Journey was created by Thatgamecompany and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for Playstation in 2012. I played the iOS version which became available in 2019. The game is made for players of almost all ages, specifically 4 and up, as specified on the app store. For the parts of the game that I played, it was single player, and I was cast as a walking being with no arms who can communicate using one symbol and walk or jump to traverse the land. The character navigates a desert, hopping between abandoned fortresses and finding their way out to the next one in order to reach a big glowing light at the top of a distant mountain.
The game includes types of fun such as discovery, fantasy, sensation, and challenge. I appreciated the way the game used walking as a way of exploring the land, obscuring objects in the distance with clouds of sand. Sand storms also acted as a means of steering the player if they are outside of the game’s boundaries or straying too far from the next objective. The game also used beams of light to highlight objects and the big glowing object at the top of the mountain to keep the player aware of the goal. Magic carpet-esque creatures also assisted in directing me by flying in the right direction and sending a friendly bark in my direction to get my attention. These factors combined helped make a very fun guided discovery experience and contributed to the feeling of fantasy in the game. The high quality soundtrack and other sounds in the game created for an experience of the senses as well.
I will say though that the challenge so far feels a bit repetitive. I want to continue playing and see where it ends up, but I have thus far traversed through a handful of fortresses, each with a very similar experience from the last. I am curious how they keep the challenge unfolding in an interesting manner to avoid boredom.
I appreciate as well that the carpet creatures have been helpful towards the mission. I have read that later in the game, players encounter hostile creatures, but I was pleasantly surprised that the carpets wanted to assist me since I was expecting them to be enemies. This contributes to a positive atmosphere that allows players to enjoy the discovery and challenge of the game without being competitive. As mentioned in previous course content, enabling only a limited amount of ways to interact and communicate in this fantasy world creates for a multiplayer environment later on that has significantly less toxicity relative to games that focus predominantly on competing and out-surviving other players.
