It's worth noting I was drunk
Drunk as hell, to be precise. But even the usual feelings of drowsiness that come after a long day of NBA playoffs and hard liquor couldn't stop me from impulse downloading and playing Journey into the sunrise hours of the morning that night in April. Journey isn't a game that really demands you experience it over and over, and true to form I still haven't beaten it a second time (my second save file rests somewhere in the underground seaweed portion of the game) but I have pitched the game on several friends. We've gotten together at various times of day, 12 pack in hand, and I've handed the controller to them, saying have a nice couple hours. And invariably they have, even those who have very little gaming experience over the past five years (always interesting how folks in their early 20s fade out of gaming only to come rushing back in their early 30s these days). Jaws dropped, eyes in wonderment (thanks, Dad, for that 55" LG you were replacing) and even a little watery from time to time.
At $15, with little understanding of what the game is other than that you must Journey, I can get being a little skeptical it's worth the price. When I was highlighting it on the PSN, debating with my bed over whether the purchase was worth my time, I felt the same way. I hadn't played a thatgamecompany game since the flOw demo in the early days of the PS3, and really didn't know what to expect. Eventually, it came down to realizing I didn't want to wait anymore, I wanted to experience games as I understood them before this generation: adventurous, unassuming, creative, original, fantastical. I've strangely grown more and more interested in gaming in the months since I experienced this game even though the AAA releases continue to be first person, or environment traversal, or sports or what have you. But Journey on its own gives me hope going forward, that great games are not always going to be relegated to either run 'n' gun bloodfests or third person building climbers. That maybe, just maybe, the best experiences can be some of the cheapest, too.