Is the game Journey overrated?

I waited quite a long time to play it, till it was on sale this summer. For the longest time I thought I'd find it to be overrated or that the game wouldn't click with me like it did others.

The game was brilliant. Exceeded my expectations and was a wonder to play.

I enjoyed it, but not quite as much as others I think.

Title should say, "Is the 'game' Journey overrated?" because it is not actually a game

journey is like Metal Gear Solid 4. both won Game of the Year and both will continue to cause butthurt in non ps3 owners

Inb4 pikmin and chazard says this is not a game

Other than looking nice there isn't all that special about Journey. The gameplay was basic, the game itself was an hour long and there isn't really any reason to ever replay it. Its not terrible but its insanely overrated.

Indie GOTY. Only on PlayStation.

Tried the demo, got bored before I could finish it.

Have no position on it.

Theres a demo? It must be like half the game lol

Its a crappy game that cows have to hype because they have no blockbuster exclusives besides naughty dog games.

I would be embarrassed to play games like these and flower in front of my friends.

But yeah, enjoy.

I thought it was terribly boring. Even though it wad short it took me about a month to beat it. I just don't get why people praise it so much. I did think it picks up a bit towards the end, but eh.

Not over-rated. What it is, however, is a refreshing change of pace and a unique experience.

There they come, those who believe video games should be glorified toy grounds where systems is all that counts

As a game I can't say much about it because I don't see it as such. There's hardly any gameplay and challenge is non-existent.

But as an experience? It's something, to say the least.

Watched a small portion of it on YouTube and figured it wasn't for me. Heard a lot of good things about it from folks around here, although never understood the hyperbole-gushing from the gaming press though.

Its okay for what it is but definately not GotY material. Then again 2012 was a very weak year for gaming

Some of the answers in here disappoint me.

I think it's an incredible little game. It's short but left one hell of an impact on me. It has great visuals, doesn't cram a shitty narrative in your face and has some of the best music ever in a videogame. It also has a great multiplayer component that can make the experience pretty cool. I guess you could call it overrated though considering the stupid hyperbole cows use to describe it

It also IS a game whether people like to admit it or not

^^^we got a mouth breather here, guys!^^^

lol anyways, the game is brilliant. a unique experience you cannot get anywhere else.

I love it. Easily their best game.

Flower is great too. flOw is not all that good.

If you think holding forward on the analog stick for an hour constitutes as a video games then by all means, but I've played slot machines with more depth than Journey

No it isnt. Its trully a masterpiece and whoever disagrees knows nothing about what Journey was about

It's quite the walking through the sand simulator.

It doesn't have any guns, it doesn't have long cutscenes that you cant skip, it doesnt have explosions, it doesnt have DLC, it doesnt have microtransactions, it doesnt have yearly sequels, it doesnt reuse assets from other games, it's not a sequel, it's not a prequel, it's not a remake, it's not trying to appeal to a broader audience. This is something that 99% of retail games cannot say.

The art is incredible, the soundtrack is incredible, the direction is incredible, it's story is very subtle, it's unique, it has the best use of multiplayer ive ever seen, it's short and sweet.

.....But yeah it probably is a little overrated, GOTY awards for a downloadable game is a bit much =P

being pretentious and holding the joystick up for an hour?

No it is not overhyped. It deserves all the praise it got. I am a proud owner of that game and have beaten it 8-10 times. When I first got it, it was my go to game when I wanted a break from whatever game I was currently playing at the time. It is such a peaceful relaxing game.

It was hardly some emotional journey that brought tears to my eyes or any stupid shit like the press was saying but it was a great game for what it was trying to do.

Hmmm...Do I detect an insecure man-child?

Not at all. It's a highlight of this generation and a game that warrants the degree of praise received.

Not even sure it was game tbh

lol, no.

Its does what it sets out to do very well. If what it sets out to do simply isn't something you enjoy, then that doesn't make it a worse game.

@MadVybz: yea I agree. More of an experience than anything else.

The thing that mesmerized me about Journey was the multiplayer. It allowed barriers to be crossed and I've never made stronger bonds with people playing a game as I did with this one.

I got so many notes in my inbox after many games, much of the time in foreign languages and I'm pretty sure most, if not all, were thank you notes.

Yes. Theres a current media trend to praise releases that arent much of games in the first place.

Everytime I enter threads about Journey or Heavy Rain/Beyond I get kinda irritated because there's always a bunch of pricks that seem to seriously believe that these aren't games. You have a character, you interact with the character and the universe by pressing buttons. To "complete" the game, you have to interact with the character to get it to the final destination. This is done by running around (and flying) , jumping, interacting with the environment, avoiding enemies and solving (easy) puzzles as well as collecting collectables (optional). In addition, there are achievements/tropies.

How exactly is this not a game? Geez, couldn't they have added an ignore button when they remade this site, some opinions just aren't worth listening to...

No it's not. You get out of it what you want out of it. It's a game where symbolism is created by the user and not by the game

wow... so much jelly over it winning goty. relax.... my little lems and herms. you've got a whole new generation to hope for a goty exclusive.

...except it's much more than just holding the analog stick for an hour. are you really this dense? or is the idea of breathing through your nose that intimidating?

Nope. Not to me at least. I loved every second of it. I played it through 2 days in a row when I beat it and I got misty eyed both times.

For its price was phenomenal.

Overated ? Maybe but still something nice to play

And may I ask what is so wrong about calling something like Journey interactive art as opposed to a fully-fledged game?

If you start calling it a 'game' then you put it in a category that'll make it look foolish, because in the 'game' department it's as shallow as a puddle; all flash an no substance.

Journey clearly wasn't developed as a game in mind. What it is certainly isn't bad, but it certainly isn't a game either.

It's obviously a game! It plays out like just about every other 3D platformer except it's short and more simplistic. Even if it's all just flash and substance.

It's hipster indie shit.

But it's good hipster indie shit. In fact it's wonderful hipster indie shit. So no I don't think Journey is overrated. Do I think statements like "it's like controlling a poem" are mind numbingly stupid descriptions? Absofuckinglutely they are. But it's a wonderful experience. Way more worth my time than your run of the mil FPS, triple A action game, or story driven indie games where the writer is clearly writing a my first short story.

Really? Please explain what you do in the game aside from holding forward and how a person "playing" the game would have a different experience than a person just watching it. You can skip the ad hominem as well.

Except it's not even remotely pretentious

Plus the notion that any piece of entertainment in any medium is "bad" because it's "pretentious" is a bit of a fallacy. You can easily be great and pretentious. It's not lunacy for that to be plausible.

Yes, A LOT.

Doom II's better.

No. It was a great experience.

I applaud your enthusiasm for Journey, and I can't blame you because it is definitely one of a kind and proves what can be done with a platform in the name of art.

However simply running around and appreciating pretty skyboxes and atmosphere isn't a game, it's a tour. Yes there is some degree of navigation and interaction but it serves very little purpose for the recipient if you're going to consider them 'game' properties. There is no challenge or punishment for player action, and any gratifying feeling from it certainly doesn't stem from gameplay, but rather its aesthetics and context.