Journey - Experientially Sublime.

Fortuitous timing - I just saw another post about Journey earlier today and I had just finished it myself. tl;dr Play Journey. I'll just be up front about it. It would be convenient to simply say Journey transcends video game genres - I've said it myself - but upon reflection that's not entirely true. Similar to how Electroplankton served more as a musical experience, Journey reimagines the adventure genre as an experience. No doubt, pushing against genre boundaries is 100% a gamble, but when that gamble pays off, players are rewarded with magical moments that stir things at a deeper level. Say what you will about Skyward Sword, Lanayru Desert excelled at evoking a sense of desolation and ruin. Enter Journey. This was my first time through. The only objective (if you will) is to proceed forward. Each segment is simply a movement - an orchestration - from its beginning to its end. The only real choice is the precise path to take, but just as a day begins and a day ends - you're arriving at midnight one way or the other - how are you going to spend your time? And I think that's a key point. In life, there's one opportunity each day to pause, for instance, and appreciate the sunset. Each segment in Journey likewise provides space for emotional appeal and whether you capitalize on that is entirely up to you, but pausing and letting the sounds and visuals wash over you is part of what makes Journey great. The camera nudges you to do so, and I encourage it as well (especially in real life). I tend to overlap many different games at the same time and ended up playing Journey over the course of months - often just one segment at a time - and it was still neat to have other Journeyers pop in. This again mirrors life where people can pop in and out to encourage you along the way, if in no other way than by simply being present. I can totally see how sharing most, if not all, of the adventure with a single companion would be even more evocative. (My most recent companion is shown in the above photo, fighting the harsh winds with me.) Definitely a recommended experience. Any fond memories or favorite scenes? submitted by /u/CrucialFusion [link] [comments]