so true, same thing I did!
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Journey |OT| Perfect Strangers
- Thread starter alr1ght
- Start date
so true, same thing I did!
Liberty4all
Banned
The awesome thing is, at the end of my game I discovered all 4 of my partners were Japanese (at least I assume from their PSN names) So amazing that 2 guys who don't know each other's language at all from completely different cultures, yet we were feeling the same things ... and through the game we were able to literally speak to each other without words.
That impressed the hell out of me when I really thought about it. Powerful stuff.
You mean when you fall? You should be able to aim yourself towards it when you fall and position yourself with little jumps if need be.
Zomba13
Member
So yeah, finished this a few days ago. Such a beautiful looking game. A screenshot of any moment in the game would make a great picture hung on the wall or desktop background.
Best moment for me
Best moment for me
The first snowy bit, me and my partner made it up to the bridge, we stopped at the little nook with the fire you can activate and waited a bit before moving on. As we were crossing the bridge though I fell down. I tried to float back up but couldn't make it and fell right to the bottom. I could see my partner carry on, I don't think he saw me fall even though I tried chirping. I had to make my way up the cold mountain all alone, the fire wouldn't even turn on. I didn't get a new partner until literally the very last bit of the game. When you get to the bit with the snake monster I got destroyed, lost all my scarf because I didn't know where to go, I was sad, lonely and felt defeated but eventually found my way and then collapsed. I think the game should have ended there for me.
jetsetfluken
Member
As for the universal praise, I do agree with a few that have said that many are being "told" to say "ohh and ahh" and that's not their genuine opinion, just following the crowd. Kind of like the people who played Ico late, after it got that "underground" praise years before, right? Alright, seriously though, moving on...
I do echo what someone else said that the "launch day" people may have had it the best. By when I say "launch day" I mean the week before the 'real' launch, when PS+ members got it.
The reasoning is simple...I'd reckon 80%+ of the people you'd meet (if you were playing within the first few hours it went up on US PSN) were going through their first time. I saw this very clear that it was also my companions' first time going through by the way they were exploring, some even standing still for a second or two to take in the new views.
A few days later when I was going for trophies, it was apparent a lot of people were going for trophies or already saw these areas before and were rushing through or the rare "know it all " types who were going for all the secrets and thus kind of spoiled their secret locations for you (well, not me, but the later people). The biggest issue may have been people quitting out mid-level. I did this only a few times because I was going for some trophies, and I felt bad for the wanderers that obviously seemed like it was their first playthrough.
At times I felt the "lone wanderer" approach could have been more effective than the "companion" approach, especially for example when looking for all the desert "creatures" to free in for the "Explore" trophy. I had to just disconnect from PSN because other people were rushing through the stage or 'saving' the creatures that I didn't find and explore around yet, fearing it'd negate the trophy. It was a nice touch at least that the devs disabled the "multiplayer" in the very first area/stage (as far as I know, because I never found anyone there).
Overall my first playthrough was good I thought. I really took my time on the first "stage". Upon looking in the distance in the second stage (the "broken bridge"), I saw what looked like a red cloth flowing across the sand, on top of it. I thought it was some kind of NPC or rare "sighting". Note I had completely forgotten about the "anonymous multiplayer" by the point of the game's release. So, I ventured over there and minutes later I found that it was actually another wanderer of the desert, just as I was.
I journeyed with this wanderer and we completed the next few areas/stages together. But...he disintegrated around mid-way through at the beginning of one of the stages (he quit out). I view this as a metaphor of life. That it is a long and grueling journey as is wandering this tough desert with little idea of where to go at times, the people that come along this journey, the people you shared special times with in the past, sometimes disappear and perish without warning. That you need to keep your head up despite these losses and succeed in this journey.
So, this can make you feel better if your first playthrough wasn't with the "same" person from start (well, second stage is where the earliest people can join I believe) to finish. With a companion to the end or people abandoning the journey, both have meaning when you take my idea on it into place. You, the wanderer, conquered the grueling journey while others perished. You can kind of see them as the gravestones. In fact, an added touch to the game would be that when someone quits out, instead of just disintegrating, they would leave behind one of the many gravestones (perhaps with a scarf attached like you see notably on the first "stage") you see in the game. It would echo the feel that you are the "lone" wanderer in a world covered in sand and perished souls who didn't reach the goal you are also trying to reach.
I finished my first playthrough as a "lone wanderer" and felt it may have had more significance that way, if it was "forced", but that's taking my "theory" (all wanderers perishing except one) into place, not the developer's intention - however I think this game is flexible enough that it allows many interpretations, as the devs more than likely intended.
My second playthrough was unique from my first. I was looking to get the "majority of journey together" trophy and waited around in stage 2 for a partner. A white and gold robed wanderer arrived, almost sage-like. I had not seen this before, I thought it could have been a developer or something, since he knew where every secret in the game was at pinpoint precision - although he did get his scarf snapped underground. He showed me where many secrets were, pretty much everything in the game - a good few I had no idea about. He waited up for me when I was behind, I waited for him. We worked together.
