PS3 Review: Journey

This review was originally posted by Thadeus Lorefield at Accursed Farms Forums on July 16th 2012.

JOURNEY
Platform: PlayStation 3
Released: 2012
Genre: Adventure
Developer: thatgamecompany
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

The reason why I love this game is very difficult to explain, but I will give it my best.

You start out in a desert with a mountain in the distance, it is clear that this mountain is your destination, why? That is up to you as there is no story per say in the game.

As you travel you see many different places, including a gigantic expansive desert, old ruins and ancient catacombs, all of which have their own feel.

You may also find other people as you travel, others who like yourself are on a journey, for you see this game has 100% smoothly integrated multiplayer, in other words, you won't get a large flashy message saying "XXX HAS JOINED YOUR GAME!" or any loading screens, you simply see someone else in your world (or are you in their world? No body knows).

Now then, let's get into the more technical parts of this review.

Graphics

Wow, just... wow... I'm usually not too fond of the realism of most modern games, but the graphics of Journey still has me awestruck.

When you travel you will see the grains of sand as you walk, and the general look of this world is amazingly beautiful in my eyes.

The way every new area looks different and varied is also a good thing.

Sound

The soundtrack to Journey is, simply, amazing in my opinion, the music is emotional, mood setting and very nice to listen to in itself.

 

Gameplay

The gameplay is simple, all your controls are moving with the thumbstick, jump with X and using your call with square (or was it circle? I never remember the layout of the playstation controller).

As i said before, the multiplayer aspect of the game is completely seamless, and you don’t have any way to directly communicate with the one you're traveling with, though for some reason that adds to the experience in my opinion.

That about sums it up, I realize that on paper it sounds boring, but for some reason this game really stands out to me, the feeling of traveling alone actually makes the world feel big and scary, and seeing someone else in the world feels... indescribable, you feel... safe... knowing someone else is there with you.

The game doesn't take long to play through, maybe an hour or two tops, but that hour feels more fulfilling to me then the 100 hours I've played of Skyrim.

I HIGHLY recommend checking this game out if you have a PS3.

--Thad out