Journey (PS3/PS4)

[Cookie Monster]

Finished it. This might be the most gratifying experience I have ever had with a game. It doesn't even feel like a goddamn video game. It's something entirely new. I'm going to recommend this to everyone. Hell, even if you don't play games much, this is something you just have to play. Period.

 

[X-SOLDIER]

What were some of the most significant experiences that you had?
(if you're in the frame of mind to write any of them out)

Everything that you're feeling stays and changes when you play it again. It's difficult to describe how and why, but you'll understand when you do.


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[Tennyo]

Okay so I guess watching Netflix while you have a game downloading in the background causes the game to stop downloading... :/

Good to know. At least the internet is fast(er) here than where I lived before...

 

[X-SOLDIER]

>_<


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[Joe]

I finished my first journey a short while ago. Just...

Wow. I am struggling to find words, but here goes:

Spoiler: My First Journey

I found my red-robed self dropped into the desert. This is a big freaking desert and it's a little disconcerting as to whether I'll be walking it forever if I don't go the right way. I attempted to travel up a rather large sand dune but I stopped making progress fast and one of the desert winds blew me right back to the bottom. So I moved another way and eventually found rags and pieces of fabric blowing in the wind.

Standing by these blowing sheets I found I could sing! Or at least make rather chimey notes. This was about the ONLY thing I could do. That and walk of course. Then suddenly, the sheets reacted to my notes. They swirled around me and elevated me into the air. It was rather freeing, being able to get my feet off the sand. After this uplifting experience I carried on walking, as I'd seen a stone-like structure. Getting to it, it gave me a perspective on a path through the sand down to a place where an even bigger structure was in place. I started walking and before I knew it I found myself sliding smoothly down the slope, swaying and moving at a rather fine pace.
I came across a magical light when I got to the bottom and it gave me some sort of cape-thing, draped around my neck and flowing just a short bit down my back. It didn't take me long to realize what this actually did. It enabled me to fly. I was granted a short but elegant burst into the air before I smoothly dropped down again. There were shining symbols on my cape that told me when I could and couldn't fly. See the shine depleted when I used my flight which prohibited access when it shined no more. This was okay though as I found that singing to the silken fabrics lifted me into the air and recharged my magical cape. There were plenty of them around here too. Shortly after I found my way to a small circle with a few pillars around it. I sung to the pillars and their power focused on one point. As I found that point, I gently sat down and was greeted by an unfamiliar white-clothed face.

Shortly after I learnt a little about the history of this place, I presume, and where the structures came from. From there I sat up and made my way through the elevated doorway to another, much larger clearing.

And then I heard singing.

Very quiet chimes were being heard in the background and - ignoring all the sheets and elevated pathways in front of me - I went running off to the east to find the source. Dancing with their own collection of fabric was another one. Another person, just like me. They noticed me too and let out a song as they came to greet me. I returned the call and before long we found ourselves sliding down sand hills and everything. We slowly learnt that our power over flight amplified when we were around each and thus we used this to our advantage, navigating the beautiful wasteland with ease, tearing through the skies. Later, I'd learn this other individual's name so for ease I will refer to him as Tellus (Real name Tellus.Dormit)
After a ride and what I can only imagine was a race (that I narrowly won) down the biggest dune in history, Tellus and I found ourselves underground. The scenerey was rather dark but we kept on walking. We'd had a little exploring bout before we'd entered. I'd managed to find another magical light which caused my cape to double in length! My power over flight had increased and when I regrouped with my companion I led him to the light so that he may gain its power also.

We were now soaring through this cave. But then, something shook and broke on the ground next to us. The two of us stopped for a while, looking around. We found nothing. We carried on and soon found the cause for the disturbance. A long, snake-like beast made of stone. It flew through the sky and to our unease it ripped through the dancing fabrics and tore them to shreds. We moved on cautiously but then, it set its ours on us. We both ran and we soon found that we'd run separate ways. I to the left, Tellus to the right. The beast focused on the latter. It moved with such speed that my friend was unable to move out of its path. The beast ripped through him and snagged two folds of his own cape. The beast then left. It had obviously had its fill. Tellus and I reconvened but he was unable to fly.

