Journey

 PC
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 146 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 101 out of 146
  2. Mixed: 36 out of 146
  3. Negative: 9 out of 146

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  1. dandalis
    Nov 24, 2019
    7
    Having played a game like ABZU first, which was heavily inspired by Journey, and whom i consider a rather good game, before playing Journey itself, my perceptions might be somewhat convoluted when it comes to judging Journey, as i have experienced its foundations in an other, newer title. But nevertheless i still found Journey to be just as good as ABZU, if not somewhat better.

    Visually    Having played a game like ABZU first, which was heavily inspired by Journey, and whom i consider a rather good game, before playing Journey itself, my perceptions might be somewhat convoluted when it comes to judging Journey, as i have experienced its foundations in an other, newer title. But nevertheless i still found Journey to be just as good as ABZU, if not somewhat better.

    Visually its still very impressive even in 2019, due to its wonderful art design. Outright graphical fidelity wise its no slouch either, its environments, the way sand in rendered still can take your breath away.

    Journey is suppose to be this emotional experience from what i have read, it has even made its testers cry lol, perhaps im just a somewhat cold person, but it didnt manage to resonate with me on such a deep emotional level, though its not like i didnt experience anything at all, if anything Journey is a pretty uplifting game, one that brings you simple joy when playing it.

    While the game is mostly linear, it can give a you a suprising feel of freedom in its more open levels. The way the game doesnt allow you to go out of bounds was also well done, unlike very intrusive methods other games tend to employ. Gameplay felt fluid, even when playing with mouse and keyboard i didnt have much issues.

    Its not a long game, but the few hours it offers are worth it.    … Expand
  2. B-Bog
    Aug 5, 2019
    7
    (EDIT Another reviewer said Epic does not support controllers. Not true at all. I played through the whole game with my Xbox One Controller, connected via USB dongle. No setup required and no problems whatsoever.)

    I think I was kind of overhyped for this game. For years and years, I've been reading nothing but glorious praise for Journey. So I couldn't wait to get my hands on it when I    (EDIT Another reviewer said Epic does not support controllers. Not true at all. I played through the whole game with my Xbox One Controller, connected via USB dongle. No setup required and no problems whatsoever.)

    I think I was kind of overhyped for this game. For years and years, I've been reading nothing but glorious praise for Journey. So I couldn't wait to get my hands on it when I found out about the PC release by accident. And of course: It's gorgeous! The art style and direction is probably the highlight of Journey. The soundtrack also fits the atmosphere really well and sucks you right into the game.

    Well, it's not so much of a "game" in that sense, but more of an experience. When the gameplay is at its best, it delivers a very satisfying feeling of flow, and you're never really in danger. So if you're looking for a challenge, maybe look somewhere else. It is also a VERY short game. I read sth about four hours beforehand, but I just played through it in under three. Granted, I didn't do too much looking around on this first play-through because I was curious where the game would go next and I didn't want to break the flow of the experience too much by searching every nook and cranny for collectibles. Which apparently do in fact give you a cool reward when you collect them all, so I'm probably going to play it at least once more. I did find the last level to be kind of tedious and annoying, I have to say. I know, there's also some story-telling and symbolism going on here, but I found myself suspecting that this also served to add just a liiiittle bit more play-time to the game.

    I think the main problem with Journey at this point is that it was a breathtaking and innovative game when it first came out on the PS3 seven years ago. But in the meantime, lots of other games like ABZU and INSIDE have come out, which are also very ambitious and focused in their art direction, style, colour-coding, and mute story-telling. The whole "not a video game, but an experience"-thing is much more common nowadays. If I had played none of these other games before, maybe Journey would have completely blown me away like ABZU did a few months ago.

    Overall, Journey is a very cool, but short experience, that's just not as special anymore now as when it first came out in 2012. It's only 15 bucks, so if you like artsy "experience" games, you might want to give it a try. Or wait until you can get it on sale.

    P.S. In response to another review: I have absolutely NO framerate issues and I have all the settings cranked up to max. Granted, I have a pretty decent gaming PC, though it's already 2.5 years old by now. I also had absolutely no issues with the game being available only through the Epic store, though I expected there to be some problems, because everyone made such a big fuzz about it. Turns out, it was just typical nerd rage. It's just another store and launch app that you can download and set up really quickly, and frankly, the UI is quite a lot better, sleeker and more intuitive than the convoluted mess you get with Steam.    … Expand
  3. Crimert
    Jan 16, 2021
    6
    I think it's one of the most overrated games I've ever played. The atmosphere is nice but it's not enough. Puzzles weren't good for me. 2hrs on record.
  4. Kujin
    Jan 11, 2021
    7
    Journey Is a totally unique and wonderful game, and is a true must-play for any gamer. Somewhat bafflingly , it manages to use as little as possible to create an amazing experience: it's simplicity is almost exclusively a positive. With all it's two-action gameplay, simple graphical style and lack of a narrative Journey is a surprisingly emotional game.
  5. Alexander_1996
    Nov 20, 2020
    6
    DID I MISS SOMETHING?
    At first I wanted to title the post "Journey - overhyped pretentious emptiness" but then realized that maybe it is not the game's fault - what if I am the one who missed something? I have always heard how great and unique "Journey" is. Not a single time I heard anyone telling something bad about it so I expected something really unique and interesting in terms of    DID I MISS SOMETHING?
    At first I wanted to title the post "Journey - overhyped pretentious emptiness" but then realized that maybe it is not the game's fault - what if I am the one who missed something? I have always heard how great and unique "Journey" is. Not a single time I heard anyone telling something bad about it so I expected something really unique and interesting in terms of gameplay - what I got instead didn't live up to all the hype. Don't get me wrong, I love meditative games like "Firewatch" and "Dead Space" (what?) but unlike "Journey" "Firewatch" had something else besides meditative gameplay to offer while "Journey" has... nothing? The visuals aren't "beautiful" as every review claims them to be, they are not bad either, they are just there. The gameplay is primitive and oversimplified. The "puzzles" if you even can call them "puzzles" are pretty easy to figure out and they don't change much up till the very end. The music is okay but you would expect more from a game of this kind.