A memorable part was the final summit area where the screen is so bright you could hardly see. I lost track of where he was and thought that he turned his console off or got disconnected. I searched around the area and waited around (by the way, there totally should have been a collectible/orb/easter egg inside the mountain volcano/crater thing full of water that you can sink into), perhaps he got stuck at an earlier platforming part. I waited and waited and looked for about 10-15 minutes. I didn't want to get screwed out of the trophy after doing the entire playthrough with a companion. I figured he was gone. When I passed by the final part of the area (when you're going up that "wind tunnel" then arrive in a new area), there he was. Facing my direction, standing there. Waiting for me.
Later on I found that the white/gold robe was the prize for getting all the "orbs", but it was a special time journeying with this unknown entity.
Now, for the story. I'm not sure if there's an official word on it, or if the developers want other people to interpret it differently. My take on it is that this takes place in a time in the near distant future from modern times. A judgment day came (2012) and the wrath of the "gods" covered the entire world in sand. All oceans were dried and covered in this sand, all animal life was dead. Everything was sand. The entire globe is a desert.
A small village of people (most likely around India from the robes being worn) were selected to be the only ones left surviving. They were told that their main purpose was to re-create the world anew, since the old world was full of evil and corruption and their way of purging this was to cover the world in sand. The evil "flying searchlight worms" were placed on earth to keep the surviving humans on their toes, in ambition to reach the summit, purging these lurking evils and re-make life. If they failed to reach the summit, they would continue to live in this world of purgatory (purgatory meaning that they could continue to reproduce but their numbers would always be around the same due to journeyers going off and dying to the god's trials), until one lone villager finally passed the gods' trials and reached the summit, awarded the second coming of human civilization and life itself on earth.
The lone wanderer who is the one to reach the summit becomes the light (as you see in the game), ascending to the heavens, becoming a god, and is awarded by the other gods a place in the ethereal realm, now tasked with watching over the second coming of earth's civilization.
If you believe in the chance of "ancient astronauts" and theories, the above take on the story can get even more interesting. Which is why I put "gods" in quotes, you can think of it either way. For example, according to these theories, the first humans were made by them millions and millions and millions of years ago so the planet sees life besides animals and plants; perhaps a purpose of creating humans was to 'mine' some kind of essence or materials. Millions of years pass and the evils, sins and corruption of humans reaches an all-time high (2012). This negativity and manipulation/abuse of the earth's natural resources/atmosphere/etc cause the "essence" or materials the ancient astronauts are harvesting to deplete and be no more. So, this causes these "ancient astronauts" to douse the earth in sand, ending all living life except for one lone village. They are given the chance to start life and civilization on earth again, by overcoming trials and reaching the summit. Once that happens and the second coming of humans progress, the "ancient astronauts" can once again harvest whatever essence or material that is created with positive human life.
The "gods" take is much more simple than this alternate interpretation, though. Perhaps think of the "gods" take as Ending A (Good End) and "ancient astronauts" as Ending B (Evil End).
A being "good" because it's a re-birth of life on earth starting from square one with no negativity; B being "bad" because it's a re-birth but a cycle, a continuous manipulation of the human race for an outside race's personal gain.
As for wants for DLC...no, I don't want any on this one and feel the experience is complete. With flOwer (that's the official way to write it, right?), I felt that a lot of the game was kind of "on-rails" in that you could only explore sectioned off areas, always with an arbitrary goal (don't get me wrong, these were masterpiece decisions for the flow of the game and experience as a whole, just read on), and the things demonstrated such as changing colors and different petals could be expanded on. My idea was for a small post-"story" DLC that took place outside the "window" at the end, in the new world you brought color and light to. It would be a gigantic flower field, with each color/flower type. You could essentially "free roam" this, your actions changing the landscape - it would be a free area with no end goal, because the end goal of the game was already reached. Think of it was the flower petal "rejoicing" in this new euphoric world. I recall someone told my idea to Jenova Chen and the idea was shot down because he thought the experience was complete as is. Perhaps instead of this being a selectable level, it could have been the "credits" - you could select it later by interacting with the window. Of course, that'd take significance away from the credits sequence, but maybe it could have been added in afterward. It's not a huge deal, just an interesting idea. I'm sure if the devs saw this idea more clearly (or if I was part of the team) it could have worked alongside the other's visions. Even if not, I respect Jenova and co's vision and end product.
I do echo what someone else said that the "launch day" people may have had it the best. By when I say "launch day" I mean the week before the 'real' launch, when PS+ members got it.
The reasoning is simple...I'd reckon 80%+ of the people you'd meet (if you were playing within the first few hours it went up on US PSN) were going through their first time. I saw this very clear that it was also my companions' first time going through by the way they were exploring, some even standing still for a second or two to take in the new views.
