Journey Review

This is going to be a tricky game to review. Not because it's bad, or that it's complicated but the fact that emotions and words are things that do not often go well together I find. Journey was made by “Thatgamecompany” the same people who bought us Flow and Flower. While I have played Flow, I have not played Flower. Flow was basically a little game about eating your way up the evolutionary chain. It was short but sweet and I feel that would be a good way to describe their games in general. The only real problem with Flow is that the concept had been done better before with Evo: The search for Eden on the Super Nintendo. Still, Flow was stylistically superior to Evo and it looks like they get better with each release.

Journey is exclusive to the PS3 so sadly without one there is no way to get your hands on this. From starting the game you play a red cloaked figure in the middle of sand dunes. All you have to your name is a little gong noise which you can hold down to make louder. This will be your only form of communication in the entire game. You can soon jump and float around using your scarf. This depletes when you do and you need to charge it in various ways to do it again. You can extend your Scarf by finding little white symbols on your Journey. I would suggest that you do not worry about anything in the game and just play the way that feels natural to you. Soon you'll meet a random player. They wont have a name and the only way you can identify them is by the markings on their cloak and their shout icon. From an artistic point of view the game can easily be compared to ICO and Shadow of the Colossus. In some aspects it may even be greater than. The music is also astounding and really draws you into the mood of the game.

Thatgamecompany really prove that a minimalistic approach to a game can often be for the better. The only real downfall you could consider about the game is that the £10 pricetag is a fair amount for a 3 hour game if you only intend to play it once. Saying that however, does not change the fact that it's the kind of game that a gamer should play. If any game in the industry proves Roger Ebert's opinion moot, it's this one. I played Asura's Wrath and Street Fighter X Tekken slightly before playing this and I easily preferred Journey.

My Score: Probably the most artistic game that doesn't sacrifice gameplay. Proof that less is more. 10/10

The People: I think many will not get the chance to try that game because of the price but otherwise would fall in love with it. 8/10