The format of these posts is simple: let’s discuss a specific game or series!
Today (16th of April) is my birthday! So we’re discussing my favorite game of all time (tied with Outer Wilds): Journey
What aspects do you like about it? What doesn’t work for you? What are your favorite experiences in the game? Are there other games that gave you similar feelings? Feel free to share any thoughts that come up, or react to other peoples comments. Let’s get the conversation going!
If you have any recommendations for games or series for the next post(s), please feel free to DM me or add it in a comment here (no guarantees of course).
Previous entries: Resident Evil, Polybius, Tetris, Telltale Games, Kirby, LEGO Games, DOOM, Ori, Metal Gear, Slay the Spire
As I said in the post, this is my favorite game ever. I played it when I was a teenager and it completely blew me away. The start was interesting, but quickly I noticed it becoming more and more beautiful and moving. The moment when your sliding down and the camera turns sideways with the sun making the sand look gold is honestly one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen in my life. I played in 3 sittings, really savoring every moment. When you’re walking slowly in the ice cold ending stretch I became really emotional and the feeling of catharsis when you start the actual final part was insane. I was silently crying the whole time during that section.
Love the multiplayer aspect also. And the music is insane. I saw it performed live in my city last year and was able to speak to Austin Wintory and get his autograph.
I am so fucking jealous you’ve heard the ost live.
An orchestral performance cannot be captured by any kind of recording in a way that does it justice.
Seconding this, that would be a quasi-religious experience for me considering my feelings towards the soundtrack.
it is simultaneously overrated yet exactly deserving of all the praise it gets
the way it encourages cooperation with a stranger is staggeringly rare in games and i wish there were more things like it
Journey is one of the most sublime works of art in the video games medium. I have it tattooed on half my fucking arm.
I got similar feelings of awe from Citizen Sleeper. They’re vastly different games, but they both blew me away for what the “games as an art form” could be.
Got to play it with someone for a bit, they seemed to know where all the neat things were (iirc, the murals, scarf lengthening thingies, etc). But due to the inability to communicate more than just “dings” I couldn’t convey that I needed a quick toilet break. They were gone after I came back, which was a bit sad but I probably wouldn’t have stayed waiting either, tbh.
It was quite okay, I recall playing it through twice, but the second round didn’t really offer much in terms of “value” over the first. Cool visuals and concept, though.
Other somewhat similar vibing games which I somewhat relate to Journey:
- Sable - Somewhat similar character designs, quite a bit more scifi and some dialogue. Pretty cool 3d platformer puzzle.
- Proteus - walking-sim, graphics are those “if atari 2600 could do 3d”. Kinda cool experience, but also kinda one-and-done.
Opening the pause menu will cause the traveler to immediately sit down, according to my sister who played the game religiously for a while, this is the equivalent to “BRB” among people who play a lot.
Each secret you find will add embroidery to the clothing of the traveller, meaning players can tell which one should likely be showing the other around, as well whether someone is a first-timer.
Sticking together is also not that important. The game will match you with a new player if you get separated.
People who play it more than once typically do it to show new players around, that’s where the value of repeat playthroughs comes from.
It was my understanding that the embroidery/pattern changes were based on how many times you had completed the game, but your point stands that it’s easy to tell a first timer
You’re right, I recalled the pattern being more complex and showing the progress towards the white robe, but I’m misremembering. The patter simply show how many times someone has completed the game, up to three times.
tied with Outer Wilds
I knew you were cool 😎
Journey is also fantastic. I didn’t get to play it until it was on PS4 but I absolutely loved it. An extremely unique experience that had my jaw on the floor with how beautiful it looked. I feel like I should try that Sky MMO kind of game the studio made that just got launched for more platforms… Doubt it can live up to journey but who knows
Yeah I never thought something could top my experience with journey. I’ve seen the comment “quasi religious” quite a lot in this comment section. If it applies to Journey, for me it applies even more to Outer Wilds. The gameplay, discovery, mystery, music are all perfect and the culmination of the story and it’s message absolutely blew me away. I’ve never seen a game depict my view on life and even spirituality as perfectly as Outer Wilds. During the final scene I felt so thoroughly moved, as if the game was releasing something from my very soul.
It was a weird realization that my all time favorite game might actually have changed, especially as I played Outer Wilds in a state of recovery from depression during which I never expected to be able to connect so strongly to something emotionally.
Playing Journey was one of the most moving and profound experiences I’ve ever had in gaming. I was lucky enough to play the entirety of the game in one sitting and with one partner. I knew going in that this was a co-op game. What I didn’t realize was the effect it would have on me. Truly the closest to a spiritual experience I’ve had in a gaming setting. I sobbed as we walked into the light at the end.
Journey is a spiritual journey for me. I try to play it once every couple of years to remind me of the impermanence of life and existence.
Fuck the robot snakes, I want a long scarf.
The white outfit is nice. I’ve played this game for maybe 80h. It truly was a spiritual journey for me too. It made me cry more than once.
It will always hold a special place in my heart.
Happy birthday, you’ve got excellent taste!
I won’t add anything new here, but just chiming in that it’s also my favorite game of all time. I got to play it when it was contemporary (ps3 I think?) and a couple of years ago rebought and replayed it on Steam. I lobe everything from the artwork and symphonic score, to the play style and plot as it were, to even the communal nature of the game and the fact you can only chirp as communication. Like others, it had a very profound impact on me when playing. It’s definitely one of those I wish I could play for the first time all over again.
This game literally gave me a mind altering experience. The point at the end as you walk towards the light, I started to be unsure if I was controlling the character anymore or not, and it was actually quite dissociating like a psychedelic experience (I was sober at the time for the record). Truly incredible moment that no other game has pulled off.
Love it.
Such an incredible gaming experience with absolutely no words.
I also love Abzū, which is kind of like a sequel to it, but also not really.
I did try and get my girlfriend (non-gamer) to play Journey and she did not enjoy it at all, which made me realise a large part of why I love it is that it doesn’t hold your hand, and it assumes you are adept at gaming in some way.
Happy birthday! I actually just started playing Journey for the first time yesterday, less than an hour I’d say (on Steam). The visuals and fluidity of controls are nice, nothing spectacular by today’s standards but I’m sure they were great back in the PS3 era. The beginning felt a little slow trudging through the sand until I understood how the scarf upgrades work. But then when I encountered another player it really started to click and go more smoothly. I like how the game encourages cooperation by pinging and refilling each other’s scarf energy, though I feel like progress might go slow again if I get stuck going solo next session. The puzzles are very simple but I was feeling sick so having a ‘cozy’ game was actually pretty nice.
Still one of my favorite gaming experiences. I recommend everyone to play it at least once through, it’s not terribly long but it is an extremely worthwhile experience.
I think I would have enjoyed this more, if I had played it earlier. But when I finally got around to playing it in 2021, the Multiplayer was dead and I had already seen too many pretty games for Journey to stand out.
I can see how someone would fall in love with at the right time though.
I haven’t played it yet, but it was on my wishlist for a while, so when I saw it on sale a few days ago, I snapped it up and immediately installed it. I’m really excited to play it as soon as I have some free hours.
It’s not too long, but it’s a great experience, absolutely worth the time
Yeah, I’m really looking forward to it. I loved Abzu, and Journey went on my wishlist because so many people had said how similar they were. I’d have probably played it already if I wasn’t ill - I can barely hear anything right now, and that’s not the best time to play a game where the music is a big part of the experience!
Yeah Abzu was great as well, but something about Journey just resonates with you. I can’t explicitly remember the music, but it would probably be better if you just waited a bit longer until you can hear again!
