Plowed through most of this game last night. Just wonderful and am shocked at how little fanfare it has been getting on the forum. The team ico nuts would likely adore it.
Achievements are all obtuse and vague, very possible to likely play through and get none of them. Still, I have adored my time spent with this journey.
I just finished. What a beautiful, moving game. Wow. Incredible work by Starbreeze.
If you liked Ico and Journey, you MUST play this game. The controls are slightly clumsy but you adapt well enough. I would have liked to play it with my wife, though I'm not sure what harm there would have been in making co-op an option.
It's baffling why this isn't getting the love that most great downloadable games get. Maybe it will get more love on the PS3? Does it have a stigma because of the current state of Microsoft in the gaming community and the declining overall quality of Summer Arcade? Maybe everyone is just ready for next gen? I don't get it, but it's a damn shame.
Finished. Jesus Christ, they nailed the hell out of the ending. I thought it was going to end short and then the epilogue played out.
(Massive ending spoilers) I was surprised at how much
the controls played into the whole ending of the game. I felt like I really was missing one half of my controller when Big Brother died. When little brother is resisting going into the water and then you hit the left trigger and he start plowing through, I cheered man.
The pacing was fantastic and although the game/puzzles were super simple they felt organic and fun. A good example of this was when you (middle chapters spoilers)
had to wing from ledge to ledge with both brothers while climbing up that castle.
I loved how there wasn't any real tips and that there were no UI pop-ups during the entire game. And the way the game makes you expect one thing but does another.
Man, what a game. I feel like I want to grab the rest of Gaf by the shoulders and say, "Hey dudes this is the 'Journey' of this year." A short, downloadable title that offers some emotions that a lot of big AAA games (looking at you David Cage) only dream about hitting.
PS. The achievements were handled pretty well. No collectibles but doing secret stuff in the environment equal fun times.
PSS Some personal highlights (first two are kinda big near end spoilers)
-
Whale jumping was freaking awesome.
-
Spider girl threw me for a loop.
- Game was one of the best UE3 looking titles I've ever seen.
- Surprised to find out how used to the controls I got as the game went on.
Just finished myself and agree. One of the best experiences no one is playing. Almost was brought to tears by the ending, and that never happens with me.
Just a game I could not put down from beginning to end. Beautiful.
Fantastic game. And what a surprise! When this was announced as part of Summer of Arcade, i shrugged, yet this may be the game to beat. No idea how far I'm through the game yet, don't care. Loving it so far. I'm going to get my friends to get it too. Must not be missed.
Only complaint is that I feel dual stick moronic occasionally when the brothers swap sides. Heh. Great otherwise.
Plowed through most of this game last night. Just wonderful and am shocked at how little fanfare it has been getting on the forum. The team ico nuts would likely adore it.
Achievements are all obtuse and vague, very possible to likely play through and get none of them. Still, I have adored my time spent with this journey.
Thanks to this thread I will probably buy it. Digged the gameplay from the first trailers but didn't have it on my list as a "Must buy dayone". Would have probably waited for a discount.
I think I'll buy it when it turns up on the PSN Store.
So let's talk about THE ENDING (big spoilers below, obviously):
How long did it take you to figure out the final puzzle? What was it that made you finally decide to press the L trigger? I honestly can't really remember what pushed me to that point. The game had already featured some ghostly apparitions, so I figured my brother's ghost might show up to help, I think. But mostly it was just the sense of "Well, I've pressed every other button and I can't get him to swim, so I might as well try some obsolete buttons and see what happens." From the beginning I think it was also kinda painfully obvious that the younger brother was going to have to overcome his fear of water and swim alone. But the way it all came together was fantastic.
Always risky to say this before playing the new Saints Row game, but this has a very good shot at being my GOTY. It totally blew me away. Loved the ingenuity of the central premise and all the puzzle design that resulted from it, the richness of the world, the depth of emotion that was suggested with such a minimalist palette, the art design (the
giants battleground
- OMG) and, of course, the genius way in which the game mechanics and narrative were so seamlessly and brilliantly intertwined. This game left a real mark on me and I found it genuinely inspirational. Loved every minute of it, it's one of those games you want to shout about from the rooftops. This will be hard to beat in 2013. I think it is in the same category as Journey, which is about the highest compliment I can give it.
