I just randomly jumped/flew at it in one of the random areas, was able to chirp but nothing else (not even pause), and it just flew around with me on top of it for about 10 minutes. It finally unstuck me at the last tower with those two 'carpet lifts'. I must say the first few minutes of the flying experience were amazing, I realized something must not be working as intended only a while later.
To be honest I thought Journey was bad, like really bad. I was expecting a really good experience but it has nothing on Flower. TGC messed up big time or maybe SSM pushed them to go mainstream, in which case they suck! Also laughable how much praise it's getting in this thread. Are you guys serious or lying to youself because you wasted money on this one hour dull experience ?
Well I enjoyed the experience, wasn't worth the £10 I paid for it and I still can't understand the best game ever mentality but sure yeah it was fun. :s
You can play alone of course. But the experience is richer with a fellow traveler. Even if the idea of playing it with another person does not appeal to you I highly suggest you play it signed into PSN. If you don't want to Journey together then you can always go your separate ways.
Had such an amazing time replaying online.
Was playing with someone when the game glitched out on me and I got stuck
on the flying stingray. It decided to take me on a joyride through the vast area 3 desert.
I felt sooo bad about ditching my companion. And then I started hearing faint chirpings from behind. I spun my camera around and there she was, chasing after me through the dunes. She then tried to unbind me by hopping on the thing and singing to it, to no avail. When she disappeared, I thought she had given up. I struggled to break free for a few more minutes before it finally worked(don't know how/why). And when I climbed to the top of the tower, my companion was there waiting for me! What an indescribable feeling. We ended up playing all the way to the very end.
Thanks for the great experience Lilythecat1018!
edit: played this 5x already. At what point do you stop getting new motifs?
Had such an amazing time replaying online.
Was playing with someone when the game glitched out on me and I got stuck
on the flying stingray. It decided to take me on a joyride through the vast area 3 desert.
I felt sooo bad about ditching my companion. And then I started hearing faint chirpings from behind. I spun my camera around and there she was, chasing after me through the dunes. She then tried to unbind me by hopping on the thing and singing to it, to no avail. When she disappeared, I thought she had given up. I struggled to break free for a few more minutes before it finally worked(don't know how/why). And when I climbed to the top of the tower, my companion was there waiting for me! What an indescribable feeling. We ended up playing all the way to the very end.
Wouldn't have thought so. Here's a bit that was cut from the article:
"There is an enormous pile of discarded music, but always rightfully so. In fact, I threw out my own music far more often than because of feedback from thatgamecompany or Sony. Like I said, nothing was ever written in a vacuum from its in-game implementation, so it was always clear really quickly if it needed to be changed or ditched."
So I downloaded the game yesterday and am holding off till Fri to play. I think I should print out morse code data and learn it before then. I just hope the wanderer I run into has done the same.
I know, I was riding the right stick the entire game. But then I would lay in a different position on the couch and the camera would stare into the air and I would have to correct it. It is a beautiful and awesome game and the sixaxis adds nothing to that.
I hope everyone waits to play this till they can just sit down and play it all the way through in one sitting and with the same partner all the way through if possible.
To be honest I thought Journey was bad, like really bad. I was expecting a
really good experience but it has nothing on Flower. TGC messed up big time
or maybe SSM pushed them to go mainstream, in which case they suck! Also
laughable how much praise it's getting in this thread. Are you guys serious or
lying to youself because you wasted money on this one hour dull experience ?
From the get-go, it's very obvious this is by the Flower folks. Whereas I felt Flower stopped slightly short of offering what I'd like to consider gameplay, the minimalist mechanics in Journey really work, offering just the right amount of control necessary to make the experience feel mysterious, natural, and self-driven. On top of that, something about the way they've interwoven the gameplay with the incredible physics really brings out every step. You feel every motion in this game in a way that is difficult to describe.
Length is definitely perfect, as this game is not intended to be an epic, it's intended to be a fable - and is intended to be played over and over again. The online aspect is amazingly conceived and realized, being cast onto a path shared with strangers really adds to the drive compelling you forward, but smartly the game does not make their presence a necessity for success.
The game is not completely without flaws, but what there are almost seems nitpicky. I can say I honestly would have preferred a bit more danger than what is offered, but even then what is offered is appreciated considering I didn't really expect any from a game where you can't actually fail aside from not moving forward. The camera controls sort of pick whether to accept the analog or sixaxis as priority solely by which is giving it input over the course of a few seconds, which can be mildly annoying if you like to stop and just look around like I often do. I also found at least one area where I somehow managed to fall through some geometry and get stuck inside a cliff face and had to reset the game.
I'm not sure of a better way to put this, so I'll just put it out there. Journey is honestly the first game this gen to make me feel like I did back in the SNES days. It's all that it needs to be with 0 filler, a perfectly crafted little myth that feels like the little silent stories your imagination would conjure in an afternoon when you were a kid loose in the park or on a playground. Nothing is here that doesn't need to be, and it's a better experience because of it.
Many will say this is an example of how games can truly be art. To me this is an example simply of what games can be, and that they don't need to try to be anything but what they are to offer a special and engaging experience.
