Journey Review (PS4)

  A short, simplistic, minimalist adventure that's easy on the eyes and your reflexes.  Journey is an "art" game; it looks like an imported animated film hailing from some nondescript country that stuffy critics and hipsters would praise to death for a week or two.  It plays like that, too.  You have full control over a robed avatar as it travels across openish areas ranging from desert sands to dark caverns to icy mountain tops, eventually climbing to a light emitting peak that is ever-present in the background of your titular journey... an allusion to the "journey" we all take on the path from life to death because... you know... it's an "art" game, so what did you think it would be about?

  Your short term goal is to reach the end of each area by platforming via simple puzzles.  You need to collect energy from certain stations (small floating scarves) to keep your scarf power charged, which gives you the ability to jump/float at will.  Other obstacles can be crossed by sending out an orb of energy to light up certain stones, opening pathways, building bridges, or activating other various means to traverse further ahead.  Scattered throughout the world are collectibles that grow your scarf (allowing you to jump higher/float longer) and cave drawings that I never figured out any gameplay advantage to finding.  There are a few instances during the game where stripped down stealth is required, asking you to hide from enemies that destroy segments of your scarf if you're spotted and attacked. 

  It all controls smoothly, mainly using just two buttons (one for jumping, and one for charging/releasing your energy wave).  The only downside I had (besides the PS4 controller in general feeling cheap) were the Sixaxis controls for the camera.  You can use the right analogue stick like a normal person, but the game literally starts with a tutorial for tilting the controller left and right to look around.  This is probably a conceit to keep the game as accessible as possible, but I found it rather annoying more than a few times; I was guessing what the game was trying to showcase by moving the camera for me, only to realize I wasn't holding the controller perfectly level like a robot. 

  Journey handles multiplayer in a rather unique way.  Almost like a Souls game, you're randomly matched with a co-op partner(s) during solo play.  In some of the bigger levels this could just mean there's someone off in the distance doing their own thing with little interaction.  In tighter, more scripted areas you can help each other out by observing mistakes/progress or spotting collectibles for each other.  Most noteworthy is the snowy mountain pass toward the end of the game, where your scarf energy is eternally draining from the cold: If you stay close to the other player body warmth will keep both scarves charged so cooperation is reciprocal and rewarded.  That's just loving, neat attention to detail and good design.  Of course like any multiplayer with random matchmaking, you might just get a partner who sits on the ground and goes AFK.  Your mileage may vary.

  Graphically it's quite pleasing to take in.  There's not much in the way of detail, but what's there is charming and often gets across more than it rightfully should with the sparse, cartoonish artstyle.  It's quite impressive taken as a whole.  The same can be said for the sound design which compliments the visuals perfectly with it's calming, low impact ambiance and a whimsical score that kicks in during more intense action scenes.  I never played this when it originally released on PS3 so I can't compare the two versions, but this would definitely be passable for a new game if debuted on PS4. 

  Journey is relaxing, artistically sound, and a great game you can get a full experience out of in a single play session.  It may feel overly guided and it's themes may not be unique or surprising, but it achieves the simple storytelling it's going for and delivers a warm, pleasant feeling along the way.