Why Journey Is Still The Best Game Of 2012 (So Far)

Posted on Wednesday, July 25 @ 10:00:00 Eastern by Daniel Bischoff

Journey is still my game of the year. It had some challengers, to be sure. Max Payne 3, Dragon's Dogma, and even Ghost Recon: Future Soldier were contenders. Mass Effect 3 has come and gone, and yet I still think more fondly of Journey, though that might not because of the game so much as the "fans".

But why? What makes thatgamecompany so special? What makes the little red-hooded figure so memorable?

Here's why Journey is fantastic, more so than other games released in 2012 so far:

Noisemaker

You can be quite the little chatterbox in Journey. What starts out as a fun, little gimmick quickly turns into an annoyance and then a tool. We'll see more of that later, but right now, think about the way Journey presents itself to the player. There's very little conveyed to you directly throughout the game.

What's more, absolutely nothing is written out for you. Even the initial control instructions use images to teach the player. Still, Journey speaks volumes through its themes and the way players interact with the world. In effect, giving the player only one means of communication and having it be a curt, musical whistle encourage the player to speak with actions rather than words, much like the narrative itself.

Environmental

I'm reminded of Batman: Arkham City when I take in Journey's environments—not in the style but the way they invite you in for closer inspection. My natural inclination as a player is to GOGOGOGO, but Journy makes me want to investigate every nook and cranny.

In Journey, my curiosity leads me into the building, if only to explore the space and see what the view is like. In the clip above you can see that I could certainly dive right in, but what if there's something in there? I have to find out!

Momentary

Journey's moment-to-moment gameplay is seamless. The collectibles are rewarding in the gameplay, so they have an impact on your world outside of a statistic. The story doesn't interrupt the action for long and plays out in between jumping puzzles as a reward for your mini-accomplishment.

That might sound silly to some. You don't need to be rewarded every step of the way. But it's this methodology that has made games like Call of Duty such a success and Journey certainly implements the idea less obviously than other games before it.

Next page: music, multiplayer, more.

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Related Games: Journey

Tags: Journey, PSN, thatgamecompany, Sony, Santa Monica Studio

Comments

Sourdeez
Joined: Feb 2012

Posted: Jul 25th, 2012 at 10:19 am
Wish it would have had a pc release

0 3

Sourdeez
Joined: Feb 2012

Posted: Jul 25th, 2012 at 10:27 am
After watching all the videos this game looks awesome to play after a toke.

3 4

danielrbischoff
Joined: Nov 2009

Posted: Jul 25th, 2012 at 1:50 pm
Why the thumb's down? He's just trying to live up to his name.

0 1

CaptainPicard
Joined: Sep 2010

Posted: Jul 26th, 2012 at 12:32 am
Because some people cant handle the thought of having massive amounts of fun while playing games inebriated

1 1

Chunibrow
Joined: Mar 2010

Posted: Jul 26th, 2012 at 10:12 am
Because people are babies and don't like others doing something they don't do thrmselved

1 0

OdiousLupous
Joined: Jul 2011

Posted: Jul 26th, 2012 at 3:30 pm
I would gladly be the medic to your heavy on 2fort, stoned out of our gourds good sir.

0 2

thedarkstar
Joined: Feb 2011

Posted: Jul 25th, 2012 at 12:37 pm
Methinks I need to try this game.

0 0

thedarkstar
Joined: Feb 2011

Posted: Jul 25th, 2012 at 12:37 pm
Methinks I need to try this game.

0 0

danielrbischoff
Joined: Nov 2009

Posted: Jul 25th, 2012 at 1:51 pm
You definitely should. Again, it's short, but I never felt it was "too" short. It's very engaging and there's certainly replay value, if not right afterwards, but a little while later.

0 0

De-Ting
Joined: Nov 2006

Posted: Jul 25th, 2012 at 12:39 pm
I'm still holding out on this game, hoping it'll go free on PS+ or something. I really want to play it, but don't know if it'll hold my attention.

0 0

danielrbischoff
Joined: Nov 2009

Posted: Jul 25th, 2012 at 1:49 pm
It is short, but it's one of the best experiences all year. At any rate I believe you get a discount with PS+ so you should jump on it.

0 0

213EDD
Joined: Sep 2007

Posted: Jul 25th, 2012 at 12:56 pm
How it feels reading this: Whats the best game of 2012 (so far) guys? Ohh okay. Time to tell you the real answer, you ****ing idiots.

1 0

thedarkstar
Joined: Feb 2011

Posted: Jul 25th, 2012 at 1:02 pm
I think it was more Dan was asking everyone their opinions, and then he gave his own. I don't think it was meant to be him talking down to us readers.

0 1

Jonathan_Leack
Joined: Jan 2012

Posted: Jul 25th, 2012 at 1:10 pm
You have to understand that Dan is an angry pirate with a wooden leg, a beard, and a deep drive for revenge for the man who stole his bottle of Captain Morgan's.

Once you remember this it all begins to make sense.

0 2

danielrbischoff
Joined: Nov 2009

Posted: Jul 25th, 2012 at 1:49 pm
Haha, yeah looking at the front page it certainly seems like that, but I promise it wasn't my intention. Now WHERE THE F*** IS MY CAPTAIN MORGAN'S?

0 1

LinksOcarina
Joined: Nov 2005

Posted: Jul 25th, 2012 at 3:44 pm
It's in contention maybe...hell likely in my top 5.

