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    Journey

    Game » consists of 9 releases. Released Mar 13, 2012

    Journey is thatgamecompany's third release for Sony. Roam the lands discovering the history of an ancient civilization on a trek toward a distant mountain. Go at it alone or explore with strangers online.

    Just finished Journey: Unbelievable *SPOILERS*

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    N7

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    #1  Edited By N7

    Journey is like nothing I've ever played before. It's bananas.
     
    I heard so much of the game and have been wanting to play it for so long, and I finally got my chance today.
     
    It was almost surreal when I met my first partner. I was just standing in an empty desert looking for floating things to make my jump come back, and then I hear "dingdingdingDONG" and turn around and this guy is slowly making his way towards me. It was surreal because... it just was. In any other video game, he would have a shank or a gun or something and I'd already be dead. But this guy, or girl, just comes up to me to let me know he/she's there. All of the dings and dongs later and we've communicated. No voice, no text. All through the use of random notes that change depending on how hard you hold down circle.
     
    We stood around each other for a couple of minutes, realizing "Holy crap it's someone else" before getting back to the task at hand. We went around, collecting floating sashes to finish the level together. Then we finished the next level. But at the very end of that second level, me and my partner had to part ways, as he appeared to go AFK and never came back. It created a sense of guilt in me. Here we were, working together and getting it done, and I just left him. I did wait for about 20 minutes, but, when it came time to go, I went.
     
    It was really sad. What if this player was new like me? What if he had no idea what was going on and I abandoned him? What if on his screen, I wasn't moving? But I left anyway. The second player I met ended up roughly the same way. After developing our own communication system, using the dings and dongs provided, he made it clear that we had to find our way out of this dungeon, or whatever it was. It wasn't going to be easy, however, as there were these giant flying snake-like creatures roaming about. They emitted a light field in front of them to scan the area for creatures like you so they could murder you in horrible ways. But, just as my first companion did, he ended up making way away from me and going AFK. Like my first pal, I waited probably way too long for him to return, but he did not, I was on my own again. So I made my way to the end of the level and completed it.
     
    This is where I found a new player. He had a better idea of what to do than I did, as I followed him around from platform to platform. I accidentally knocked him down a couple of times, which made it all kind of funny, watching him climb back up and avoiding me for a few seconds. It was interesting to say the least, but as we completed the level, I wasn't sure if I still had the same player or not. The end of the game told me I played with four people, but I only saw three. So my guess is, right here is where he somehow got away from me and I was provided with the fourth and final player.
     
    He, or she, who knows, was definitely the best out of them all. Using the communication system very accurately to how I used it, we really expressed ourselves as best as we could, which allowed us to work together wonderfully. The second to last level was probably one of the best experiences I've ever had with a video game, in fact. Here we were, trudging through the freezing snow, staying as close together was we possibly could so we didn't lose all of our flying powers. Figuring out puzzle after puzzle through trial and error, it was almost like a montage for some survival movie with Liam Neeson. It was just so amazing to, not just see, but play, first hand.
     
    There was one puzzle, a wind puzzle, around some sort of castle. You had to weave in and out of the wind path by hiding behind cover. It would blow by left and then from the front. So you had to maneuver to cover very quickly. We managed to figure that out and get through fairly easy, but the last part was tricky. As before there was always a railing on the side of the walls so you wouldn't fall off, not here. The wind came from nowhere, somehow missing me entirely, but throwing him off of the cliff. It went from a chilling battle of attrition to a sudden intense panic. Did he die? Can you die? Did my buddy just get killed, leaving me to deal with this world alone? It was, again, surreal. During the, oh, 20, 25 minutes together, we built a raport and worked well together. Almost, dare I say, bonded? It's hard to explain, but this guy was here with me for the long hall, and I might have just witnessed his demise.
     
    But all was not lost! As I try to look down and see if he's alive, or dead, anything, down there, I see him! He's alive. And actually a lot further along than I, so I had to play catchup and hurry before he finished the level without me. We ended up running into each other at the exact same time, meeting with a series of boops and dings. It was exciting to be back together, as apparent by both of our reactions. This guy/gal doesn't know me, and I don't know him/her, but we worked together and that was exciting enough.
     