A few days later when I was going for trophies, it was apparent a lot of people were going for trophies or already saw these areas before and were rushing through or the rare "know it all " types who were going for all the secrets and thus kind of spoiled their secret locations for you (well, not me, but the later people). The biggest issue may have been people quitting out mid-level. I did this only a few times because I was going for some trophies, and I felt bad for the wanderers that obviously seemed like it was their first playthrough.
At times I felt the "lone wanderer" approach could have been more effective than the "companion" approach, especially for example when looking for all the desert "creatures" to free in for the "Explore" trophy. I had to just disconnect from PSN because other people were rushing through the stage or 'saving' the creatures that I didn't find and explore around yet, fearing it'd negate the trophy. It was a nice touch at least that the devs disabled the "multiplayer" in the very first area/stage (as far as I know, because I never found anyone there).
Overall my first playthrough was good I thought. I really took my time on the first "stage". Upon looking in the distance in the second stage (the "broken bridge"), I saw what looked like a red cloth flowing across the sand, on top of it. I thought it was some kind of NPC or rare "sighting". Note I had completely forgotten about the "anonymous multiplayer" by the point of the game's release. So, I ventured over there and minutes later I found that it was actually another wanderer of the desert, just as I was.
I journeyed with this wanderer and we completed the next few areas/stages together. But...he disintegrated around mid-way through at the beginning of one of the stages (he quit out). I view this as a metaphor of life. That it is a long and grueling journey as is wandering this tough desert with little idea of where to go at times, the people that come along this journey, the people you shared special times with in the past, sometimes disappear and perish without warning. That you need to keep your head up despite these losses and succeed in this journey.
So, this can make you feel better if your first playthrough wasn't with the "same" person from start (well, second stage is where the earliest people can join I believe) to finish. With a companion to the end or people abandoning the journey, both have meaning when you take my idea on it into place. You, the wanderer, conquered the grueling journey while others perished. You can kind of see them as the gravestones. In fact, an added touch to the game would be that when someone quits out, instead of just disintegrating, they would leave behind one of the many gravestones (perhaps with a scarf attached like you see notably on the first "stage") you see in the game. It would echo the feel that you are the "lone" wanderer in a world covered in sand and perished souls who didn't reach the goal you are also trying to reach.
I finished my first playthrough as a "lone wanderer" and felt it may have had more significance that way, if it was "forced", but that's taking my "theory" (all wanderers perishing except one) into place, not the developer's intention - however I think this game is flexible enough that it allows many interpretations, as the devs more than likely intended.
My second playthrough was unique from my first. I was looking to get the "majority of journey together" trophy and waited around in stage 2 for a partner. A white and gold robed wanderer arrived, almost sage-like. I had not seen this before, I thought it could have been a developer or something, since he knew where every secret in the game was at pinpoint precision - although he did get his scarf snapped underground. He showed me where many secrets were, pretty much everything in the game - a good few I had no idea about. He waited up for me when I was behind, I waited for him. We worked together.
A memorable part was the final summit area where the screen is so bright you could hardly see. I lost track of where he was and thought that he turned his console off or got disconnected. I searched around the area and waited around (by the way, there totally should have been a collectible/orb/easter egg inside the mountain volcano/crater thing full of water that you can sink into), perhaps he got stuck at an earlier platforming part. I waited and waited and looked for about 10-15 minutes. I didn't want to get screwed out of the trophy after doing the entire playthrough with a companion. I figured he was gone. When I passed by the final part of the area (when you're going up that "wind tunnel" then arrive in a new area), there he was. Facing my direction, standing there. Waiting for me.
Later on I found that the white/gold robe was the prize for getting all the "orbs", but it was a special time journeying with this unknown entity.
Now, for the story. I'm not sure if there's an official word on it, or if the developers want other people to interpret it differently. My take on it is that this takes place in a time in the near distant future from modern times. A judgment day came (2012) and the wrath of the "gods" covered the entire world in sand. All oceans were dried and covered in this sand, all animal life was dead. Everything was sand. The entire globe is a desert.
A small village of people (most likely around India from the robes being worn) were selected to be the only ones left surviving. They were told that their main purpose was to re-create the world anew, since the old world was full of evil and corruption and their way of purging this was to cover the world in sand. The evil "flying searchlight worms" were placed on earth to keep the surviving humans on their toes, in ambition to reach the summit, purging these lurking evils and re-make life. If they failed to reach the summit, they would continue to live in this world of purgatory (purgatory meaning that they could continue to reproduce but their numbers would always be around the same due to journeyers going off and dying to the god's trials), until one lone villager finally passed the gods' trials and reached the summit, awarded the second coming of human civilization and life itself on earth.
The lone wanderer who is the one to reach the summit becomes the light (as you see in the game), ascending to the heavens, becoming a god, and is awarded by the other gods a place in the ethereal realm, now tasked with watching over the second coming of earth's civilization.
