Tuesday 27 March 2012

Game On: Journey

Today's (belated) game review is of Journey, exclusively on the PSN.



In a Nutshell
You are in a desert. There is a mountain with a light shining on top. You must cross the desert to reach it, and learn the history of your kind as you do.



Story
The story is told entirely without words, entirely through landscape, murals and voiceless visions at the end of the various legs of your journey. As the title suggests, the real story is your own, and it cannot be described in words, it's a very personal story, in a way. How much or how little you learn about the history of the people who lived in the desert is up to you, as there are many murals to be found in the vestiges of the civilization. I'll keep it vague, but the story is beautifully told without a single spoken word.



Gameplay
The gameplay is very simple. You move around, you can jump and the length of time you can stay aloft depends on the length of your scarf. if you explore, you will find orbs that lengthen your scarf and, as such, allow you to jumpt farther and explore more. You can also shout, which can activate some mechanism and is your sole means of communication with any companion you find throughout your journey. The core of the game is exploration of the locales to find murals or glyphs, or simply to solve the puzzle of the area you're in to advance to the next. Various objects in the game can be interacted with in some ways, so as to help you explore. The gameplay here takes a backseat to the experience, strangely enough, and it works very well.



Presentation
This game is nothing short of beautiful. It looks extremely nice, the omnipresent sand looks incredibly real, the use of lighting to change the mood of a scene is spectacular, the ambient sounds and music are well crafted and fitting. This game certainly is well presented, allowing you to really take in the experience and get into the journey. You will genuinely feel a sense of wonder as you explore the exquisitely crafted ruins. There is not much to say, this is simply beautiful and it must be seen and experienced to be believed.



Verdict
This is an amazing game.Though short, the fact that a journey can be completed in a single sitting only helps make the experience better. The sheer breadth you can explore, the sense of wonder you feel as you find hidden nooks hiding a mural, the feeling you get when you see another person in the desert and interact with them, solving puzzles... It's all a marvelous experience that should charm and inspire awe to anyone. Still, it may be wonderfully crafted, at $15 it is a bit costly. I give this game a Marvelous and amazing rating, it's a must get, though you may want to wait for a sale to get it if the price point turns you off. This is  a short game, after all.

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