Journey Review
Journey is the latest release from ThatGameCompany. In this one you are a nomad clothed in a red hooded robe. You must journey through the desert, and other locations to reach the peak of a sacred mountain. You'll have to do this without any written queues. What lies high above? Well only those strong enough will find out.
Graphically this game yet again blows me away. It's not that its hyper realistic, but there's something about this game that makes you sigh, and feel so comfortable about moving through the world. There's a fluidity to it that I just can't enough of, and that's a trademark that this company has been able to give its games for a while now. There's also something to be said about how polished everything feels. The use of colors is something else that just makes me say wow, and at the same time feel so relaxed and engrossed in the environment.
The sounds of the game once again are top notch. There's no verbal dialog, but its not needed. the music sweeps you up and when combined with the graphics you might find yourself doing what I did, go through the entire thing in one sitting.
The controls are really simple. You're going to be able to move your character, the camera, jump, and focus your energy to interact with the environment.
I really struggle calling this a game, sure there's a start point and a goal that must be obtained, and sure there's some strategy involved to get from point A to point B in different sections. I really just want to call this an experience. That's really what it is. I could come back to this game at any time and get lost in the sands, the music, and the feel of the game. There are some things to help you out in this experience, though. There are hidden special symbols that when collected make "the scarf" that you have grow longer. The longer it is the longer you can stay in the air after pushing and holding the jump button.
When this new entry was first announced they talked about multiplayer, and I had no idea what they meant by that if it was going to be in the same vein of something like Flower. Well there is multiplayer, but not in the sense that most would expect. You'll be able to see other people playing at the same time as you, I think one at a time, and you'll be able to see how they are trying to get through a certain section. This is a very interesting way of dealing with players getting stuck. There's a good chance that one might be stuck, but if you see another trying something and it isn't working then you'll try something else. Also if something is working for another character that you hadn't thought about, well you can get on that train of thought and continue to advance.
I know that hardcore action-fueled gamers are not going to like Journey, but I do have to say that it is an experience that must be tried. That is of course if you have a PlayStation 3. Since I played through the entire thing in one sitting I do feel like it is a bit short for the price tag, but at the same time, I enjoyed every minute of it. So with that I have to give Journey a 9.7 out of 10.