If you believe in the chance of "ancient astronauts" and theories, the above take on the story can get even more interesting. Which is why I put "gods" in quotes, you can think of it either way. For example, according to these theories, the first humans were made by them millions and millions and millions of years ago so the planet sees life besides animals and plants; perhaps a purpose of creating humans was to 'mine' some kind of essence or materials. Millions of years pass and the evils, sins and corruption of humans reaches an all-time high (2012). This negativity and manipulation/abuse of the earth's natural resources/atmosphere/etc cause the "essence" or materials the ancient astronauts are harvesting to deplete and be no more. So, this causes these "ancient astronauts" to douse the earth in sand, ending all living life except for one lone village. They are given the chance to start life and civilization on earth again, by overcoming trials and reaching the summit. Once that happens and the second coming of humans progress, the "ancient astronauts" can once again harvest whatever essence or material that is created with positive human life.
The "gods" take is much more simple than this alternate interpretation, though. Perhaps think of the "gods" take as Ending A (Good End) and "ancient astronauts" as Ending B (Evil End).
A being "good" because it's a re-birth of life on earth starting from square one with no negativity; B being "bad" because it's a re-birth but a cycle, a continuous manipulation of the human race for an outside race's personal gain.
As for wants for DLC...no, I don't want any on this one and feel the experience is complete. With flOwer (that's the official way to write it, right?), I felt that a lot of the game was kind of "on-rails" in that you could only explore sectioned off areas, always with an arbitrary goal (don't get me wrong, these were masterpiece decisions for the flow of the game and experience as a whole, just read on), and the things demonstrated such as changing colors and different petals could be expanded on. My idea was for a small post-"story" DLC that took place outside the "window" at the end, in the new world you brought color and light to. It would be a gigantic flower field, with each color/flower type. You could essentially "free roam" this, your actions changing the landscape - it would be a free area with no end goal, because the end goal of the game was already reached. Think of it was the flower petal "rejoicing" in this new euphoric world. I recall someone told my idea to Jenova Chen and the idea was shot down because he thought the experience was complete as is. Perhaps instead of this being a selectable level, it could have been the "credits" - you could select it later by interacting with the window. Of course, that'd take significance away from the credits sequence, but maybe it could have been added in afterward. It's not a huge deal, just an interesting idea. I'm sure if the devs saw this idea more clearly (or if I was part of the team) it could have worked alongside the other's visions. Even if not, I respect Jenova and co's vision and end product.
Ah I mean the skiing part right after that area. There is an easy one at the end of a pillar and one off to the right after that on some cliff. No idea how to get up there while sliding.
Edit: nvm I got it. Got em all now!
IrrelevantNotch
Banned
Is there any possible way to turn off the motion controls in this game? This camera is killing me.
Liberty4all
Banned
I think there are still alot of new players. I know that me and at least one of the partners I played with were new ...
I'm so glad I bought this launch weekend .... exploring the game with somebody else who was completely new to it (and it was obvious) made the journey and completion so much more meaningful to me.
around the third or fourth level we both got blown back by wind (there were frozen thingys we were supposed to reantimate) ... it was awesome when we both discovered what needed to be done ... we were chirping the whole way through, each chirp an indication of what needed to be done.
I'm so glad I bought this launch weekend .... exploring the game with somebody else who was completely new to it (and it was obvious) made the journey and completion so much more meaningful to me.
Funky Functionality
Member
Well then. That's... specific.
jetsetfluken
Member
Yes, I added a little more to the post.
I think the deepness of my interpretations (especially the "A" and B" interpretations) is going to boggle the developer's minds. :lol
Perhaps I went way beyond the intended simplicity, but I'd like to hear what some think (maybe the devs in due time). Ideally I'd like to hear what the "official" explanation of the story is, or if it was purposely meant to be interpreted different per person. In any case, I think my interpretations leave me with maximum satisfaction with the experience due to the the incredible significance of those "events".
Snarfington
Member
Third playthrough. Kept getting abandoned by white capes. 
Found a red cape in the
and we went to the end. As we were finishing, we kept trying to bump each other to the side. I think that says a lot about the bond we developed. :lol
Found a red cape in the
watery tower level
Just did my second playthrough. Had one companion through the whole thing which was awesome, got worried because I thought I lost him at the very end (it's so damn easy to get FAR apart from each other on the last level) and I was legit bummed about it. I waited right near the end for over 5 minutes pinging and shit, then started the very final path when I caught the screen flash behind me. Jammed on the brakes and went back and was shockingly pleased to see my companion (shit, we're basically bros now) flying up. We ended it side by side, and I got the Companion and Crossing trophies.
TeamArr, wherever you, uh, are, thanks a million.
TeamArr, wherever you, uh, are, thanks a million.
Man, so much love. There's really little to none hate and it makes me very happy
This is just the grace period. 2-3 months and this will be crowned the worst game of the generation by GAF.