I think this game would've been magical for me if I hadn't read this thread first. When I played it last night, I was too aware of the ways I was being emotionally manipulated, and it felt a bit forced and pretentious as a result (literally at points, with the blowing wind and slowed walk at points that just wasn't fun).
Aside from the sand-surfing, which was brilliant but too infrequent, the gameplay felt kind of stiff; the controls are responsive, yes, but flying had me clipping cliffs, and the bits where you platform on "jellyfish" never felt as smooth as, say, a Mario game. I absolutely loved Flower, but this felt much more "gamey" to me; the seams show because of the divided level/cutscene structure. If it could've somehow had been one seamless, well, journey from start to finish, it might've felt truly epic.
I had a number of partners along the way. I do like how this game approached co-op. Removing one's voice solves the problem of "anonymity + audience = asshole," and instills your partner with a sort of delicate innocence and vulnerability that's endearing. We got separated on many occasions, but when we were together, there was power in silence.
I'll have to give this game another play-through and see if it improves in my eyes. I strongly doubt you guys will stand by this as a GotY, though, once all's said and done. It's neat, and beautiful, and occasionally haunting, and the sand-surfing bits should be made into a full-fledged game, but I don't think anything here approaches the first time I played the first level of Flower, which was like the "inside the moon" sequence from Majora's Mask if I had reincarnated as wind, Buddhism-style. That was simply exhilarating...
I think this game would've been magical for me if I hadn't read this thread first. When I played it last night, I was too aware of the ways I was being emotionally manipulated, and it felt a bit forced and pretentious as a result (literally at points, with the blowing wind and slowed walk at points that just wasn't fun).
Aside from the sand-surfing, which was brilliant but too infrequent, the gameplay felt kind of stiff; the controls are responsive, yes, but flying had me clipping cliffs, and the bits where you platform on "jellyfish" never felt as smooth as, say, a Mario game. I absolutely loved Flower, but this felt much more "gamey" to me; the seams show because of the divided level/cutscene structure. If it could've somehow had been one seamless, well, journey from start to finish, it might've felt truly epic.
I had a number of partners along the way. I do like how this game approached co-op. Removing one's voice solves the problem of "anonymity + audience = asshole," and instills your partner with a sort of delicate innocence and vulnerability that's endearing. We got separated on many occasions, but when we were together, there was power in silence.
I'll have to give this game another play-through and see if it improves in my eyes. I strongly doubt you guys will stand by this as a GotY, though, once all's said and done. It's neat, and beautiful, and occasionally haunting, and the sand-surfing bits should be made into a full-fledged game, but I don't think anything here approaches the first time I played the first level of Flower, which was like the "inside the moon" sequence from Majora's Mask if I had reincarnated as wind, Buddhism-style. That was simply exhilarating...
5 minutes looking through this thread and viewing the gametrailers review. Ok sold.. off to get a PSN card after work. Loved flower so looking forward to this experience.
5 minutes looking through this thread and viewing the gametrailers review. Ok sold.. off to get a PSN card after work. Loved flower so looking forward to this experience.
He tweeted about it a couple of times (translated by google) :
"After returning home today, "Vito journey of the Wind": Will you experience the world of (original title "Journey").
And "exciting" is to be stimulating the imagination. I am so excited to "Journey" that is."
anyone who saying gameplay too easy, Its the right gameplay for the game what more could you ask for? would you really change it NO adding more not always good sometime the simple ideas are the best why over do it?
As much as I loved the game, I have to disagree with those of you who are claiming that it's the perfect length. 1-2 hours is still a bit too short for my liking, even if it does make it easier to jump back in and play through it again. I definitely think another couple hours of content would have made it seem more like a journey. At it's current length, it's like a short story that leaves you wishing that there was more to it.
As much as I loved the game, I have to disagree with those of you who are claiming that it's the perfect length. 1-2 hours is still a bit too short for my liking, even if it does make it easier to jump back in and play through it again. I definitely think another couple hours of content would have made it seem more like a journey. At it's current length, it's like a short story that leaves you wishing that there was more to it.
Well, yes I suppose. Although I wouldn't expect anyone to sell a game crafted with this level of polish for only $5. I'm not complaining about the cost/time value. No matter how much I paid for it, 1-2 hours is really too brief. A game as good as this, with a world as intriguing as the one it features deserves to have more content.
I don't mean more game mechanics added or feature changes, but rather just more of the good stuff between the beginning and end. No matter how you slice it, 1-2 hours flies by extremely quickly when playing a game.
I only wish they released a physical form of this game, because i'd like to pass it on to my future kids and have them pass it on to their future kids...
As much as I loved the game, I have to disagree with those of you who are claiming that it's the perfect length. 1-2 hours is still a bit too short for my liking, even if it does make it easier to jump back in and play through it again. I definitely think another couple hours of content would have made it seem more like a journey. At it's current length, it's like a short story that leaves you wishing that there was more to it.
Bought and completed it yesterday, in about an hour and a half.
It was a pretty good experience, the visuals are astonishing, th sound too is superb.
