The Journey Begins
Since it’s initial release in 2012, Thatgamecompany’s Journey has been at the top of my backlog, I’ve always wanted to play it but just never got round to it, until now. In a way I’m thankful that I’ve waited, much like watching Twin Peaks for the first time or discovering Led Zeppelin, experiencing your first journey is a one off, and on PS4 the games beauty is accentuated by 1080p and 60fps.
I began my journey alone, a fragile robed figure with a vast desert stretched out before me. A monumental mountain stood in the distance, a beacon through the shimmering dunes, and so with no guidance or reason I headed towards it.
Journey’s sublime, minimalist art style struck me instantaneously, presenting a sun soaked sea of sand filled with light and space, and as I headed out into this great yonder I came upon the ruins of some seemingly ancient civilization, now reclaimed by the sand. Amongst these weathered rocks I encountered the first signs of life, a swarm of little cloth creatures dancing in the wind, sending out a tuneful pulse to communicate with them, they joined onto my scarf, allowing me to jump and glide higher and further.
As I headed down the dunes my little robed traveler began to surf, carving your way through the rippling gold surface is Journey’s most tactile pleasure, and combined with jumping and gliding the sense of momentum and freedom is truly blissful.
These themes of movement, serenity, space and adventure are what make Journey so unique. At the end of each of these expansive areas is a shrine, a place to sit and meditate before continuing to travel ever forward to the mountain. In these meditations you meet a tall being, clad in white robes, who shares with you a story told in glyphs, a tableaux showing the path you must take to your goal.
Surfing the Gamut
Another seemingly endless expanse of desert presented itself before me, pressing onward I came upon the remains of colossal creatures, their mechanical skeletons concealing more of my cloth allies, and with a chime of my musical pulse, I unleashed the jellyfish-like creatures. In symbiosis, myself and these undulating cloth beings propelled ourselves across the waves and ridges of the landscape ahead, freeing more of these trapped companions as we went, and culminating with a glorious ascension over the ruins’ wall.
As I landed on the shimmering slope on the other side of the wall, one of the most empowering and awe-inspiring experiences, not just in gaming but in any art form ensued. Speeding down the billowing hills as they glistened in the low sun, with my allies in tow, was pure magic, a majestic sequence that brought me an immense feeling of joyous freedom.
But where I found yourself next changed the tone quite dramatically in comparison to the vibrant world I knew. Underground in the dark belly of the desert I again headed onward, but soon I came across more colossal creatures, this time far from the dormant husks I’d previously encountered. Some stood sentinel along the paths side, whilst their animated brethren patrolled back and forth, their luminous eyes scanning for intruders.
What previously seemed a world devoid of threat now showed it’s darker side, one that minutes ago filled me with such carefree bliss now instilled dread, for should I be spotted by one of these guardians I’d be knocked back, and my scarf severed, thus limiting my aerial mobility.
White Light from the Mouth of Infinity
Once past the passage of the intimidating guardian beasts, I came to a safe haven in this aquatic subterrania, triggering shrines to raise the water level, and aided by larger jelly-cloths, I soared back up to the surface, but one covered not with sand, but with snow. Now in the harsh scenery at the foot of the mountain, with it’s blustering winds and further patrols of the ominous guardians, my goal now seemed within reach, but the path before me riddled with danger.
Up to this point I’d had brief encounters with fellow travelers, other players that too inhabit this world, all of them headed for the same mountains’ peak. Sharing a touching moment with another player, having only your movements and pulses to communicate, is a special thing and a fantastically elegant way to integrate multiplayer.
Now as I came to my journeys end, I came across another little robed figure, as they too fought their way through the wind and snow, I teamed up with them, and we headed side by side up the mountain, finally passing out, face down in the snow from exhaustion, our end in sight.
I awoke alone, unsure where my companion had gone, and with the glowing peak tantalizingly close. I picked myself up and soared onward, climbing the sun bleached peaks, and was soon rejoined by my jelly-cloth friends, all of them working together to help me in my final ascent.
There and Back Again
Landing gently atop the snowy crest, a sliver of white light greeted me, I was finally there, after this journey, a journey that truly ran the gamut of emotions, I had made friends, I had felt joy, dread, hope and uncertainty, I had experienced all these things, but like any journey, it had to come to an end.
The white light beckoned, and into it I walked, and walked, and walked, until it completely consumed me, as I faded into infinity, the mountain erupted, launching out a shooting star, which soared back across the vast landscape that I had traversed, and came to rest where my journey began, I had been reborn, to take on a new journey all over again, to restart the endless cycle.
This is a wholly absorbing and profoundly evocative journey, one that everyone should do themselves the favour of taking. Try as I might to somehow share with you what it is like, this is a journey you must experience for yourself, as everyone’s will be unique and deeply personal to them. Journey is rightfully considered one of the most sublime interactive experiences ever made, and having finally made my own journey, I too can commend it as a piece of pure art.