Bought this game last night due to the universal praise here on GAF. Now I am going to get shit on for this but I played for about 45 min before the game nearly put me to sleep. Maybe I am a cold blooded bastard but for all those 45 minutes I couldn't feel much of a bond with my partner no matter how hard I tried. I genuinely like the surreal feeling of surfing in Journey's world but the lack of gameplay that engages my reflexes or thinking really (gasp) dare I say, bored me. I will try to finish it later and hopefully my thoughts will change in the end!
This is an easy conclusion to jump to given the universal praise it is getting, and it may be true for some cases, but why are you ignoring the reverse scenario, of those same expectations working AGAINST the game by setting their expectations impossibly high? This is a very common occurrence, much more common than your scenario of people on an anonymous message board feeling the need to pretend to love a game because others are praising it. If people feel lukewarm about it, and are scared of going against the crowd, most probably wouldn't post at all, they wouldn't come in here and give specific examples of what they loved and gush over it the way they have been. The fact that there are few complaints despite the ridiculous expectations people are going in with and super short playtime is very telling.
And how about the reviews it is getting, most of which were released at the same time. How do you explain the consistently perfect and near perfect scores it is getting, especially considering the fact that it is a 2 hour game? Not that review scores matter to me personally, I'm just pointing out that your theory of crowd-following here does not really hold up when examined.
I hope I'm not stirring up a shitstorm with the following statement, but I honestly can't understand how some can overlook the "shallow" (or rather, minimalistic) gameplay and then direct complaints at games with objectively more engaging gameplay and heaps of cutscenes/interaction-less moments.
I mean, this is a visually revelatory game with some emotional aspirations (that unfortunately didn't struck a note with me), but at its core, it simply doesn't have enough gameplay "meat" to satisfy me from a gaming point of view and thus I don't feel compelled to hold it in high regard. It's the same thing with Flower and flOw. Beautiful experiments, but I'd never hold these games in high regard when asked about my favorite games.
I realize I'm in the clear minority about this though, and I also find it refreshing that so many love this game (even initial doubters like amir0x). I'm just curious about what I'm missing.
I mean, this is a visually revelatory game with some emotional aspirations (that unfortunately didn't struck a note with me), but at its core, it simply doesn't have enough gameplay "meat" to satisfy me from a gaming point of view and thus I don't feel compelled to hold it in high regard. It's the same thing with Flower and flOw. Beautiful experiments, but I'd never hold these games in high regard when asked about my favorite games.
I realize I'm in the clear minority about this though, and I also find it refreshing that so many love this game (even initial doubters like amir0x). I'm just curious about what I'm missing.
Journeyed all the way through yesterday...what an amazing experience...I feel this one will stick with me for a long time. Curiously, the more time passes the more it seems to resonate with me. I find it interesting how making something uncertain and fleeting (Will I meet someone on the way? When? And how long will they stick around?) can make it that much more precious. The simple communication system available to the players also seems to evoke something basic (and ancient) about human interaction, and maintain some mystery that helps the mood immensely.
The ending of Flower was one my favorite gaming experiences ever...and they managed to top that with Journey's ending. Kudos.
The ending of Flower was one my favorite gaming experiences ever...and they managed to top that with Journey's ending. Kudos.
Just speaking for myself: yes, the gameplay and its core mechanics are very minimalistic. BUT the controls are very polished and just moving around got a beautiful flow to it. I just love moving around, hop drifting through the environment. Most modern games got "oversaturated" gameplay and control schemes, Journey is refreshingly simple and I'm fine with that.
I don't know about others, but my number one priority in a game is exploration and discovery. I love the feeling of exploring another world. And while this game is not as expansive as others, I felt just as lost in the world as in larger games. Even now that I know where every object in the game is, there is discovery in playing the game each time with someone new. I think I'm probably a minority among gamers in that the "game" portion is not so important to me as experiencing something interactive (although this doesn't mean gameplay isn't important too! There are many games I love for their gameplay. And if the gameplay is bad it becomes intrusive. Minimal gameplay is much preferred to bad gameplay.)
My current favorite activity is to find people who want to fly with me
Man, this whole post makes me seem like I'm awful as a gamer. I am sorry, it probably doesn't answer your question at all.
Just finished it about an hour ago. Such a great game. One of the more interesting interactions I have had playing online with a stranger. The one guy I had the most time playing with, was almost childlike in the way he played. In some strange way I felt like I was his older brother trying to help him survive until the end, even though there is no fail state.
During the water like section, when you first encounter the shark like enemy, the player would just stand in front of the light and get attacked. So by the end of that level he had very little scarf left. I hadn`t lost any since the beginning, so my scarf was 10x his. I think this added to my feeling of trying to take care of him. That and he would get lost all the time and had difficulty making almost all of the jumps.
But we made it to the end level and I felt like, even if I didn`t make it, I accomplished what I was doing for most of the game; trying to get this stranger to the end of his journey.
