As stated in their 1981 rock ballad, Journey proved that you justshouldn't stop believing...I may be talking about a completelydifferent type of Journey in this review but the songs message ofnever giving up can be applied to this game in so many differentways, most prominently though we should never stop believing thatgames will one day be considered an art form.
Thatgamecompany has crafted some of the most artistic games evercreated and all of them exclusive to the Playstation family ofconsoles. Their games Flow, Flower and Journey have all gone on to bemulti award winning games that have become the definition of art invideo games. But the question is how good is Journey, the mostartistically acclaimed of the three, as a game and not as a piece ofart?
Journey is pretty light on it's storytelling, though that doesn'tmean that the experience it provides you with is not an extremelymoving one. You are a lone traveller seemingly stranded in the middleof an endless desert. Though as you head towards a distant mountainyou begin to uncover the remains of a destroyed, buried civilisation.You're told the story of how the civilisation grew thanks to the useof an energy that is still visible in the world you find yourself innow. Then you are also shown it's demise in a war against ancientflying machines, machines that still patrol areas of the desert andthe mountain to this day which you must evade if you are to finishyour journey to the mountain summit.
It's a game that when you begin feels very isolating. The world seemsendless and you are but a small man walking through the desert.However the seamless co-op over Playstation Network adds anunexpected dynamic to the game that suddenly makes it an intimateexperience of companionship in harsh environments, one that requiresno words to be spoken to one another, one that when experienced forthe first time can touch you in a way that you will have likely neverfelt before in a video game.
The game is light on mechanics, you are given access to a jump buttonand the ability to produce a noise which can be used to interact withthe co-op partner as well as various environmental objects. The gamecan be summed up as walking, jumping, sliding and flying through adesert before finally climbing a mountain.
Journey is simply beautiful and there is no other way to describe it.The art direction and high quality lighting effects make a minimalistlooking game so incredibly eye pleasing. The way the light bouncesoff the sand and the way the sand moves with your character is simplymagical. There were times where I simply could not stop smiling athow amazing Journey looked.
It's score is just as beautiful as it's visuals, bringing theatmosphere to a relatively empty world. It'll sweep you away intoit's land of mystery and wonder from which you will struggle toreturn from.
But as most games that consider themselves art seem to do, Journey ispainfully short. Coming in at around an hour even with some standingaround and taking everything in. It's a high price tag for what isultimately one of the shortest PSN experiences around. You can alwaysbring up the quality over quantity argument, and yes whilst Journeycertainly shouldn't have stayed around any longer than it did, it'sstill a hard pill to swallow.
Journey is a magical experience in every sense of the word. Thoughit's length and vague storytelling could easily put many people off,not to mention the effect that the game has on you doesn't resonateas well a second time through. Though Journey is arguably one of themost artistic games ever created, it's ultimately one of theskimpiest games I have ever encountered and therefore comes with adifficult recommendation.
If rental shops like Blockbuster still existed then I would sayJourney should be the next game you rent, but as for the next gameyou buy? If it's on sale then absolutely, but for it's full price tagI simply cannot recommend the game to a mainstream audience. It's agame that every gamer should play almost by law, but sometimesquantity can seriously factor in a games recommendation.
Journey– 8/10
+MagicIn The Form Of A Video Game
+UnexpectedCo-Op
+JawDropping Visuals
+BeautifulSoundtrack
-TooLittle Content, Too High Pricepoint