We carried on through the cave and eventually reach a clearing that we'd barely made. We knew now that there was more than one of these beasts and they were hunting us. As we made a run for our next pathway I noticed Tellus lagging behind but before I could slow my pace I'd been swept up by an escaping piece of fabric, the cloth desparate to get out of this hold as much as we were. As it flew off I was dropped down in the middle of a sandy pit. The lights on my cape were out and there was nothing nearby that may recharge them. Worse still, there was no sign of Tellus.

The next few minutes were genuinely terrifying. We'd been travelling together for a while now and it seemed not right that he was gone. The chimes he'd made to alert me before were completely lost. He'd upped and vanished. I tried to move onward but I couldn't. This section of the cave was even darker and there was a steep drop. I didn't want to do it alone. I believe I spent ten minutes just trying to muster up the strength to just continue.

And then I heard a chime. I'd heard that chime once before. It was the longest loudest chime and it came from above. Moments later Tellus fell in front of me. His cape had grown back to half of its original length, still shorter than mine but useful nonetheless. He chimed up a little and I realised that he'd obviously glimpsed one of those magic lights somewhere and gone hunting. It's hard to imagine but I was actually GENUINLY relieved.

The two of us managed to escape the cave. We had our final objective and goal as a pair. A large mountain sat in the distance, covered in snow. At the top shone a light so bright that we just HAD to get to. It was an uphill battle though, no more skating down the sand. We'd have to battle uphill and we did. By this point, the length of my cape was four times that of Tellus'! I had a lot of power over flight but I still managed to keep him up by staying close.

We fought through the powerful winds going upward. It seemed like we were making no progress at all. A strong wind was all it took to take us tumbling down all our progress. We carried on though and made SOME progress. We rounded a corner and saw that the goal was in our sight, the top of the mountain. Only one problem. That THING was back, and it brought company. We were on even ground in the cave but now we were fighting an uphill battle. Tellus got behind me and we carried on walking up the hill. The beast came around for four separate attacks. It was impossible to evade so instead I took the brunt of the force myself while Tellus went by unnoticed. I watched the length of my cape decrease with each blow that sent my yards back, further than any wind. I looked at my cape now, my source of power.
Gone. Another attack wouldn't be able to take away my cape. It would take ME away. We couldn't afford that. And we needn't have to. We were almost there.

The monster shooed off but the wind was fiercer and much much colder. I tried singing out to contact Tellus but my chimes were almost silent. Even when I tried to belt out it only came out as a whimper.
And then, to my fear, my friend collapsed in the snow. I tried to walk over to him to help, but the winds became too much. I fell too.

So divine spirit of sorts must have raised us up because when I awoke, my friend and I were at our goal. The top of the mountain. There infront of us was a sprawling utopia. Waterfalls and cloth flying everywhere. And just like we had in the desert, we raced.

I'm not sure who won that one.

Spoiler: Companions

Tellus_dormit
That was all. He/She appeared in my second act and never left me throughout. We helped each other alot and it paid off. I wish I knew who he/she actually was.

 

[Cookie Monster]

What were some of the most significant experiences that you had?
(if you're in the frame of mind to write any of them out)

Everything that you're feeling stays and changes when you play it again. It's difficult to describe how and why, but you'll understand when you do.


X

Spoiler

Finding the other player was one of them. I almost missed him, lol. He was pretty far ahead of me when I saw him. And, if I hadn't panned the camera in that direction I would have passed him completely. When we met, we tried to communicate by jumping and pressing circle several times. And, after a few seconds of that, we just set out together exploring everything. When he fell behind I waited for him and vice versa. Thinking about it now, the inability to communicate with the other player and simply not knowing who he or she was, really enhanced the experience. Can't really explain it. I lost him at the very end though, but I think when I was walking toward the light I could see a figure walking just ahead of me, it must've been him. Still got the Companion Trophy. But, by far, I feel like I got more out of that journey than I ever did playing multiplayer on Call of Duty or Battlefield.

It also had to be one of the most visually engaging games I've ever played. Everything was just beautiful. And, I'm not even going to get started on the soundtrack.

 

[Tennyo]

Okay so wow, this game...

That was so beautiful I could cry...

Spoiler

I like how at the end it tells you who you met. Didn't meet anyone I knew but I did meet someone named XSolider_Ger.