But we made it to the end level and I felt like, even if I didn`t make it, I accomplished what I was doing for most of the game; trying to get this stranger to the end of his journey.
In an interview Kellee mentioned that's why they
removed the original arms from the characters since gamers are trained to associate them with weapons, punching, etc.
Edit: or was it Jenova? Can't remember.
FantasticMrFoxdie
Mumber
The bold part:
This is intentional though. From what I understand, tgc's goal was to create something for the core gamer. In gameplay, its something much simpler so that anyone can quickly pickup'n'play and easily learn the mechanics of it. In design, its something that can appeal to the hardcore in both a unique and traditional way. For example, Press X to jump button-- but why can't i spam it?? There is multiplayer, collecting, exploring/unearthing...this "meat" seemed to satisfy the majority. But like you said, there are other appeals like the visuals, the way the story is told, or the artistic way its presented. That altogether, i'm assuming, is what generally brings it in high regard by many.
The underlined part:
It simply didn't satisfy you and thats that.
Haunted
Member
Such incredible atmosphere, so far this is sitting pretty on top of my 2012 list of games.
I still think it's too short and that they haven't really explored everything they could do with it, but as an experience that's tailored to be finished in one setting, I guess it works.
Will probably not go back to get trophies for this (got all on Flower), it somehow feels dirty to play Journey having such meta-deliberations in mind.
I still think it's too short and that they haven't really explored everything they could do with it, but as an experience that's tailored to be finished in one setting, I guess it works.
Will probably not go back to get trophies for this (got all on Flower), it somehow feels dirty to play Journey having such meta-deliberations in mind.
I don't think you're missing anything - in fact I'd say you've answered yourself really.
You prefer games and for you gameplay mechanics are key. Journey is not really designed targeting that aspect much at all. Journey (like pretty much every TGC title) has been designed with a pre-set goal in terms of experience.
There is just enough gameplay mechanics to get the job done (and I think they always have polished and good mechanics) but they are not the point of the game at all.
Personally I try and evaluate on achievement of goals. So if a game is all about gameplay - a pure game I suppose you might say - then I'll be very happy in the gameplay is awesome. With something like Journey I mainly evaluate on delivery of the experience - where it excels. I don't bother gameplay is minimalist because it's not an accident - it's a deliberate design choice.
Most of us have preferences though, some basic bias, so of course the futher something is from our sweetspot the harder it is to be positive about it.
Journey is just clearly away from what you prefer in a videogame and therefore it's going to be harder for you to hold in high regard.
I'd best most of us have games we'd rate personally pretty low that many others rave about.
For example I've never found Mass Effect to be nearly as good as many claim. Solid yes, and not unenjoyable, but nothing near the perfect games maybe claim the titles in the franchise to be.
Guess this is a long winded way of saying relax what you're expressing it's perfectly normal and justifiable and understandable.
semiconscious
Member
the story of the fabrication of a society is the story of the fabrication of a self, within the endless loop of beginnings & endings, & birth & death. what we're left with, ultimately, is no greater achievement than the journey itself. the purpose of the journey is the journey...
FantasticMrFoxdie
Mumber
Holy spoilers, batman! May want to spoiler a lot of those locations, unlocks, etc.
All Cloth go to Heaven
RyougaSaotome
Member
Best 1,200 yen I've ever spent. I actually really like the Japanese localized title, Kaze no Tabibito (Wanderer of the Wind, Traveler of the Wind etc). It feels very Ghibli-like in that way.
Just finished my first play-through, all the lights in the apartment off, computers off, and no sound save for the game itself.
I've experienced so many amazing moments with this game that I wasn't expecting at all. I never thought I'd feel so attached to a person that I could only chirp at, but I did.
Just a beautiful, engaging journey that I'd recommend to anyone regardless of whether they end up liking it or not. I think all gamers should play it at least once, to see for themselves.
Just finished my first play-through, all the lights in the apartment off, computers off, and no sound save for the game itself.
I've experienced so many amazing moments with this game that I wasn't expecting at all. I never thought I'd feel so attached to a person that I could only chirp at, but I did.
Just a beautiful, engaging journey that I'd recommend to anyone regardless of whether they end up liking it or not. I think all gamers should play it at least once, to see for themselves.
MadraptorMan
Member
I really want to play this game but the price of admission seems too steep for the length of the experience...and people are saying it isn't necessarily something you will want to replay. Is that true?
P.S. I hate achievements and "trophies" so that has no appeal to me whatsoever.
P.S. I hate achievements and "trophies" so that has no appeal to me whatsoever.
