into the scene the feeling of your isolation is even more evident.
This can be solved by having a companion travelling with you, but they are as mysterious as the land you’re in as you can’t say a word, just chime at them, and you can’t solve this with talking to them over your headsets as it’s not supported. But this un-knowingness makes the relationship between you to the end all the more magical; because you can’t talk the only means of communications are your chimes (which become helpful in the later levels) and your body language. You genuinely care about your character, and your companion, deeper than most games you can think of. This on top of the land you don’t even fully figure out, even if you find the hidden monument in each level that tell you in mysterious animated paintings a story of what happened to the
world. What adds to Journey magical experience is the score, a beautiful soundtrack that so beautiful it earned a Grammy
nomination.
|
Good Points
- Great Soundtrack, - A wonderful and mysterious world, - One of the best Co-Op mechanics ever. Bad Points - Very brief. By Simon James |
9/10
|
Second Opinion Journey is a magical experience in every sense of the word. Though it's length and vague storytelling could easily put many people off, not to mention the effect that the game has on you doesn't resonate as well a second time through. Though Journey is arguably one of the most artistic games ever created, it's ultimately one of the skimpiest games I have ever encountered and therefore comes with a difficult recommendation.
If rental shops like Blockbuster still existed then I would say Journey should be the next game you rent, but as for the next game you buy? If it's on sale then absolutely, but for it's full price tag I simply cannot recommend the game to a mainstream audience. It's a game that every gamer should play almost by law, but sometimes quantity can seriously factor in a games recommendation. Score: 8/10 Ben Hughes |