Man, where to begin...

Spoiler

I started off alone, just wandering the desert. There were ruins where I found symbols to give me my scarf and little slips of what I thought were paper (but later realized they were ribbons) that made it light up. I then realized they gave me power to fly. I got to an area where I had to complete a bridge out of ribbons and that's where I met my first companion. We just went along, doing out thing. There was this whole sequence of sliding down and down hill after hill, and the sun reflecting off the sand to make it look gold was just beautiful. The camera was at a side angle and all I could see were the silhouettes of my companion and I, along with some flying ribbon creatures. It was just...no words. Wow.

Eventually we got to what I'm assuming is called the "Trials" since the trophy is named that. It's the area where the first flying wyrm things are. My companion got attacked by them twice and almost lost their ribbon.

I felt really bad for them. I mean like, we were bonding. At least I felt that way, but for all I know it was a different person by that point. I don't even know when or how my companions changed on me, but the game says I met a good six different people so who knows.

You have no idea how heart wrenching it was trying to climb that mountain. Running from cover to cover trying to dodge the wyrms. There was a section with strong wind that blew our ribbons off. My companion and I nearly froze to death. The controller kept vibrating more and more until first they then I collapsed in the snow. Luckily the group of the people dressed in white appeared and sent me soaring up the mountain. It was a gorgeous view, with ribbon creatures of all sizes flying everywhere. Eventually we got to the top and walked into the light.

I'm rather sad that I only got one name written down before the screen faded. The game doesn't list your companions in the Players Met section on the PS3 menu. I was rather bummed. I almost feel like I want to reach out and contact these people. :/

Blargh I don't even really know how else to describe it. I'm curious to know what will happen if I play again...

 

[X-SOLDIER]

@Joe/Daniel/Tenny: I have absolutely LOVED reading these, guys. It's amazing how different, yet similar all the experiences are. The initial playthroughs are so powerfuly emotional. (Also, I can't believe that you met someone with a name that close to mine, Tenny. XD)


Link to a post containing my First, Second, & Third Journies.

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Spoiler: My Fourth Journey

I set off again, my cloak even more filled with golden patterning, covering nearly halfway up, making me glow brightly when I found my first glyph again. I began wandering about, and I checked my beginning area, looking at the walls of each building to see where I had missed the wall messages. I had missed them on the Hill and Tower levels. Little did I know that I would find much more.

I set about wandering for fun, wondering who I would encounter. To my surprise it was another whose cloak was exactly as full as mine. We set about gathering the initial glyphs, and singing, wandering forward. I showed him a hidden wall panel under the sand waterfall. Once we went to the desert however, EVERYTHING changed.

We found a pattern with our long scarves. We. Could. FLY.

We'd rise, and sing out loudly, alternating, and charging one's scarf as the other floated, slowly climbing in steps. Our marked cloaks glowed brightly when we were close, slowing how much our cloaks needed to charge. We flew across the desert, rescuing Kite-rays, hardly ever touching the ground. We flew and carefully continued in unison. I lead them to a new, hidden wall on the Hill level, and we continued on, crossing and carefull staying close. We flew around together underground through everywhere, dropping where I knew of Glyphs, but otherwise leaving the ground untouched.

When we reached the dangerous area, we wandered on a path far to the left underground, where we went slowly, and completely avoided the Serpents. We sang out only when we weren't standing close enough to keep our cloaks glowing. In the final stretch they slid down the hill, while I took to the air, each remaining unscathed. We climbed the water tower, where they showed me two things - a secret passage in the wall when the room is about half full, revealing a wall message room, with a Glyph hidden behind one of the tapestry cloths. Then, once the room was full, we swam down to the bottom, and in the center room, now there was a little swimming creature from fl0w. Then we ventured up to the top, and continued onwards.

We progressed up the mountain with stern determination, unphased by the blowing snow. We stuck along the path, occasionally leapfrogging the wind-blocking pillars in tandem and flying up to the next vantage point, then singing and recharging. On the large, open, windy mountainside, we veered left, and found a hidden cave in the snow, with another message wall. We cut back, along the left path, and leapfrogged between vantage points again, passing the serpents unscathed with ease. We spoke and nodded softly, crossing into each other to to brighten our glow as we each slowly faded out...