    Thus began one of the most amazing scenes from any video game. Me, and my buddy, slowly making our way up this mountain, during the most intense blizzard I've ever seen. No longer could we stick close to warm ourselves with our bodyheat. It wasn't working. We were too cold. So we stuck close anyway, and made way we had been making so far: up. Our bodies started moving slower, and slower. The wind, pushing us back, further and further. If we didn't get out of here soon, we'd certainly die. I'm not sure that we even can, but it's the most logical. We go so high up this mountain that we can hardly even more anymore, our bodies covered almost 100% in ice. That's when it happened: My buddy collapsed face first into the snow. "Oh no! Get back up!" I proclaim, but my cries fall on deaf ears as my character collapses right behind him. A journey I began with a couple of different characters, ending on the peak of a snow covered mountain, so close to our destination you could taste it.
     
    It was something special alright. Never before have I seen anything so powerful in a video game. When he/she collapsed on that snow covered mountain, followed soon by my character, I could not believe it. It was so... powerful.
     
    Journey isn't just some video game, it's a lot more than that. It's an experience. One that I'm glad to have had, but at the same time, disappointed that there really isn't anything out there like it.
     
    Just thought I'd share my reaction to something that completely mesmerized me.
     
    Oh, and buy this game.

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    Knave

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    #2  Edited By Knave

    That's deep.

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    N7

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    #3  Edited By N7
    @Knave said:

    That's deep.

    The deepest, bro.
     
    It's like it meant something, just being there, man.
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    FluxWaveZ

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    #4  Edited By FluxWaveZ

    I'll read this, but before I do I'll agree with the initial premise that, indeed, Journey is an incredible game. The experience was enhanced all the more by having only one partner traveling with me from the beginning until the end.

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    MegaMetaTurtle

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    #5  Edited By MegaMetaTurtle

    It's good to know the effect hasn't diminished past the release date :)

    And you've made me want to jump back in again XD

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    N7

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    #6  Edited By N7
    @MegaMetaTurtle: If I hadn't been up for the last 20 hours, I would have jumped right back in as well. It was insane. How something so simple could be something so deep, I'll never know. But man was it amazing.
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    MikeGosot

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    #7  Edited By MikeGosot
    @N7 said:
    Journey isn't just some video game, it's a lot more than that. It's an experience. One that I'm glad to have had, but at the same time, disappointed that there really isn't anything out there like it.
    Videos games are experiences... Also, Journey is cool, but i didn't fell in love with the game and ended up only playing it once.
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    pyromagnestir

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    #8  Edited By pyromagnestir

    Aw man. The title of this thread makes me sad. I wanted to play Journey today... But then I couldn't. One day! One day soon! Tomorrow maybe?

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    fattony12000

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    #9  Edited By fattony12000

    Journey was fucking brilliant. If you're in the right mood, in the right setting, and play with the right person or people. I found it to be one of the most emotionally engrossing works of art I've ever experienced, a near-perfect hour and a half of wonderment and fear and sadness and exhilaration and joy.

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    TheSilentGod

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    #10  Edited By TheSilentGod

    Journey is amazing, and really shows what a relatively small development team can achieve with a strong focus.

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    MariachiMacabre

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    #11  Edited By MariachiMacabre

    I hope you know that guy you abandoned later died of heat stroke. Way to go, dick.

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    pyromagnestir

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    #12  Edited By pyromagnestir

    Alright I just finished Journey and finally could read this. I had 2 buddies for my play-through, I think one of 'em must have been with me right from the beginning of that second area, and stayed with me up till the just before the part of the snowy mountain where those flying things were circling over it. At first he seemed to be rushing through accomplishing all our goals, maybe assuming I'd played the game before and knew what I was doing. But he quickly seemed to figure out that perhaps I was a first timer, and he slowed down a bit, nudging me to some stuff, but willing to let me just look around, or goof around. He'd even join in when I'd run through some sand fall or jump up for no apparent reason.

    He fell trying to jump onto something and then just disappeared. I looked around but he wasn't there. It made the rest of scaling that mountain feel very lonely.