But I wouldn't put it at number 1 just yet...

1 0

MattAY
Joined: Mar 2006

Posted: Jul 25th, 2012 at 5:11 pm
I'm hoping for a Microsoft cross-over...otherwise I'll have to buy a PS3.

And FUCK - surfing on sand is cool.

0 1

De-Ting
Joined: Nov 2006

Posted: Jul 25th, 2012 at 5:20 pm
Yeah, you'll have to buy a PS3.

1 1

dirty_f
Joined: Nov 2010

Posted: Jul 25th, 2012 at 8:07 pm
Now, i aint played this game so i cant really have any opinion on whether or not it should win BUT it would be nice if an indie game did win game of the year as opposed to something from one of the lead studios.

Also it takes a lot for me me to say something positive about something with the word Indie in it... But i suppose indie games are not quite in the same world as indie music and people. God i hate those people. Put some ****ing shoes on, dammit.

0 0

danielrbischoff
Joined: Nov 2009

Posted: Jul 25th, 2012 at 11:25 pm
lol. While Journey is certainly nearer to the artistic merit Indies often shoot for, I don't know if I'd call it an indie game. It had the full force of the Sony marketing machine behind it. It's a PS3 exclusive from a developer counted among the Santa Monica Studio group (one of Sony's biggest studios).

But yes, screw hippies too.

0 0

StringerBell86
Joined: Mar 2012

Posted: Jul 25th, 2012 at 8:07 pm
I loved this game.

But is there ANY replay value, other than "let's do it again"??

0 0

friggest
Joined: Mar 2008

Posted: Jul 25th, 2012 at 8:42 pm
There is not.

0 0

danielrbischoff
Joined: Nov 2009

Posted: Jul 25th, 2012 at 11:23 pm
You can collect all the scarf pieces, you can actually become one of the god... people. Yes, it's only fresh one time, but it's definitely worth it.

0 0

dirty_f
Joined: Nov 2010

Posted: Jul 25th, 2012 at 8:09 pm
Now, i aint played this game so i cant really have any opinion on whether or not it should win BUT it would be nice if an indie game did win game of the year as opposed to something from one of the lead studios.

Also it takes a lot for me me to say something positive about something with the word Indie in it... But i suppose indie games are not quite in the same world as indie music and people. God i hate those people. Put some ****ing shoes on, dammit.

0 1

friggest
Joined: Mar 2008

Posted: Jul 25th, 2012 at 8:47 pm
I don't consider this the best game because it really doesn't fit into the game experience. It was fun to play and kind of neat, but I beat it in like 2 hours?

I cant find a game I would state as the best game for 2012. Hopefully something jumps out or 2013 gets here soon enough.

0 1

CaptainPicard
Joined: Sep 2010

Posted: Jul 26th, 2012 at 12:35 am
Thx Daniel, great article :) You just made sure that i was gonna go buy this after reading huh? I dont even own a ps3 so its gonna be me buying it for a friend, then hanging out till we beat it lol (that sounds horrible)

0 1

danielrbischoff
Joined: Nov 2009

Posted: Jul 26th, 2012 at 1:39 pm
Nah, it doesn't sound that bad. I've been in that position many, many times. And honestly, it's only 2 hours long so it's not like you're going to seriously upend your friend's life and start living on his couch.

0 0

used44
Joined: Mar 2002

Posted: Jul 26th, 2012 at 9:05 am
The plural of scarf is scarves

0 1

danielrbischoff
Joined: Nov 2009

Posted: Jul 26th, 2012 at 1:39 pm
Fixed, thanks :)

0 0

DarthDiggler
Joined: Mar 2011

Posted: Jul 26th, 2012 at 2:26 pm
Daniel,

Journey is a good game, a great game, but honestly I don't consider it game of the year.

Maybe I need to play it again, but IMHO the game seemed to be over way too quickly. I appreciate a unique experience, but I also appreciate a game with more than 2 hours of play time.

Honestly you could take any number of games out there and take the best 2 hours out of them and call them a spectacular game.

I think you could even get 2 good hours out of Haze. :)

1 0

danielrbischoff
Joined: Nov 2009

Posted: Jul 26th, 2012 at 4:04 pm
No you most certainly could not.

0 0

DarthDiggler
Joined: Mar 2011

Posted: Jul 26th, 2012 at 2:36 pm
Daniel,

Journey is a good game, a great game, but honestly I don't consider it game of the year.

Maybe I need to play it again, but IMHO the game seemed to be over way too quickly. I appreciate a unique experience, but I also appreciate a game with more than 2 hours of play time.

Honestly you could take any number of games out there and take the best 2 hours out of them and call them a spectacular game.

I think you could even get 2 good hours out of Haze. :)

0 0

OdiousLupous
Joined: Jul 2011

Posted: Jul 26th, 2012 at 3:31 pm
Could the new Steam option allow this game to come to pcs? Id buy it just on the music and atmosphere.

0 1

Masterwabbit
Joined: Mar 2009

Posted: Jul 29th, 2012 at 4:07 pm
*eyes Borderlands 3's impending release*
*looks again at his wonderful time with Journey*

We'll see about this...

0 0

Masterwabbit
Joined: Mar 2009

Posted: Jul 29th, 2012 at 4:08 pm
Erm, that would be Borderlands 2. I'm sorry, I had Assassin's Creed on the brain as well.

0 0