    Then I thought to myself: whose fault that is? Whose fault is that this game didn't live up to my expectations? Did the game in its trailer, poster, name promised me something extraordinary? No, all what the game promised was contained in its title - journey. This game is literally just a journey from point A to point B. Of course metaphorically it can be compared to our lives and it can be said that it all is an allusion to our goals achieving which in its own way always is a journey. But that metaphor is pretty straighforward and apparent so once you uncover it (presumably in the first 30 minutes) the rest of the game just feels quite flat without much new to offer - the good thing is the game is very short so it doesn't have much time to really expose its emptiness.

    So now I have a question: what made all the critics to proclaim "Journey" a masterpiece? It is not a bad game, maybe it is even a good short game but it is not a great (short) game (example of a short great game - "Firewatch"). So please, tell me - what did I miss?    … Expand
  6. Devastator1988
    Jul 17, 2022
    6
    A good relaxing game with the spectacular locations, but with the boring gameplay and a short length.
  7. Rastrelly
    Jun 7, 2019
    5
    Not only the game is extremely overrated, telling a bunch of banalities, it is set in a beautiful at first, but generally monotone and not too inspired setting. Essentially - this is Limbo without unease and outright horror. To remain objective - you do get several beautiful locales to look at, as well as certain change of scenery (desert - dark desert - spoiler - spoiler). Plust there areNot only the game is extremely overrated, telling a bunch of banalities, it is set in a beautiful at first, but generally monotone and not too inspired setting. Essentially - this is Limbo without unease and outright horror. To remain objective - you do get several beautiful locales to look at, as well as certain change of scenery (desert - dark desert - spoiler - spoiler). Plust there are three - I repeat, three - moments in the game, about a minute long each, which did indeed made my heart go faster.

    Overall the game is aesthetically pleasing. But in essence it's the case of style over substance. The main issue here is the story though - it's just another case of an ancient civilization f-ing up with you left to witness their former glory.

    To add insult to injury PC release is in poor state - constant framerate dips make it unenjoyable. They become far less frequent at later segments of the game though - yet still I experienced drops even near the ending, despite my PC allowing me to get 60 fps when fps manages to hold itself at bay. This brings what I'd mark as a 7/10 game to 5/10. Shame.

    Also, I wonder how many dislikes this review will get - I really must know how much of deep art I did not understand.    … Expand
  8. Ev3rgreen
    Mar 16, 2020
    7
    A great game with beautiful landscapes and a really good ambience. There is no dialog in the game but it's a really relaxing game to spend your afternoon. Enjoyed it a lot but in my opinion, its lenght is too short, so I just spent 3-4 hours playing it, which were great but it felt short for me. Even though, it's a great title that most of people can enjoy and have a nice time playing it.
  9. Mandulum
    Feb 13, 2020
    6
    It seemed like a good enough platformer and it has nice visuals but I don't particularly like platformers and I have no idea what that was about.

    Date Completed: 2020-02-13
    Playtime: 2h
    Enjoyment: 6/10
    Recommendation: It was alright but not my cup of tea.
  10. RMDsilva
    Feb 27, 2023
    6
    Simple, beautiful game. Interesting experience for a bit, but definitely not outstanding. Come for the art.
  11. Babutto
    Sep 12, 2021
    7
    Pros.:
    - Nice narrative.
    - Beautiful esthetics.
    - Fluidity. Like in PoP 2008.

    Cons.:
    - Boring.
    - Required more story about the world and inhabitants.
    - Could be updated for the PC release (additional materials that usually are intact during the development stage).

    All these issues came from the development restrictions.
  12. spencerplewe
    Feb 18, 2021
    7
    I felt as if immersed in an award-winning short film, steeped with Asian cultures and some magical surprises, though it's also the type of short game where its replay value will either be obvious or dubious.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
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No score yet - based on 2 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. Merlin'in Kazanı (Turkey)
    Jul 1, 2019
    85
    Great game, spectacular, unique and incredible atmosphere.
    Read full review
  2. Gamers Heroes
    Jun 9, 2019
    80
    Journey’s journey to the PC is a successful one, barring some minor technical issues. Between its incredible atmosphere and unique mechanics, this is one title worth exploring.
    Read full review