    I was alone up until the very end. As I was scaling that last mountain during the blizzard, I saw a dude way up ahead of me. He didn't seem to notice me. I was trying to chime him but I couldn't, it was too cold. Then he collapsed. I collapsed trying to reach him. The way it played out I thought it might've been scripted. It was just so sad.

    I saw him briefly after the reawakening, but maybe I rushed ahead to fast or something, because he seemed to just vanish. I finished the journey alone.

    That was just a beautiful game. Such a great experience.

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    Hizang

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    #13  Edited By Hizang

    I wish I could play it for the first time again, such a great game.

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    OllyOxenFree

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    #14  Edited By OllyOxenFree

    I almost choked up in several instances of the game. Really fucking awesome work of art.

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    Klei

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    #15  Edited By Klei

    Journey didn't have this effect on me. I played through it with my girlfriend and good cup of coffee, thinking i'd be fucking amazed. So I slid down dunes, jumped with my floating scarf and did some puzzles, then beat the game. I met some dudes along the way, but their presence didn't do anything.

    Just as with Braid and Limbo, I don't '' get it ''. I'm a sad human being, I know.

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    OllyOxenFree

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    #16  Edited By OllyOxenFree
    @Klei said:

    Journey didn't have this effect on me. I played through it with my girlfriend and good cup of coffee, thinking i'd be fucking amazed. So I slid down dunes, jumped with my floating scarf and did some puzzles, then beat the game. I met some dudes along the way, but their presence didn't do anything.

    Just as with Braid and Limbo, I don't '' get it ''. I'm a sad human being, I know.

    You have no heart or soul!
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    hoossy

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    #17  Edited By hoossy

    If you want to experience the gameplay for the first time again... have a friend come over and play it. Its still great to see

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    GavinFawcett

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    #18  Edited By GavinFawcett

    Man, When Me and my partner were in that cave, my partner got hit, and in those few seconds when he was lying on the ground I felt so sad.

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    jacdg

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    #19  Edited By jacdg

    Maybe the best gaming experince I have ever had, and certainly one of the best games I've ever played as well no game this year will be able to top this, I'm usually a fairly reserved and laid back guy who doesn't get too emotional over a lot of things, but this game tugged my heart strings, and played with my emotions in ways no game, heck, no piece of media had ever really done before. Visually amazing, the score was perfect and the "co-op" worked wonders for me, I played it the day it came out and haven't touched it since, probably going to jump back in sometime, but just knowing I can't experience everything for the first time again, makes me a little hesitant. Oh and that sliding scene? Fucking masterpiece of a game.

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    FluxWaveZ

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    #20  Edited By FluxWaveZ

    @Klei said:

    Just as with Braid and Limbo, I don't '' get it ''. I'm a sad human being, I know.

    I didn't get Braid or Limbo either. I thought they were pretty boring, actually. That's why when I bought Journey, I was wondering if that was a mistake because maybe I wasn't one for these "art" games. I'm so glad I enjoyed it so much.

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    AngelN7

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    #21  Edited By AngelN7

    It's in fact a great experience I've completed "the journey" 3 times and I haven't even found all the secrets , all playthoughs felt completely different that's what's so amazing about that game, the last one reflect my the experience I have with the game so traveling with a newcomer (the embroidery on his shawl being the simplest) trying to protect him/her from the rock dragons and showing him/her the secret locations I knew by then made me feel like an old sage going on his last crusade.

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    N7

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    #22  Edited By N7
    @Flyinnmunkee said:

    Man, When Me and my partner were in that cave, my partner got hit, and in those few seconds when he was lying on the ground I felt so sad.

    I know. I was at the snowy mountain part where we were hiding from that flying monster. I was hiding under one of those box like things and my partner thought he could make the distance to the other. He was wrong. The monster came down and I jumped out of the way. The next thing I see was him being thrown way across the map and him just laying there for a couple of seconds. It was amazing. I felt really sad after that.
     
    I really love the whole idea of it being the afterlife, and you crossing over. It's really sad and at the same time, exciting. You and this guy, alone, yet together, having to work together and make your way to the top of the mountain and finally cross over. It's incredible.

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