...when we awoke, we sang out loudly, and began our flight pattern again, only dropping down when we needed to skate back and forth down the hill, and then taking to the air. The final climb up a waterfall had us briefly separated, but I waited and called loudly, unable to see where he was, due to the brightness around me. We met up and sang at the summit, walking together and bumping shoulders playfully as we passed into the light.

My emotions of this Journey are, "Brotherhood, Discovery, Soaring, Confidence, Mystery, Accomplishment"

The Companion I met along the way was: PIPKING01

I added him as a friend on PSN. This was his fifth Journey, and we each shared feelings that it was our most beautiful yet, and expressed our joy at finding that we could fly together. He had learned of the hidden places in the last few levels during his last journey from another traveller. I told him how to find all the Kite-rays in the desert, and told him that I would let him know if I found the hidden Flower.

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[The Twilight Mexican]

I have it downloaded. Will commence play soon and report back!

 

[Tennyo]

Yes yes, do tell.

Do we all want to plan a day to play at the same time to see if we can by chance meet up in this game?

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Yes, Tenny, we should. =)

So, I just beat it, and I'll have more to say once I've made sense of all I'm feeling right now, but for now I'll just leave you guys with the update I made to Facebook:

I just downloaded and finished beating "Journey," a new game on the PlayStation Network from ThatGameCompany (the makers of "Flower," another very artsy, unique game). Though the game only lasted a couple of hours, the experience will stick with me for far longer.

I thought that "Ico" and "Shadow of the Colossus" went beyond just being games and embodied art -- and they do. I still believe that. But it doesn't even feel right to call it a game. It is truly a spiritual experience. One that literally every human being on this planet should get to partake of whether a fan of video games or not.

I'll have more to say about it later, but for now, I need to sleep and sort through the emotions my journey left me with. I am legitimately floored at what Jenova Chen and his staff have accomplished with this "game."

 

[Russell]

I badly need a new game to take my mind of the Mass Effect 3 ending (which I won&#8216;t go into here; see my signature).

So this Journey? What type of game is it and how much is it?
Also (as I assume it&#8216;s download only) how large a file is it?

(Forgive me if this thread has already answered my questions but I don&#8216;t want to accidentally read spoilers)

 

[Octo]

I badly need a new game to take my mind of the Mass Effect 3 ending (which I won‘t go into here; see my signature).

So this Journey? What type of game is it and how much is it?
Also (as I assume it‘s download only) how large a file is it?

(Forgive me if this thread has already answered my questions but I don‘t want to accidentally read spoilers)

It's probably best described as an adventure/exploration game. I haven't played it yet but its pretty unique. From what I've read you're a mysterious caped figure trying to make your way to a mountain across a vast desert. You may or may not be joined by a travelling companion (dressed the same as you) at some point and I think the idea is to co-operate in order to traverse the wilderness

It's 591MB and it costs £9.99 earth pounds or $15 americun dolla.

EDIT: Ok, so I sorted my PSN account. I'm SenorMustardseed if anyone wants to add me, and I'll add you guys once I get back from breakfast....my stomach is sucking up against my spine! Happy trails!

 

[Tetsujin]

Back from my course and just bought the game. Downloading as we speak.

 

[Octo]

Installed. I have my water bottle (can of coke) and I am wearing a poncho to enhance the experience. I am just going outside and may be some time.....

 

[Russell]

I've only played for an hour, but I will use MSPaint as a medium to express how this game makes me feel so far:

Spoiler

 

[Tennyo]

Question for those who have beat it.

Spoiler

Did you guys find that all those doors near in that valley area in the beginning were open? Do they open automatically because you've already beat the game once or did I do something special to make them open? I did find a mural that I sang to to make it appear up by the starting point. I didn't do that my first time. Could that be it?

It appears the doors have portals that transport you to later parts of the game. I walked through one and was in the section right before you start going up the mountain.

 

[Tetsujin]

So like. I don't know for how long I've been playing so far. But it's beautiful.

 

[X-SOLDIER]

@ Tenny:

Spoiler

The buildings in that first area are how you skip to a particular level. It'll show a projection of which level it is, and you walk to the meditation spot to enter it. The murals will show up or remain blank, depending on whether or not you have found them in that level.

