Journey Review

For those familiar with Flower and Flow, Journey comes as a successor to the two from ThatGameComany (TGC). Journey is a downloadable title for the PS3 and will only help itself to fifteen dollars from your wallet. Those fifteen dollars will buy you a unique experience that I've come to look forward to from TGC. Much like Flower you’re given no set of instructions or story. Images and a simple tutorial of the controls are all that sets you off on your journey. The game begins with you as a figure shrouded in a red cloak as you wander through the vast landscapes that cover each level. The game’s environments are massive and absolutely gorgeous, you can spend quite a bit of time just exploring and admiring everything around you. Despite the element of wandering around, the game does have a purpose. The goal of your character seems to be to get to the summit of a mountain far off in the distance where a star has fallen. It’s a very simple premise with a very elegant execution.  To get to the mountain you’ll make your way through puzzles as you figure out the best way to proceed through the level. As you reach the end of each level a cut scene of a larger white figure will show you the main idea of the next area that you’ll have to face.  Though you’re free to explore the levels as you see fit, lights in the distance will always be there to guide you towards your ultimate goal.

Along the way you’ll find cards and strips of cloth floating through the environment that will offer you a boost to a higher platform in the game by activating them with a simple, melodic spell. You’ll also come across glyphs which will unlock trophies at the end of the game. While exploring you also have the chance of encountering other players, who will then join you on your quest, creating a truly unique co-op experience. You can communicate with your companion through the same, simple notes that you use to activate spells and control the cloth. The simple notes of your speech and the soundtrack of the game are very reminiscent of the music in Flower. The soundtrack adds to the experience of the game as a whole. The music varies and changes with the environments, creating everything from dramatic scores to simple melodies that will accompany you throughout your travels.

TGC has become known for games with beautiful imagery and Journey does not disappoint in that department. Each level has its own unique beauty to it, adding subtle touches to each environment. One of my personal favorites was watching the light and wind catch the ground at just the right angle, making the sand glisten and swirl as you went through the desert levels. The game environments become more and more complex as the levels go on, taking the player through everything from a vast desert, to an underwater cavern, to the awe-inspiring peak of a mountain.  The imagery of the levels seems to build on top of one another, creating an outstandingly, mesmerizing world by the end of your journey.

As much as I did enjoy the game, it isn’t without a few minor flaws. Some of the levels have a tendency to be very dark making it easy to lose track of your character or any companion you pick up along the way. While I personally enjoyed the element of wandering around and exploring I can see how some, might get a little frustrated with it. It’s easy to get turned around, and there are some points where it is a little unclear as to how to proceed in the level. These flaws aren’t grave, and don’t take too much away from the experience.  

There really isn’t one way to play this game, TGC has done a phenomenal job of creating a game that makes it easy for anyone to pick up and play their own way. Those who’d like to explore the levels and collect all the glyphs can certainly do so, and those who just want to run straight through to the end of the game, are also free to do so. Journey is a pretty short game, and should only take you an hour or two to get through the entire game. Maybe a little longer if you’re the type to explore every nook and cranny of these extraordinary levels. The mechanics of the game and expansive levels make playing through the game a new experience each time you do it, giving the game a fair amount of replay value. For fifteen dollars this is a journey well worth taking.