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Journey (ps3) - GOTY?? Really? *possibly spoilers*

Nvidiaguy07

Nvidiaguy07

Platinum Member
After reading a bunch of people's goty lists, one constant that was on just about everyone's list, was journey. I bought this game on sale a while ago, so last night i decided to give it a shot. I do see how it might appeal to SOME people, but for me this game was just meh.

People say "its an experience" and ive even heard "i cried during it".... WHEN!?!? You basically just walk towards a huge mountain the whole game. There are some points that could be taken as emotional, but I personally cared very little. You have companions as you go through, which you cant talk to. There is one part when it seems your journey comes to an end, and you die in the snow, but then you are brought back to life, so who cares.

People have said its the best looking game of the year. Really?? Because good looking to me is something like Far Cry 3. Some of the scenery is nice, but nothing i would go run and tell someone about.

As far as the gameplay goes, its more of an inconvenience than anything else. The puzzles are easy, and required very little problem solving. Having help from your companion also doesnt matter, you could play the game solo if you wanted to. Maybe a tenth of portals problem solving skills are needed.

The worst part for me was you play through the whole thing, and expect to have some reveal or message at the end, but theres nothing, you are just reincarnated and sent back to the beginning. No explanation, nothing.

I dont know, maybe im just not very imaginative or artsy, but i could care less about this game. Anyone played this? In some way i think its a giant conspiracy that almost everyone gave this game such a high rating.
 
Personally, I thought the game was way overblown. My wife loved it though, but she also loved Flower. 😀
 
I won't say it's emotional but I thought it was awesome. Also you're stuck in the mentality that best looking has to mean best graphics but best looking can mean art design and things like that and I think the environments were awesome to look at. I definitely loved playing it and loved the scenery of the game. Definitely one of my top games of the year.
 
zerocool84 said:
I won't say it's emotional but I thought it was awesome. Also you're stuck in the mentality that best looking has to mean best graphics but best looking can mean art design and things like that and I think the environments were awesome to look at. I definitely loved playing it and loved the scenery of the game. Definitely one of my top games of the year.
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Whats the point though? Its not intellectually challenging at all - so no fun there, if you were just a person watching, its not like a good movie or TV show. It was slow and boring. And i hated sometimes thinking i was not going in the right direction.

It just did nothing for me. I do see the appeal that it might have to some people, but have no idea how across the board it got such high reviews. I am usually of the mindset that if something is said to be that good, buy into it and give it a chance and you usually find that theres a reason so many people like it. this was definitley not the case for me with this game.

Baked said:
You need to be high to love these types of games. I happen to have both games and I love both.
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Kind of figured this going in and got a little drunk before playing. Didnt help. I bought the 3 pack with flower and fl0w, should i even bother with them?
 
I picked it up during the sale, but have yet to play it. Too busy with all the PC games I've picked up since I upgraded the rig. I am looking forward to it.
 
exdeath said:
A GOTY game without a holosight equipped M4? No way.
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🙄

Im just saying i dont see how this game has such mass appeal. To me its like super hexagon getting GOTY - appeals to only a small number of people.

This game was in just about everyone's GOTY list.
 
You kind of have to forget what you know about video games before going into it. Its subtle in every way that most games are ostentatious. Its absolute minimalism in every way.

The art style is hardly what you would detailed, but it's quite beautiful - particularly the sand surfing, "underwater" and final levels.
The gameplay is extremely basic platforming with almost no difficulty - but you're free to explore the world at your leisure.
You have almost zero communication with random strangers that come and go....but somehow, its enough.

I ended up playing through once where people came and went, and I thought it was incredible as a metaphor for life and a study in gameplay minimalism....but if you had no idea what it was going into it, I see how it might not work for you. You're conditioned by most games to have a lot more going on, and unless you know ahead of time what kind of game it is, you could end up just wondering when its going to get started rather than enjoying what it is.

The second time I got linked up with a random very early, and I'll be damned if its not one of the most amazing multiplayer experiences Ive ever had. We somehow managed to communicate well enough after a few minutes that we were able to travel vast distances through the air by timing our beeps to each other - we literally held each other aloft. Without saying or writing a word, we explored far and wide, did all the achievements, and went from start to finish, sticking together, even keeping each other warm by sticking close at the bitter end. Whoever this person was, for all I know it was a 8 year old japanese girl or 17 year old wannabe thug....they were a true friend and companion for those 2-3 hours.

It left me with some genuine hope for the world....that stripping almost all context and identity away, that two people with a totally arbitrary and abstract goal (the journey) could get along with almost no ability to communicate. Its so abstract in every way, but there was so much meaning in all of it...and it looked and sounded beautiful in every way.

Different than any other game for sure, but it earned its GOTY.
 
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I've only played the demo but I am very much looking forward to playing the full game here in the near future.
I always a love a good game that experiments outside of set strict game standards. Without the creativity & experimentation, game progression & advancement with new stuff is only stalling.
So many rehashed games have really shown a lot of developers are only lacking in diversity & creativity, which is sad. Just because it doesn't follow a COD, Halo or GTA formula doesn't mean it will be good, we already know clones can & will tend to turn out really bad & horrendous.
 