The mutiplayer approach is one of the most interesting ever, although my mate quit at the very end,
the castle in the snow, right before you start walking in the storm, freezing to death
.. leaving me alone to complete it .
Some very cool moments, but the experience drastically vary on who you have as a mate, i must say.
Things i didn't like or that i was expecting to be different:
- I thought it would've been a very free form, explorative game, while instead it's very linear throughout.
- I wish they had gone an extra step with the singing, there are a couple of ways you can chirp differently, but it would've been even better if you could modulate it even more, based on how you pressed and so on.
- I'm not sure i like the (very) limited ability to flap.. i know most of the game is based on it being limited and based on chirping each other's meter up, but still if you remain with little or no flapping, it can become very very dull.
- Very fucking short, goddamn.. and it's not like you couldn't do anything more with the formula.
Still, 12euro well spent, i'll get on it again, for sure.
I don't understand some of the over the top reactions, though (crying over this? uhm...) but to each his own, i guess.
That is one of the incredible things about this game, subsequent replays can all be unique and fresh since your partner has such a drastic effect on the experience. This is another reason why I feel the short playthrough time is acceptable.
The two or three sections where you have to take cover repeatedly to avoid getting blown back were not fun and could've been excised. They were included to make it feel like a "struggle" and thus elicit emotion, but it doesn't. It's just annoying. Being forced to walk slow at a couple points overstays its welcome by a few beats, too. But the game's main problem is it doesn't seem like a journey. I think the "life's struggle" sensibility would've worked if they told the story without cutscenes and if they seamlessly linked the levels together with masked loading so the world would feel cohesive and it would truly feel like you've come so far by the time you reached the end. Maybe the content of the cutscenes could've been superimposed on the sky or on the walls in a sort of "vision" as you continue to move along in real-time, thus not taking away control and fracturing the game's rhythm. As it stands, it's very gamey... All of that being said, though, I like the game plenty. It's just not a revelation of any sort. Although the "surfing on sand" dynamic deserves to be its own game. And sand in the sunlight has never looked so pretty.
I think this game would've been magical for me if I hadn't read this thread first. When I played it last night, I was too aware of the ways I was being emotionally manipulated, and it felt a bit forced and pretentious as a result (literally at points, with the blowing wind and slowed walk at points that just wasn't fun).
I gotta respectfully disagree about anything in this being pretentious or heavy handed. It's the strongest thing about the game to me, the way in which they just let the game be a game and didn't jam anything down your throat.
There were a few moments in which movement is modified and the camera is locked which I can understand you maybe being turned off by. Usually they are short and the intention behind them is justified, imo.
Don't get me wrong, I could see how someone could feel it's obtrusive like the walking through tight spaces or desert bits in Uncharted 3, but the most notable portion of what we are discussing (stage spoiler)
is during the climb up the snow towards the end where the mountain retreats into the distance as you become exhausted,
and that was actually one of the more effective parts of the game for me.
This is a valid criticism. The game seemed to have been marketed in a way that suggested a focus on exploration. The final product was almost wholly linear, with very little to explore on your own save for the clearly visible glowing symbol collectibles.
The two or three sections where you have to take cover repeatedly to avoid getting blown back were not fun and could've been excised. They were included to make it feel like a "struggle" and thus elicit emotion, but it doesn't.
I see. I completely disagree with this. First off this sort of thing is rather common across many games, having to advance gradually while repeatedly taking cover. It adds variety. There's nothing pretentious about it, it varies the gameplay up from just walking around everywhere without a problem. But yes, you have reached the foot of the mountain, and now the Journey becomes perilous, with snow, wind, among other things. Why should it just be business as usual?
By your logic, why include the snow at all? Why not just make it a nice happy trek up a grassy mountain, encountering no resistance. Do you even know what you are asking for?
Especially considering that the part was easy, it's not like it was annoyingly difficult or anything.
And it is a complete non-critique to say something was put in to "make it feel" a certain way. You can say that about ANY feature in ANY game.
I gotta respectfully disagree about anything in this being pretentious or heavy handed. It's the strongest thing about the game to me, the way in which they just let the game be a game and didn't jam anything down your throat.
There were a few moments in which movement is modified and the camera is locked which I can understand you maybe being turned off by. Usually they are short and the intention behind them is justified, imo.
Don't get me wrong, I could see how someone could feel it's obtrusive like the walking through tight spaces or desert bits in Uncharted 3, but the most notable portion of what we are discussing (stage spoiler)
is during the climb up the snow towards the end where the mountain retreats into the distance as you become exhausted,
and that was actually one of the more effective parts of the game for me.
Again, I like Journey. In many ways I think it's great. It's just not the revelation in game-as-narrative it's being made out to be. The game is very linear in a gamey way, with levels that are literally book-ended by cutscenes you watch but don't play. In that sense it -is- jamming something down your throat. The cutscenes are open to interpretation but they're still cutscenes. I'd much rather I actively discover the story during gameplay itself, much like in Flower where the last level is literally transforming all around you as you play -- no cutscenes necessary.
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