The Journey Down: Chapter One

 PC
User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 51 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 51
  2. Mixed: 23 out of 51
  3. Negative: 4 out of 51

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  1. THE-Wind
    Jan 22, 2013
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Full disclosure: I am not a big fan of puzzle games. The journey down has some slick design elements, good voice acting and seems well made with a lot of attention to detail. However it failed to engage me on any level. The first chapter is short and does not have a decent story arc or characters that rise above one-dimensional. The puzzles are weak and lack any kind of logic. (bread sticks for ladder rungs....really?) There should be some sense to a puzzle or else it is just arbitrary and pointless. The player should be able to figure it out rather that just button-mash within the limited options. (See Machinurium for how to do it right.) The exploration is also lacking. The avatar is slow, there are very few characters to interact with, the connectivity is poor and the areas are small. This game combines the worst of a rail shooter with the worst of a lame puzzler. Too bad because there many good elements as well; nice music good graphics. Nothing here to make me want to buy chapter two...regardless of price.… Expand
  2. UbiPaul
    Jan 10, 2013
    3
    It seems to me that whoever gave this game more than 30 (3) never played Grim Fandango/Monkey Island/Deponia. All the jokes are overused and not one feels original. The main character give us bad dreams, it was a pain to look at him. You guys need to get creative people or name the game : Best of Adventure games.
    To say something positive, some of the backgrounds are really nice.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 20
  3. Negative: 0 out of 20
  1. Ragequit.gr
    Aug 20, 2014
    87
    This first chapter serves as a truly special start for an episodic adventure game. It has many positive aspects packed together -unique looks, lovable main characters, awesome voice overs, a price that makes it a must buy- and contains a respectful number of puzzles. If some of them were a bit more challenging, its length would easily be extended. In any case, it's an ideal and very promising debut.
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  2. CD-Action
    Mar 5, 2013
    75
    A beautiful homage to Grim Fandango. Not perfect though – Chapter One is short, could be funnier and the choice of some of the voices is questionable. [CD-Action 03/2013, p.66]
  3. RPG Fan
    Jan 30, 2013
    75
    After just one chapter, I'm not sure I'd put The Journey Down in the realm of classics like Grim Fandango, or with the best of its episodic contemporaries like The Walking Dead and Back to the Future. But it's worth the purchase price, and I will definitely keep an eye out for the next episode's release.
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