SecretMoblin
Member
No, it's not true. There are a few who (justifiably) feel that the experience deserves to be a one-off and don't want to play through it again, but I think it's safe to say most of us have been perfectly happy to replay the game several times. There are plenty of reasons to play through it again, too:
- experience the game with different players
find secrets and complete trophies-
unlock the major post-game bonus
- explore any areas you didn't on your first playthrough
- replay the game with the benefit of hindsight, get a better grasp of the narrative
- re-live the sights, sounds, and feelings you had on your first playthroughit really is that good
The sound is half the experience! I played the last third while wearing my ATH-M50 (closed back headphones), at certain moments there was so much "pressure" my whole head was vibrating XD
RyougaSaotome
Member
Haha, I meant that I shut the sound off on everything but the game itself, IE computer, phone, iPad etc.
I was completely in the zone. So amazing.
I've beaten it four times within the first week.
Aquavelvaman
Banned
This game looks pretty cool
SecretMoblin
Member
It will be released on PSN at some point in the (relatively) near future. The YouTube versions of the game's songs don't do them justice.
Don'tBeWeird
Member
Anyone watched The Grey?
Great game, in my top 3 of all time.
The snowy part towards the end reminded me a lot of that film.
Great game, in my top 3 of all time.
I played the game yesterday for the first time. I was rather tired and decided to play single player as i wanted to explore and discover at my own pace. In the end, i wasn't that impressed with it other than the visuals, music, atmosphere, presentation,... I didn't find it that emotional and there was little exploration to be done.
Today, i replayed it again but this time in co-op and it was a completely different experience. This game only makes sense when played with others. It was so awesome. The game is stunning visually, the music is great, the atmopshere is fantastic and you actually care about the others with you on your journey. Also, i love the flying mechanic.
I met 3 people. First one very brief, then i must have played a long time with the same companion. I have no clue when i lost him/her and met the 3rd one, which is a pity. I would have loved to have experienced it all the way through with the same person. But both persons were great to play with.
I loved Flower and this game is another awesome experience from Thatgamecompany.
I'm going to let it sink in and certainly replay it again at some point.
Today, i replayed it again but this time in co-op and it was a completely different experience. This game only makes sense when played with others. It was so awesome. The game is stunning visually, the music is great, the atmopshere is fantastic and you actually care about the others with you on your journey. Also, i love the flying mechanic.
I met 3 people. First one very brief, then i must have played a long time with the same companion. I have no clue when i lost him/her and met the 3rd one, which is a pity. I would have loved to have experienced it all the way through with the same person. But both persons were great to play with.
I loved Flower and this game is another awesome experience from Thatgamecompany.
I'm going to let it sink in and certainly replay it again at some point.
I speel my dreenk
Member
Like Moblin said, it's not out just yet, but in the interim there's this which is good quality. Been listening for days now... so good.
You and the others who don't care for the game aren't missing anything. None of thatgamecompany's games are ever going to work for everyone. Some disliked Flow, some loved it, some disliked Flower, some loved it, some people who love Journey disliked both Flower and Flow. There's no set rule to this stuff. You just play the game and then you feel the way you feel about it.
If the game wasn't successful at evoking those feelings in you, then it simply didn't work for you, and that's that. No crime in that.
All of thatgamecompany's titles are purposefully minimalist as they remove everything that isn't completely necessary to create the feelings they want in a player. There are probably never going to be deep gameplay mechanics because those would only get in the way of what the devs are trying to do. They strip these games down to their essentials and leave only what is vital to evoke certain emotions in a player; in that sense their games take very significant influence from titles with very similar goals like Ico.
As I posted pre-release, it's very refreshing that we can have games like Demon's Souls and Journey sitting side-by-side, both trying to evoke certain feelings in a player but doing them in a hugely different way, and both being very successful at it for many people.
You and the others who don't care for the game aren't missing anything. None of thatgamecompany's games are ever going to work for everyone. Some disliked Flow, some loved it, some disliked Flower, some loved it, some people who love Journey disliked both Flower and Flow. There's no set rule to this stuff. You just play the game and then you feel the way you feel about it.
If the game wasn't successful at evoking those feelings in you, then it simply didn't work for you, and that's that. No crime in that.
All of thatgamecompany's titles are purposefully minimalist as they remove everything that isn't completely necessary to create the feelings they want in a player. There are probably never going to be deep gameplay mechanics because those would only get in the way of what the devs are trying to do. They strip these games down to their essentials and leave only what is vital to evoke certain emotions in a player; in that sense their games take very significant influence from titles with very similar goals like Ico.
As I posted pre-release, it's very refreshing that we can have games like Demon's Souls and Journey sitting side-by-side, both trying to evoke certain feelings in a player but doing them in a hugely different way, and both being very successful at it for many people.
This pretty much sums it up in a nutshell. While the praise is pretty much unanimous, obviously it is not going to click with everyone. Like with anything else, and that's OK.
On another note, I am not saying, "just because it's popular, it must be good," either. That is a ridiculous assumption to make about someone just because they might reference the universal acclaim something is getting. With that, I think most are praising this game based on their own experience with it, not because it's 'popular,' lol. It just so happens that the majority are in agreement that this is a special little game that has touched them in some way.
