Simply put, Journey is one of the greatest things I've experienced in this generation of games.
Cons: Unskippable cutscenes; Certain environments make it hard to see the other player
It's strange to think that, before this generation of consoles, there were no downloadable indie games. I mean, sure they existed here and there on computers and crappy little flash games, but indie games weren't yet a force to be reckoned with. Yet now indie games are an important part of the industry: they dominate smart phones, games like World of Goo and Super Meat Boy are tops in their genres, and The Walking Dead is winning full-on Game of the Year awards.
And chief among them is Journey, which is quite possibly the greatest game I've had the pleasure of playing this generation.
Journey is everything that is right with games. It's beautiful. It has a fantastic soundtrack. Its gameplay is simultaneously effortless, and yet manages to convey a broad range of emotions. It's intelligent and artsy, but not pretentious. It…it…it's near flawless.
It seems so unassuming at first: a lone string instrument violin plays a somber tune as the camera follows a shooting light across the simple, yet beautiful desert. It seems like such a lonely place and then suddenly there's the wanderer. A powerful wind blows as you take control of the wanderer and make your first steps towards the mountain in the distance. What's there? Who knows. But it's the single point of interest and the objective of your journey.
You begin to walk and glide along the sand dunes, the sand shifting ever so smoothly under your feet. The simple uphill and downhill flow has such a satisfying rhythm to it. The lone instrument begins playing again, but this time sounding more ponderous than anything.
If this is all there was to Journey, for another two hours, it would be a great game. But there's so much more, particularly if you play online. Taking a page from Demon's/Dark Souls (of all places), Journey seamlessly connects you to other players as you play. You'll be wandering along and suddenly encounter another wanderer. What proceeds is magic.
In Journey you only have two actions: glide, and chime. When you encounter players, you do not see their names, you cannot talk to them, and you can only perform the above two actions in-game. You can't really harm anyone in Journey-you can only help them. It's amazing how much this changes the dynamic of online play. We've all played those games where someone is being a dick, whether by team killing, saying offensive things over the microphone, or invading worlds as a Black Phantom (though to be fair, that one is actually encouraged). There is absolutely none of that in Journey. Everyone magically seems to be a better person in this game, since you only have the object to help other people.
In my experience playing the game, my partners and I would "chat" with the chime button, glide together, help each other find secret collectibles, and use our chimes to help give each other boosts. These simple actions have a way of making the temporary bonds you share with the other wanderers feel more significant. You'll likely not want to part ways with your companion, and it's possible that you might even experience almost the entirety of the game with another random stranger whom you've never met. Again, magic.
Even without the online component, the quest would still be fantastic. I said that simple walking and gliding would be enough to make the game great, but fortunately the quest is so much more than that. I really can't divulge details here, as that would spoil the experience, so I would much rather just describe some of the emotions I felt on the journey: wonder, loneliness, excitement, fear, sadness, fulfillment. Through smart use of mechanics, art, and music, the game successfully covers a broad range of emotions and creates a very fulfilling experience. It takes a rare game to make me want to replay it, and Journey had me wanting to replay the entire thing the moment I finished my first run. And when I did a second run a few months later, not only was the magic still there, but I also wanted to replay it again. And I know I will.
It's a truly amazing game. It's only two hours long, but it's a dense journey that covers so much ground and completely engrosses you for the entire duration. Everything fits together so perfectly, and nothing feels out of place. Journey is one of the most polished, moving experiences of this generation. It is also bound to be one of the most important for its innovations and accomplishments. And regardless of who you are, you absolutely must play it.