

Journey for PS3: Strange Game (2012) - kposehn
http://hypercritical.co/2012/11/27/strange-game

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dclowd9901
I have played journey, all the way through, exactly once. I knew nothing of
the game besides the prior work of its creators and its visuals going into it.

I can safely say it was one of the most impactful experiences (not gaming
experiences, but generally speaking) I've ever had in my life. The game
thematically boils down some of the most complex and dense topics --
relationships, life, humanity -- into a perfect collaboration between story
and gameplay.

<spoiler stuff>I ended up partnered with an individual (man or woman, I have
no idea) who began as a mentor, guiding me through the game, which has no real
instruction to it. You grow to feel so thankful for this person. They're
infinitely patient as you miss their cues. They don't scold you or make you
feel stupid. They can't.

As we sailed down the ski section, in all of its visual glory, it was like
experiencing a dream in which you have a profound connection with someone who
only exists in your mind. You don't want it to ever end.

And at the end, you push each other forward. You refuse to give up. You
struggle. You endure. Like surviving some ordeal with another, you share a
bond no one could possibly understand.

The game then reveals itself to you through metaphor. The end is all at once
serene, beautiful, thrilling and grows large in your throat. I know it's just
a game, but can't I learn something from it? That person was real. They were
there. With me. Guiding me, taking care of me, letting me care for them.

There's nothing more pure, and the game nails it.</spoiler stuff>

After all that, playing the game again seemed like it could only cheapen it.
The developers give you additional stuff to play through for, for those people
that might complain about its brief length, but for the rest of us who
understand, it was something you just can't taint.

~~~
Zikes
You've summed up my feelings toward the game better than I ever could, even
the part about only playing it once which I could never really explain before.

I don't want to get off topic, but there are only two other games I've played
that have had that sort of emotional impact on me, To the Moon[1] and Gone
Home[2]. In the case of Gone Home in particular, the impact was such that I
actually felt a good deal of sadness at knowing that most of the people I know
will never experience the story and message of that game, and I wound up
buying it for two of my friends.

[1]
[http://freebirdgames.com/to_the_moon/](http://freebirdgames.com/to_the_moon/)

[2]
[http://thefullbrightcompany.com/gonehome/](http://thefullbrightcompany.com/gonehome/)

~~~
dclowd9901
It's taken me a great deal of time and a large amount of consideration to
distill my feelings about journey into language that well-enough eloquates how
I felt playing it. At the end of the game, I truly felt like I had had a
transformative experience. I would be embarrassed of it if it wasn't so true.

In regards to gone home, I really really wanted to like that game. I wanted it
to be more. Not gameplay wise, but in what it aspired to tell us about the
human experience. The resolution of the story felt so cheap and derivative, I
could barely believe it was the same game that I had been playing up to that
point, with its multifacted characters and spotlight on the ennui of the
American family. The end just felt like a lazy wrap up of an ABC Family movie,
and it was so disappointing it poisoned the entire game for me.

------
bluetidepro
Journey is such an incredible game. I remember how amazed I was when I first
started to play it. I couldn't put the controller down.

I would highly recommend you also check out Flower, if you liked Journey. It's
made by the same company:
[http://thatgamecompany.com/games/](http://thatgamecompany.com/games/)

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scott_karana
I don't agree that Twitter has the same benefits. If anything, I feel that it
enables ever more glib, insensitive comments from trolls. It's hard to argue
with a one-liner.

However, with respect to Journey, I fully agree. Fantastic piece of work in
many ways.

------
moondowner
Not to forget the excellent music!

There is a OST Bonus Bundle that is available as free download:
[http://austinwintory.bandcamp.com/album/journey-bonus-
bundle](http://austinwintory.bandcamp.com/album/journey-bonus-bundle)

And the OST on Bandcamp as well:
[http://austinwintory.bandcamp.com/album/journey](http://austinwintory.bandcamp.com/album/journey)

Here's a 'behind the scenes' video
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNHtReya_p0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNHtReya_p0)

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xutopia
Journey is without a doubt one of the most remarkable games I've played in the
last 2 years. There are others that I really enjoyed in the moment but Journey
is the one I'll pick up to replay again and again.

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cclogg
I hope Journey comes to more platforms because I keep hearing such great
things about it but honestly I haven't had or wanted to buy a console since
N64 days.

~~~
footpath
Chances for that are pretty slim, given Sony owns all rights to the game. So
most likely you'll see a PlayStation Vita port of it, in addition to the PS3
release.

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bane
For those that don't have a PS3 or the time to play it,
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_KrjxD8djo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_KrjxD8djo)

absolute work of art.

~~~
teamonkey
The point is what you experience while playing. Watching a video is missing
the point by a wide mark.

~~~
HCIdivision17
You might be surprised by how much you can miss the mark without a PS3.
Watching a video is certainly an improvement over such a trivial case.

Personally, I would love to play it, but without the hardware, it's pretty
difficult. At least via video I can appreciate the art vicariously, if at a
lower interactive fidelity.

(Obviously games are always better played, but they're also fun to observe!)

------
primigenus
If you liked Journey's anonymous, transient multiplayer, try Dark Souls:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Souls](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Souls).
Although it does it in a more "hardcore" style of game - an RPG, with
fighting, and lots of dying - it accomplishes the same gripping, emotional
experience that is so fleeting in modern games. It's memorable _because_ of
how it limits communication and forces you to use gesturing and the
environment to explain your intentions to one another.

~~~
Vaskivo
Saying Dark Souls is "hardcore" is an euphemism :)

While quite a different experience, Dark Souls is the "gamiest" game I've
played in a long time. While environmentally immersive, the game forces you to
remember it's a game. You have plan, optimize and exploit. You don't feel bad
by being cheap, because the game is also cheap. All my gaming senses were
constantly being tested.

Quite the contrast with the recent trend in "immersive" and "cinematic" games.
Dark Souls is a game that knows it's a game and expects you to remember that
as well.

------
kposehn
I'm glad that people found this concept as neat as I do. Great design is
something to be treasured, and this game looks like just that: a treasure.

------
derefr
From the description of the mechanics, I'm most closely reminded of the local-
multiplayer co-op mechanics in the SNES-era game Kirby SuperStar--which indeed
produce very positive play experiences in every situation I've seen, such that
I recommend it as " _the_ video game to play with your romantic-partner-who-
doesn't-play-video-games." Journey even replicates KSS's "mutual recharging
through touching" mechanic, which I don't think I've seen in anything else.

Amusingly enough, the New Super Mario Bros. series _also_ copied KSS's co-op
mechanics--but then added griefing _in_ , just for the sake of it.
([http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/11/20/](http://www.penny-
arcade.com/comic/2009/11/20/))