Chaos
Member
You can get a free journey track if you sign up to Austin Wintorys mailing list.
http://austinwintory.fanbridge.com/
I think I may have come across you the other night. On the fourth level, at the end, the guy that came into my game (or I came into his) jumped up onto that tall column and perched up there for a minute or two.
After chirping at him for a bit, he flew down to where I was and sat down with me for 20 seconds. After we got the meditation trophy, we both went on our separate ways.
Was that you?
hmm.. the night before last it might've been! i remember doing meditation Thursday night like that, but im not sure how we can be sure lol.
astroturfing
Member
well, i have to say it... my journey kinda sucked.
first of all, what is wrong with the sound?! the sound quality was completely messed up for me, and i couldn't enjoy any of the music because of it. the sound was just breaking up all the time, from beginning to end. like it was too loud or something. very annoying. and i haven't had this problem with any other game ever (playing ME3, Dark Souls and AC: Revelations now with the same headphones and everything sounds perfect). several restarts didn't fix the problem. wtf? i don't want to replay the game until i (or TGC) can somehow fix the sound issue... did anyone else have the same problem?
and the other players i met... ehhhhh. what is the rush!? why can't i explore in peace and enjoy the views without some impatient assholes trying to push me to move forward with their annoying chirping? i met 4 or 5 people and only one was patient enough to explore with me. but of course i lost him fast and he was replaced by another asshole
and worst of all, the thing that just ruined the experience for me... during the last glorious area where i was just about to fall in love with the game despite the sound issue and annoying other players (i was alone, phew!), i get fucking stuck in geometry for 10 minutes and can't get outside of a rock no matter what i do. and i wasn't trying to break the game or anything, i was just cruising around enjoying the beautiful sights... i did not expect that to happen in a game that has been supposedly polished to near perfection... and to happen at the worst possible moment, about 30 seconds from the ending. i had to quit the game and restart the entire level. totally killed the mood for me. next time do some proper QA please, at least make sure the last area/ending works. and damn the music there would've been soooo good had i not had the issues with the sound breaking up
probably an amazing game if it had worked properly, but it didn't for me. i'm still feeling bitter (as you can tell lol), because others had such a good time with it, but i didn't
first of all, what is wrong with the sound?! the sound quality was completely messed up for me, and i couldn't enjoy any of the music because of it. the sound was just breaking up all the time, from beginning to end. like it was too loud or something. very annoying. and i haven't had this problem with any other game ever (playing ME3, Dark Souls and AC: Revelations now with the same headphones and everything sounds perfect). several restarts didn't fix the problem. wtf? i don't want to replay the game until i (or TGC) can somehow fix the sound issue... did anyone else have the same problem?
and the other players i met... ehhhhh. what is the rush!? why can't i explore in peace and enjoy the views without some impatient assholes trying to push me to move forward with their annoying chirping? i met 4 or 5 people and only one was patient enough to explore with me. but of course i lost him fast and he was replaced by another asshole
and worst of all, the thing that just ruined the experience for me... during the last glorious area where i was just about to fall in love with the game despite the sound issue and annoying other players (i was alone, phew!), i get fucking stuck in geometry for 10 minutes and can't get outside of a rock no matter what i do. and i wasn't trying to break the game or anything, i was just cruising around enjoying the beautiful sights... i did not expect that to happen in a game that has been supposedly polished to near perfection... and to happen at the worst possible moment, about 30 seconds from the ending. i had to quit the game and restart the entire level. totally killed the mood for me. next time do some proper QA please, at least make sure the last area/ending works. and damn the music there would've been soooo good had i not had the issues with the sound breaking up
probably an amazing game if it had worked properly, but it didn't for me. i'm still feeling bitter (as you can tell lol), because others had such a good time with it, but i didn't
Try going through it again solo and see if you feel differently. Not sure what's up with the sound, that's odd. It has some of the most beautiful music I've heard in a game, and the sound design in general is fantastic.
The first time I went through it, I did it solo specifically because I wanted to take my time, catch the sights, fly and slide around without any real objective of any sort, and just in general soak up the atmosphere. I wanted to have a solitary journey through the game with no distractions of any kind, and basically no outside element involved. Every other playthrough is going to be co-op.
The first time I went through it, I did it solo specifically because I wanted to take my time, catch the sights, fly and slide around without any real objective of any sort, and just in general soak up the atmosphere. I wanted to have a solitary journey through the game with no distractions of any kind, and basically no outside element involved. Every other playthrough is going to be co-op.
Seth Balmore
Member
I had a similar experience to what you're suggesting the first time I encountered a
white robed companion
It was the second level, I think? The one with the cloth creatures. I started walking and passed the first sand dune, and right behind that there are some ruins where the first cloth creature is trapped. This person was meditating on top of the ruins and I thought s/he perhaps was AFK, but as soon as I arrived and chirped s/he got up, chirped at me and started walking. It was very cool in an "ah, you've finally arrived, let's go" kind of way. :3