Great game which deserves it. So sick of over hyped shooters and buggy derivative stuff like Assassin's Creed.
 
Wow! I just finished my first play through today and wasn't super impressed. I gave it a couple hours and jumped back in. I had a completely different experience the second time. Shortly after starting, another player joined and walked me through the game entirely. It is so rare that you find a multiplayer experience without some 8 year old screaming "noob" in your ear or chat every five minutes. I'm sure that person was frustrated at certain points of the game, either by me getting lost or by me not understanding their goal for the area we were at. Through it all, that person stuck with me the entire time and guided me to hidden gems along the way. There is something about not being able to communicate through speech or text that really adds to the game. Prior to finishing, I wrote a heart in the sand just to show my appreciation. I don't know if it was a 60 year old dude or a tween girl, but that was the best two hours I have ever spent gaming. I've never been moved by a game like that.

P.S. I wasn't high
 
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BD2003 said:
You kind of have to forget what you know about video games before going into it. Its subtle in every way that most games are ostentatious. Its absolute minimalism in every way.

The art style is hardly what you would detailed, but it's quite beautiful - particularly the sand surfing, "underwater" and final levels.
The gameplay is extremely basic platforming with almost no difficulty - but you're free to explore the world at your leisure.
You have almost zero communication with random strangers that come and go....but somehow, its enough.

I ended up playing through once where people came and went, and I thought it was incredible as a metaphor for life and a study in gameplay minimalism....but if you had no idea what it was going into it, I see how it might not work for you. You're conditioned by most games to have a lot more going on, and unless you know ahead of time what kind of game it is, you could end up just wondering when its going to get started rather than enjoying what it is.

The second time I got linked up with a random very early, and I'll be damned if its not one of the most amazing multiplayer experiences Ive ever had. We somehow managed to communicate well enough after a few minutes that we were able to travel vast distances through the air by timing our beeps to each other - we literally held each other aloft. Without saying or writing a word, we explored far and wide, did all the achievements, and went from start to finish, sticking together, even keeping each other warm by sticking close at the bitter end. Whoever this person was, for all I know it was a 8 year old japanese girl or 17 year old wannabe thug....they were a true friend and companion for those 2-3 hours.

It left me with some genuine hope for the world....that stripping almost all context and identity away, that two people with a totally arbitrary and abstract goal (the journey) could get along with almost no ability to communicate. Its so abstract in every way, but there was so much meaning in all of it...and it looked and sounded beautiful in every way.

Different than any other game for sure, but it earned its GOTY.
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Cool post, it does sound novel.

I don't have a PS3, so will be unlikely to ever play it, though.
 
Doppel said:
Cool post, it does sound novel.

I don't have a PS3, so will be unlikely to ever play it, though.
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I'm sure it'll stick around in one form or another on Sony platforms for the next few decades. It'll be regarded as a true classic....it won't be lost to time.
 
Have to say, after several play throughs, the GOTY is well deserved. This is at or near the top of my list for the year. Great game.
 
raasco said:
Wow! I just finished my first play through today and wasn't super impressed. I gave it a couple hours and jumped back in. I had a completely different experience the second time. Shortly after starting, another player joined and walked me through the game entirely. It is so rare that you find a multiplayer experience without some 8 year old screaming "noob" in your ear or chat every five minutes. I'm sure that person was frustrated at certain points of the game, either by me getting lost or by me not understanding their goal for the area we were at. Through it all, that person stuck with me the entire time and guided me to hidden gems along the way. There is something about not being able to communicate through speech or text that really adds to the game. Prior to finishing, I wrote a heart in the sand just to show my appreciation. I don't know if it was a 60 year old dude or a tween girl, but that was the best two hours I have ever spent gaming. I've never been moved by a game like that.

P.S. I wasn't high
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I lold at this. Great review. Ending is the best. A++++
 
raasco said:
Wow! I just finished my first play through today and wasn't super impressed. I gave it a couple hours and jumped back in. I had a completely different experience the second time. Shortly after starting, another player joined and walked me through the game entirely. It is so rare that you find a multiplayer experience without some 8 year old screaming "noob" in your ear or chat every five minutes. I'm sure that person was frustrated at certain points of the game, either by me getting lost or by me not understanding their goal for the area we were at. Through it all, that person stuck with me the entire time and guided me to hidden gems along the way. There is something about not being able to communicate through speech or text that really adds to the game. Prior to finishing, I wrote a heart in the sand just to show my appreciation. I don't know if it was a 60 year old dude or a tween girl, but that was the best two hours I have ever spent gaming. I've never been moved by a game like that.

P.S. I wasn't high
Click to expand...

This is exactly why I thought Journey was fantastic. Well said.
 
Nvidiaguy07 said:
I dont know, maybe im just not very imaginative or artsy, but i could care less about this game.
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Well, you did just say you thought Far Cry 3 looked better. It looks better on some technical levels, but much more goes into a game's looks than technicalities...

And, no, you don't have to be high to enjoy it. It is a subtle game, though, and it sounds like a lot of it went over your head...
 
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