Quick Review: Journey

Water is what came after; desert is what actually came first.

Head towards any buildings you see, they
indicate the path.

Journey is a game made by Thatgamecompany, published by Annapurna Interactive, and released to Steam on June 11th, 2020 (although it was originally released on the PlayStation 3 stores in March 2012, and was also made available through PlayStation 4 and iOS stores throughout the years). I already reviewed ABZÛ, which is considered its spiritual sequel (and for which some creative directors returned).

In Journey, you are a figure dressed in a red cloak and a scarf, with a single goal in mind: Reach the massive mountain visible in the distance, the one with a peak split in half. Your trip begins in a desert. You have some abilities: You learn to jump, and later you learn to rise, float and glide when mid-jump or in contact with cloth in the environment. The duration of your flight is indicated by the length of your scarf that shines, and you can reload your scarf (weird thing to say) by interacting with cloth creatures. Your second ability is to sing, which attracts cloth creatures.

I can fly! ....almost.

You use this limited set of abilities in order to explore this world. Note how you have no options for violence; it would ruin the point. This is a calming, soothing, almost meditative experience. You go in there to be wowed by the sights, amazed at the grandeur of everything, to take in all that is around you. And, of course, to enjoy the story, which is told flawlessly without words.

We're getting closer to our goal!

The other awesome thing about this game is that, if you play online, you will often come across another player on their own journey, and the two of you can then tag together for a while. It allows you to help each other, you can even replenish each other’s scarf power by singing. You don’t know who will come around to help you; usernames don’t appear until after the end credits. The fun thing, though, is that it means players can guide one another around to show exploits or find achievements. That’s a unique idea that’s really nice, and it adds some replay value since your playthroughs won’t be the same depending on when or how you meet other players.

Blue here? I was sure the color palette would
remain warm throughout. This is nice, though.

As for the plot, well… there’s very little I feel like saying because it’s something you should experience, but I can at least say what the store page already discusses: You find ancient ruins scattered around the deserted land and further explore, and discover the History of the civilization that came before. How they rose to prominence, grew into power, and how they fell. Honestly, I think I’ve said too much now, but my words can’t convey the story in the beautiful way the game does.

There's so much I did not mention because I
want you to play this game. Also because
it's pretty from start to finish.

You have to play it. You have to. I cannot recommend this game enough. It’s great. I’m already a big fan of games that try to tell a story with the fewest words possible, and I’ve covered quite a few through Quick Reviews (ABZÛ last year, GRIS and INSIDE this year), and every time it’s been done really well. I know I keep throwing around the words “atmosphere” and “ambiance” lately, but that’s because I keep finding games which, albeit short, excel in both those fields, on top of being absolutely gorgeous to watch. The issue, and it’s not even an issue, to Journey is that it’s a short game that can be beaten in a single sitting, in roughly two hours – but as I said, replays are encouraged, strongly even. The idea of this multiplayer experience, of having other random players tagging along, is fresh and special, and I can’t think of any other game that does this.

Journey is available on Steam for 14.99$ USD.