I plan on buying it anyway, but I'm glad to hear all the positive feedback! Obviously veering well away from spoilers, of course. I absolutely love these little downloadable gems; they've provided some of the most interesting and thought provoking games for me this generation. My only concern is that to add to its apparent flat release on Xbox Live, when it launches on PSN in a month it'll be bookended by some much bigger releases so it might similarly be overlooked. I wonder typically how much MS has to cough up with games like this to hold their release on other platforms back.
This game better played through in one sitting? Will probably pick it up today as I loved the demo but I don't think I'll have 3-4 hours of free time today.
This game better played through in one sitting? Will probably pick it up today as I loved the demo but I don't think I'll have 3-4 hours of free time today.
This game better played through in one sitting? Will probably pick it up today as I loved the demo but I don't think I'll have 3-4 hours of free time today.
So let's talk about THE ENDING (big spoilers below, obviously):
How long did it take you to figure out the final puzzle? What was it that made you finally decide to press the L trigger? I honestly can't really remember what pushed me to that point. The game had already featured some ghostly apparitions, so I figured my brother's ghost might show up to help, I think. But mostly it was just the sense of "Well, I've pressed every other button and I can't get him to swim, so I might as well try some obsolete buttons and see what happens." From the beginning I think it was also kinda painfully obvious that the younger brother was going to have to overcome his fear of water and swim alone. But the way it all came together was fantastic.
Like you, I stumbled onto it. Once I got it though it made perfect sense. It's the first game I've ever played where a control mechanism could have such meaning behind it.
Plowed through most of this game last night. Just wonderful and am shocked at how little fanfare it has been getting on the forum. The team ico nuts would likely adore it.
Achievements are all obtuse and vague, very possible to likely play through and get none of them. Still, I have adored my time spent with this journey.
The dual analog setup is certainly odd, and it results in some confusion, but it's also what allows for some of the most inventive and powerful experiences in the game. The controls are simply necessary for what the game does; otherwise it would be far less memorable.
Starbreeze consistently does something very important in a game like this - they not only foreshadow where you're going, they also always make sure to show you where you've been. The levels are designed in such a way that you are frequently able to look down over an edge or out to he horizon and clearly see areas you'd visited previously - but now they're distant. It makes the world seem vast and interconnected; a single journey rather than unrelated segments.
As others have said - fans of Ico and Journey need to check this out. It's brilliant.
Yeah, it might struggle a bit on the vita. But I was thinking the same thing about the controls. Got both sticks and the two shoulder buttons right there.
Definitely my game of the year so far, the story, the gameplay, the graphics, and music all just gel together and WORK. Definitely felt some Ico vibes, especially in the way that they are able to communicate so much with no (understandable) dialog.
100% recommended for anyone reading who hasn't bought it yet.
Fuck me. Ending didn't work for me like it seems to have for others. I enjoyed most of this game, but the drama never really clicked. I think it was the fake language and animations not seeming fully baked. It worked for me in the Team ICO games. The
mechanics at the end are interesting academically but I didn't experience any of that build up and drama I feel I'm supposed to have felt.
Didn't help that
any review or talk of this game gives you an idea of what interesting thing they might do with it.
Seems like the perfect game to just come upon randomly. Makes me think that whatever The Last Guardian is can't live up to what I have already "spoiled" in my head. Then again The Last of Us managed to side step these issues.
Brothers managed to evoke a sense of wonder and adventure that was only matched by Journey, while some of the scenery reminded me of the feelings of awe I had when I first watched The Fellowship of the Ring. The ending is hard-hitting and caught me completely off gaurd. This is truly a gem that I hope more people will play.
I usually get my little brother to play video games that are much more interesting by nature. This time he was compelled enough to write a review for it. I remember when I told him to play Spec Ops: The Line...poor chap didn't touch the Xbox for a few days after.
I played the demo - pretty neat and kept me playing. I'm not big on stories in games but the control scheme and mechanics is enough to keep me playing because it's novel enough and something to learn. Like others have said, I don't think there have been many games where you control 2 and track 2 at the same time. It wasn't hard or anything, really quite easy, but it feels like some neurons are firing off because I'm learning new things.
The easy way to play it I guess is to keep them in sync, I guess. If the challenge is upped I can see how this can be the start of a new sort of genre. There's so many possibilities - like with drumming, you need to learn limb independence, maybe there's something along the lines here if there are more harder games using these mechanics.
