Journey

Last night, I played through Journey on the PS3. I'm a little late to the scene, since it came out a while back, but late is far better than never. If you haven't played Journey and plan on doing so in the future, I would suggest reading this after you play. The game is best when you don't know what's coming.

If you have played Journey, then you'll probably understand my reluctance to begin this entry. I was moved to say something about my experience, since the game touched me so deeply, but I just don't know where to start. I'm even doubting my use of the term "game," since it's unlike anything else I've ever played.

I suppose a good place to start would be with the surface of the game. It's beautiful.

(Photo from www.indiegamemag.com)

Moving through the game is moving through art. Every frame is stunning, and the whole time I played, I kept asking, "How did they make it so pretty?" I would have been happy just looking around and not doing anything.

Luckily, that's pretty much what the game is: movement and exploration through a world that is so stunning, the lack of complicated puzzles and combat is insignificant. In fact, if either of those things were included in the game, it would detract from its pristine feel. Everything carries a spiritual weight, and it was nice to have that weight unmarred with death and flashy action. Not that I dislike combat or difficult puzzles, but they would have just felt wrong in Journey. The lack of either contributed to the sense that the game had been boiled down to its essence.

An interesting feature that help to break up the loneliness of playing in a world with such an epic scale is the unobtrusive mulitplayer. After I spent a little time wandering around the initial desert landscape, I came across another individual who was dressed just like me. I was having some trouble getting to the next area, and thought that the game was tossing me an NPC to show me the way.

But the individual stayed with me and, after a few minutes, I noticed it wasn't really acting in any predicable way like a computer would. I guessed that it was another player, and instantly appreciated that the game hadn't bugged me about meeting someone else. It was a seamless transition. 

 Making the journey with someone else makes it that much more powerful because your trek feels validated. Someone else is moving to the same goal as you, you can "talk" to each other to help get through, and Journey's use of communication to refuel your characters magic was genius. By time my partner and I made it to the mountain area, I felt like I couldn't go on without him/her. 

(Photo from lucien0maverick.wordpress.com)

By time the game was over, which didn't take very long, I had become so wrapped up in my mission and wanted so badly to reach my destination, that the end felt like a positively spiritual experience. I sat in rapt silence, fighting back tears during the closing cinematic. Something about Journey touched me very deeply, and made me feel as if, by simply experiencing it, I understood something about myself. My whole body felt at peace and my mind was still for the first time in a long time. It felt like coming out of a deep meditation. 

I feel silly even having written all this, now that it's over. I simply don't have the skill to capture the feeling of magic that I got from Journey. All I know is that it's a story I will never forget, and my life has been enriched by its presence.