It may be hard to believe for some, butMarch of 2022 marked the ten-year anniversaryof the popular indie game,Journey. Right around the time when triple-A games such asMass Effect 3andFar Cry 3were being released,Journeyseemed to come out of nowhere. With an extremely short length, simplistic gameplay, emotional narrative, and lack of combat,Journeyseemed to be the exact opposite of the kind of game that would garner widespread attention.
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Nonetheless,Journeybecame a critical and commercial success, becoming the fastest-selling game on the PlayStation Store to date. The game currently holds a score of 92 on Metacritic, and even earned its fair share of Game of the Year awards and nominations. In the ten years since its release, the game has migrated onto new console generations while the market became filled with more emotional and provocative gaming experiences. The power ofJourney, however, remains strong, as most of its positive elements still hold up well today. So much so, in fact, thatJourneywould probably still earn the same amount of awards and acclaim as it did back in 2012 if released today.
5The Simple (But Effective) Story
Compared with many triple-A games released both then and now, the story ofJourneyis remarkably simple, but still incredibly impactful. InJourney, players control a mysterious hooded figure traversing a desert towards a looming mountain in the distance. Along the way, they uncover the remnants of a fallen civilization and discover both the history of that civilization and the reason for their journey.
Part of the reason for the impressiveness ofJourney’s story stems from the fact that it’s told without a single word of dialogue, relying solely on visual storytelling to communicate with the player. The ideas of its narrative aren’t just communicated through cutscenes, but also through the environment, making the immersion intoJourney’s world even easier. What’s more,Journeydoesn’t take too long to complete. With a length of about two hours, playingJourneyis almost like experiencing an incredible interactive movie.
4The Beautiful Music
Since the story ofJourneyis told without a single word, developers Thatgamecompany use fitting music to audibly bring their world to life. Austin Wintory composed what could easily be consideredone of the best video game scores of all time, creating an unforgettable theme denoting isolation in the very opening moments. This fantastic theme gets expanded on brilliantly throughout the rest of the game.
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Each one of Wintory’s tracks perfectly encapsulates the emotions evoked by all the different levels in the game, ranging from wonder and excitement to fear and loss. The final track heard in the game, “Apotheosis,” is the culmination of everything built throughout the game, creating a beautifully uplifting and inspirational piece that perfectly closes out the player’s journey. The game’s credits are scored to the original song “I Was Born for This,” which was sung masterfully by Lisbeth Scott and can easily be considered one of the best songs written for a video game. The score was nominated at the 55th Grammy Awards for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media, and anyone who’s played the game could easily understand why.
3The Stunning Visuals
Animation is often the quickest to age in a video game, and with animation increasingly becoming more and more realistic, it’s often the most likely to age poorly. Often the games whose looks have stood the test of time are games that choose stylization over realism.Journeyperfectly falls into that category, choosing a minimalist animation style that still evokes the idea of a lonely desert without becoming extremely realistic. The result is a visual journey that is as emotionally evocative as the narrative journey.
While many games might look pretty, it’s rare to find a game that looks consistently breathtaking at every corner. In both cutscenes and gameplay,Journey’s frame is filled with beauty and careful composition. It quickly becomes one of those rare games where nearly every frame could become its own painting to be marveled at for hours on end. It’s almost a shame thatJourneydoesn’t include any sort of photo mode; though, if it did, players might spend more time playing around there than in the actual game.
2The Gameplay & Game Design
Journeymight be an emotional and moving experience, but, at the end of the day, it’s still a video game. Fortunately,Journeystill plays just as well as it did when it was first released. The game is classically split into separate levels with clearly defined goals, though still effectively and wordlessly tells the player where to go without ever losing that feeling of being lost in a desert. Each level still has puzzles and problems to solve,but often with an added level of emotion. The game evokes feelings of loss, hope, despair, and even joy through its level design, and this is only aided by the music and visuals. To add to everything, there are often secrets hidden throughout each level, makingJourneya joy to explore thoroughly.
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WhileJourneymay not be as mechanically complex as other games, the simplicity of its controls and design makes it accessible to new and veteran gamers alike. Aside from moving, the only two controls players use throughout the game are jumping and creating musical chimes. The simplicity of the controls, along with the game’s short length and beautiful presentation, makeJourneya perfect game to introduce new players to the medium of video games.
1The Creative Multiplayer
The words “emotional” and “moving” aren’t usually used to describe a game’s multiplayer system,but they’re words that are perfectly applicable toJourney’s. While multiplayer components to predominately single-player games were (and still are) common, no one has ever done it quite as creatively as Thatgamecompany. InJourney, players will play the game as usual. However, from the second level onward, they have the potential of running into another player playing through the game at the same time. Players can then complete their journeys together.
SinceJourneyhas no written or spoken dialogue, players can only communicate with each other through a musical chime that their characters create. This wordless bond that players form with each other throughout the game is often seen as powerful to anyone that’s played through it, particularly when accompanied by the game’s equally emotional story. The way the game is designed is also very careful, with the game still completable in single-player as well as multiplayer.With the game since releasing on PlayStation 4, Windows, and iOS, more players can experience the strangely moving multiplayer component of this equally moving game.
Journeyis available on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows, and iOS.