X

 

[Octo]

Done my first playthrough here are my brain thoughts:

Spoiler: But not a word I heard could I relate The story was quite clear.....

First off, this game gets more beautiful as it goes on. Even though the main bulk of it is a 'desert level' its still stunning. Especially when the sand became all iridescent and I was going sunblind Also the transition between the different areas is so subtle and nothing jarrs...like one minute I was like 'how did we get underwater?' Even though it technically wasn't

My companion: at first I was suspicious of them. I didn't really know if they we're an AI or not. In that first section together (I'm assuming that the point the companion appears is the same each time) they seemed to be being a bit greedy with the power up...uh...flag things which kind of got my goat a bit

As time went on I felt a real bond developing though, and whenever we passed a section we celebrated with a few uh...whistles? At least I think so, maybe they thought I was batshit and just wanted to be polite?

There were a few occasions where I thought I lost my little buddy Once when that nasty cyclops millipede blasted him and burnt off some of his scarf, another time when he was blown off the side of the cliff but fortunately managed to climb back up and then when we were struggling through the snow, he seemed to be the one to weaken first? I thought he was dying and then we both kind of did.

If that had been it I probably would have fucked the game off at that point, thinking it was unfair, but then we were given a reprieve it seems and the last section was probably the most beautiful. However, at some point I hitched a ride on one of those whale things (its really difficult not having names for stuff innit? I hope you know what I mean EDIT: at the time of writing I hadn't read X's first playthrough. How awesome that we both thought they were whales! ) I was hoping my buddy would follow behind so I stopped to wait for him.....but he never came? I couldn't see that tracking 'glow' anywhere.... It's possible that he went on ahead because things got a bit chaotic. I hope so, I hope he didn't die, but I really wanted to go through the last part together...

Anyway, I think this is an awesome game...an awesome experience. I was a bit cynical before I played it because thats just how I am, its not often that a game (or a film/book/music) provokes an emotional response in me like this did. I'm just so impressed that 591MB could achieve so much, and honestly it puts most mainstream developers to shame.

The ending left me a little confused, all the hieroglyphs gave the impression that once we reached the summit, the world would be revived? It didn't seem like that happened, and given that I'd already seen those shooting stars I know that I am not the first.....maybe I did something wrong?


I'm waiting until Mr Octo gets home from work and I'm going to make him play it next, without giving anything away. I really have the urge to share this with people!

Also, maybe I'm tripping balls on cola and pregnancy hormones but the lyrics to Led Zeppelin's Kashmir are really apt here

Edit again: The companion I met was called Supremetopher.

 

[Tennyo]

@ Tenny:

Spoiler

The buildings in that first area are how you skip to a particular level. It'll show a projection of which level it is, and you walk to the meditation spot to enter it. The murals will show up or remain blank, depending on whether or not you have found them in that level.

X

Spoiler

Okay, so they were just open because I finished the game once already?

 

[X-SOLDIER]

@Tenny: Yes.

@Octo: Reading your journey was lovely seeing how your thought processes changed along the way. I can't wait to hear about Mr. Octo's experience!

Has anybody opted for a second Journey yet? It took me several days to work up to another one (that and school kept me busy).


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[Tetsujin]

Finished it. Met a total of 8 companions.

Spoiler

Early in the game, I walked up a dune and just stood there taking in the beautiful scenery. A stranger walked up to me and they just stood right next to me, doing the same.

Nice bonding moment there xD

So for the most part, I had other people with me. However, I climbed the mountain all by myself. Lonely experience was lonely. =P

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Finished it. Met a total of 8 companions.

Slut.



I had a big write-up of my experience ready to post a moment ago, and then some unknown caller blew up my phone. After I hit "ignore," my post was gone.

I guess I was asking for it by doing this on my phone, but a) I expect better from the current top-of-the-line phone and b) once the urge to start writing about it hit me, I had to grab the nearest device. I was pretty upset for a moment, but I'm kind of excited to begin the journey again (so to speak).

The only genuinely unfortunate part of the whole thing is that I have to get to work now, so it's going to be late tonight before I can share my thoughts.

 

[X-SOLDIER]

Super sorry to hear, but I have had that happen before, Tres. I'm sure it will be worth the wait though.


X